This is another dish from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything". I
have no idea how "authentic" it is; and I adapted it to the crock pot
so the texture may be completely different. Niman Ranch hormone- and
antibiotic-free pork shoulder is $3.79 a pound at my market, whereas
teh NR beef stew is nearly $8 a pound.

Roast Pork Shoulder, Puerto Rican Style

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tabelspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons peanut (preferred or any other oil
2 tablespoons wine or cider vinegar
1 (4- to 7-pound) pork shoulder or portion of fresh ham, trimmed of
excess but not all fat

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a food processor, adding the
oil in a drizzle and scraping down the sides as necessary (or mince
together). Blend in the vinegar.

Rub this mixture well into the pork, getting it into every nook and
cranny you can find. Place the meat on a rack and let sit, uncovered,
for 1 to 24 hours; refrigerate if the weather is hot or the time is
greater than 2 hours or so.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roast the pork for about 3 hours,
turning every 30 minutes or so and basting with the pan juices, until
it is well done and very tender, and the skin is crisp. (Internal temp
at least 150F but no more than 160F.) Let the meat rest for 10 to 15
minutes before cutting it up; the meat should be so tender that cutting
into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into
chunks.

Leila's note - I dumped it in the crockpot and cooked it on high for
about 4 hours; didn't bother with the preliminary marinating. Also
didn't turn it, natch. This version won't give you the crispy skin of
the oven version! But it tastes delicious. Served it with tortillas,
some pintos we'd cooked the other day, and the spicy coleslaw mentioned
in another post. Yum...

Leila