We've been using our slow cooker for a few months and are very fond of
it. A couple of things we don't understand, though.

1. Our favorite thing to make is a 5 lb. pork butt with some root beer,
brown sugar, a couple of onions, and a small can of chipotles in adobo
sauce. (And we salt the meat liberally, too.) We don't understand why
the meat comes out tasting great, with just a hint of hotness, but the
sauce in the pan is _much_ hotter, and the onions are positively
flaming. We throw out the onions, and put just a little of the sauce
into the pan when we make a bbq sauce to put on some of the pork.

2. Is there any formula for cooking time? For a 5 lb. pork butt, we do
overnight, about 9 hours, on high, and that seems to work out well. We
do notice, however, that not _all_ the fat is rendered, and we're
wondering if maybe another hour or three would be even better - but 12
hours on high seems like a lot. What does it look like if you overcook
something in a slow cooker? So far, we have undercooked but never
overcooked.

Thanks in advance.

-S-