Brisket, Indoors

1.) Generously season the brisket with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.
2.) Grind up the cumin seeds, celery seeds, red pepper flakes and mustard seeds with a mortar and pestle or alternatively crush with the bottom of a frying pan on a hardened surface.
3.) Mixed the crushed seeds with the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl.
4.) Sprinkle half of the dry mixture on one side of the brisket.
5.) Drizzle half of the molasses and half of the oil on top of the dry mix and spread across brisket with your hands, allowing the dry mix and molasses/oil to become a thick paste.
6.) Repeat the previous two steps on the other side of brisket with the remaining dry mix, molasses and oil.
7.) Refrigerate brisket for at least 1 hour.
8.) When ready to cook, preheat oven to 250°F.
9.) If you have a stovetop safe roasting pan (not glass!), place it over two burners and heat on medium high. If not, use a skillet.
10.) Add bacon to pan with a shlug of olive oil. Cook the bacon until fat is rendered and your prefered level of crispness is reached.
11.) Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
12.) Place the brisket fat side down in the pan and sear it in the bacon drippings.
13.) When the fat side is browned, turn the brisket over and sear the second. Snack on bacon strips in the meantime.
14.) If you used a skillet to sear the brisket, move the brisket to a roasting pan when done browning.
15.) Pour the pale ale around the brisket in the roasting pan (if you seared the meat in the roasting pan, turn off the heat at this point).
16.) Cover with foil and bake for 5 ½ hours.
17.) Remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until meat is tender.
18.) Remove brisket from oven and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes.
19.) Slice and enjoy!