Slow-Cooked Italian Pork

Ingredients

• 5-7 pound pork shoulder (pork butt)
• 5-7 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each dried oregano+dried basil+dried rosemary

Instructions

1. Pat the pork roast dry with paper towels. Use a small sharp knife to make slits all over the pork, then insert the garlic slivers into the slits.
2. In a small bowl, mix the salt and dried herbs, using your fingers to crush the leaves and mix them with the salt. Rub the mixture all over the pork roast, working into the nooks and crannies.
3. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and cook on low for 14 to 16 hours. As the pork roasts, the pan of the slow cooker will fill with liquid. You have two choices: (1) let it go and pour off the liquid when the meat is finished cooking; or (2) halfway through cooking, remove the lid and carefully pour off the liquid. Put the lid back on the pork and let it continue roasting; refrigerate the liquid in a glass bowl/jar or BPA-free container so the grease can separate from the luscious juice. I like to pour off the liquid so the outside of the roast gets crispier.
4. When the meat is finished roasting, it’s fall-apart tender. You can either shred it with forks, mixing the crusty bits with the interior, tender bits—or break it into serving-size hunks. It’s crazy-good either way. Remember the juice you put in the fridge? Now you can easily skim off the excess fat, re-heat the juice in a pan on the stove, and use it as a sauce for the cooked meat.

Makes 8-12 servings of YUM!