I'm sort of new at fixing long-cooking hunks of Pork or Beef -

Please help with
• kinds of cuts there are (there are so many names!)
• braised (Dutch oven) or crock pot or ?
• length of time to cook without drying out
• how NOT to spend an hour separating meat from fat/gristle
• good idea/bad idea of mixing hunks of pork with beef bones or hunks of beef with pork bones (for add'l depth of flavor)?
• ALWAYS brown meat before long-cooking?
• cook covered or uncovered

Big thanks in advance!

MsMarm, pork shoulder or Boston butt are both good for slow cooking pork. For beef it's a good idea to use chuck roast, short ribs and brisket. I don't own a crock pot so I always braise those cuts in a Dutch oven. The cooking time will depend on the weight/size of the meat, heat intensity and other ingredients. It's best to see what the recipe says about how long to cook it. Also, the type of pan you use can make a difference...some are better with heat conduction, such as enameled cast iron. If the meat is cooked until it's moist and tender, it will fall apart easily. You can also use two forks to pull it apart for something like pulled pork. I always brown my meat before braising...it gives the meat a nice crust and also adds flavor to the pan drippings. You want to keep the pan covered when you braise/slow cook to keep the moisture locked in. However, sometimes toward the end of cooking you remove the cover and let the sauce/gravy reduce to concentrate the flavor. Most recipes will guide you through it. Hope that helps!

I've never cooked beef with pork bones or vice versa. However, you'll get more flavor if you cook a bone-in chuck roast or bone-in pork shoulder instead of boneless.

Super, thanks.

I should have said that I shoot from the hip - don't have a recipe at all - just decide to buy some hunk of meat or other (on sale), see what veges I have in the fridge, and then figure out what to do with all of it!

Do you know what cut of beef or pork you bought?

Beef and pork go well together in some things. For example, I make a meat sauce for pasta using beef chuck and pork spare ribs, cooked low and slow. After a few times, I figured out that whole racks of ribs and 5 lb pieces of chuck can be browned much faster and easier on the grill outside and I spare my stove area all the splattering. Chris

Using a crockpot can usually keep the meat from drying out. For a beef roast I usually put it in a crockpot with an envelope of onion soup mix and a can of cream of mushroom soup then let it cook for 5-6 hours on high or 10-12 hours on low. For other easy recipes there are hundreds-just google whatever meat and crockpot and you'll be amazed at what pops up!

Champagne, Chris and Momlid have very good responses here! I usually always brown my meat before tossing in a crockpot and always, period, if I am braising on the stove since I want that caramelization factor.

However, when I made the Pulled Pork recipe last weekend I had put a dry rub on the night before and I was afraid if I browned it, it would burn. Many crockpot recipes and cookbooks say that browning isn't necessary and it takes extra time (and a separate pan to brown in plus cleanup).

My favorite larger cut of meat to work with is a nice hunk of chuck. You can make pot roast or grind for meatloaf, burgers or spaghetti sauce == and chuck never lets me down.

Have fun!

Marlene