Steve Freides wrote:
>
>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.

I wouldn't consider a slow cooker for such a fatty cut... cook it
thusly:
http://www.elboricua.com/pernil.html
I suggest using a wire rack... for such a large cut I use a "V" rack,
and I also tie the roast two three turns with heavy butcher twine
making it much easier to lift/carve. I only cook it up to the point
it can be sliced, I despise pulled/shredded/over cooked meat... then
it's only fit for dog food... actually possum n' crow food. Pulled
pork was devised as an alibi by people who don't know how to cook...
only a TIADed sex addicted masturbating bear pulls pork.