braise the brisket:

Place onion, celery, garlic and carrots in a roasting pan. There's not need to peel the carrots or take the skins off the garlic. I peel the onions only because the peelings come off when you slice them, anyway. We're going to strain all the vegetables out of the juice. I splurge on a disposable pan when I'm cooking a dish that has sugar and a lo

ng cook time. Sometimes that sugar gets burned on and it's almost impossible to get it off.

Score the fat cap on the brisket. The fat needs to stay on during the cooking process to retain moisture in the meat. Remove the fat before serving.

Throw the brisket on top of the vegetables. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and ground pepper.

Mix together next 6 ingredients and pour over brisket. Throw in the bay leaves. Cover and cook on 300 degrees for 4 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Baste once an hour while cooking.

Cook for 4 hours on 300 degrees or until fork tender. Baste occasionally while cooking. Remove the brisket when done and strain the liquid. Return the liquid to the pan and cook on medium high heat until reduced by half. Dissolve a tablespoon of cornstarch in cold water, add to the sauce, continue cooking until thickened.

Trim the fat cap from the brisket, slice on the bias. Serve over Cheesy Grits and top with sauce.

cook the grits:

Add salt to water and bring to a rolling boil.

Whisk in grits until smooth. Reduce heat to medium and cover.

Cook for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. until grits are smooth.

Stir in butter and cheese until melted. Serve hot.