Pulled Brisket with Pan BBQ Sauce

This is almost too easy for the insane result. All things told, about an hour in prep, five hours slow cook, twenty minutes shredding, days drooling.
First time I cooked this we did brioche rolls with a little mayo and some basic slaw. I'm quite certain that is how it will continue into the future.
The meat costs about $30 for 3kg but there is easily 20 servings in it and the sauce that comes from the pan juices is killer. Pay the fine, do the time.

N.B. You will need a really big pan.

I needed a bigger pan...

1 piece brisket about 3kg
Paprika
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Salt and pepper
Oil and butter

Brine:
4 liters water
1 cup salt
125g brown sugar
1 stick celery roughly chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
1/2 handful pepper corns
6 bay leaves
Handful of thyme/parsley/rosemary
1/2 a lemon

Got a bigger pan 2nd time around

1 chilli split

Rough chopped:
2 onions
3 stalks celery
2 carrots
6 garlic cloves
1 thumb ginger
6 mushrooms
3 slices bacon
Stems and roots from 1 bunch coriander
Handful parsley
Fist of thyme
Some sage leaves
10cm of rosemary

6 bay leaves
1 satchell tomato paste
500ml chicken stock
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
1 tbs chilli flakes
3 tbs tomato sauce
3 tbs barbecue sauce

To finish:
2 spring onions chopped
1 bunch coriander tops topped
Lime juice

Dissolve the sugar and salt in 1 litre of water on the stove top. Combine with the rest of the water and ingredients, bashing the garlic and squeezing the lemon (include the lemon in the brine too). Place brisket in the brine, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Prep all of the veg/bacon/herbs/sauce and have ready to go. Remove the brisket from the brine and pat dry with kitchen towel. Sprinkle a generous amount of paprika, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, salt and pepper with some oil all over the brisket and rub in. Heat a large and deep (at least 30cm in diameter) frying pan or roasting dish to medium high and when to temperature throw in some butter and some oil to stop it from burning. Place the brisket in, fatty side down first and fry until you get some decent colour. Turn the brisket over and repeat. Remove from the pan to a clean plate.
Pour in the chopped veg, garlic, ginger, bacon, herbs, chilli into the frying pan and saute. If necessary add some more oil to prevent it from burning. As you are cooking the veg, scrape all the colour off of the bottom of the pan as you go. After 4 or 5 minutes squeeze in the tomato paste and cook off, stirring through. Add the tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and chicken stock.

Return the brisket to the pan or roasting dish, baste it and cover with a lid or foil. Place in a preheated 140C oven for 5 hours. Remove the foil and place back in the oven raising the temperature to 170C for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and check if it is 'fork tender'. Remove the brisket to a large bowl. Remove as much fat un-rendered fat from the meat and set aside as you can, allowing to cool slightly.

Pour the contents of the pan into a medium sized saucepan and blot away the fat with paper toweling until all removed. Remove the bay leaves, add some salt and pepper then blend the sauce with a hand blender until it is a thick and smooth consistency. Set aside.

Return 3tbs of the fat to the bowl with the meat. Shred the fat and meat with two forks until it is all quite stringy. Mix a few tablespoons of the sauce to the shredded meat adding more if required. To finish, stir through chopped the spring onion, coriander and a decent squeeze of lime.