I'm so intrigued by the discussion of the smaller sized Nesco roasters. Is the inner cookwell light in weight? My biggest concern about crockpots is the weight of the crock itself. I'm deathly afraid that my wrists couldn't handle the weight during cleanup. That's one of the problems I have with my enameled cast iron dutch oven. It' so heavy to lift and I'm always worried it'll slip while I'm washing it.

Well, here is what I am doing. I have it in the crockpot now. Everyone's recipes sound good, but I had all of these ingredients on hand. Didn't want to make the trip into town if I didn't have to. I made it simpler by coating the pork with the rub mixture, then placing in the crockpot and adding some of the basting sauce. I made the BBQ sauce, too, and will probably mix some of it with the pork before I freeze it. I'll let you know how it turns out. Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce Courtesy Emeril Lagasse 1 boneless pork butt, about 4 pounds 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons Essence 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon cayenne Wet Mop Basting Sauce, recipe follows Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows Place the pork in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning evenly over the pork to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Preheat an oven or smoker to 225 degrees F. Bring the pork to room temperature and place in a roasting pan, fat side up. Slow cook in the oven, basting with the Wet Mop Basting Sauce every 45 minutes, until tender and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. (The cooking should take about 6 to 7 hours.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. With a knife and fork or two forks, pull the meat apart into small slices or chunks. Toss with the Barbecue Sauce, to taste, and divide among the hamburger buns. Top with coleslaw. Serve with additional Barbecue Sauce on the side. Wet Mop Basting Sauce: 1 cup white vinegar 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon salt The night before you cook the pork, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Refrigerate and let the flavors blend overnight. Yield: 2 1/4 cups Barbecue Sauce: 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon yellow mustard 1 tablespoon molasses 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Place in a squeeze bottle and dress the pulled pork sandwiches to taste. Yield: about 2 cups Linda

As I told you before I use an electric roaster but the technique is the same. Actually no matter if I use the oven or slow cook them I do *not* boil ribs. There's no need for it and many think you boil some of the flavor out of them. The theory of boiling ribs is to render out some fat. By slow cooking you're already rendering out some of the fat yet keeping some of the flavor fat in there. My favorite ribs are using a dry rub and usually braising with a little beer. Occasionally I'll top with a touch of sauce at the end. Don't waste your time boiling them IMO. An old GF too learned that with spareribs - just put them in the crockpot and let them go until they're tender, pull the bones out and you can shred it add some sauce and have a terrific pulled pork. Oh, and with any ribs, be sure to pull the membrane if it's on there. Of course, opinions vary so you might want to try both ways. With ribs, you can do them so many different ways and most always it's good eatin'!

Chuck is usually the less expensive cut! You need something with a certain amount of toughness/connective tissue to really stew it--something that will hold up--but otherwise anything works. Skirt steak used to be dead cheap, but now that the world has discovered fajitas, and that the skirt is really tasty compared to most cuts of domestic beef, it costs a ton. Brisket has become beloved of the barbecue crowd, so it's no longer cheap. Well marbled meat makes poor stew because once the fat is rendered out the good of the meat goes too. I've made stew from lean sirloin by cooking the veg mostly separately, browning the meat, and combining just for the meat to get done. But that depends on a blowout price on the sirloin, or a plan for other use dying on the vine. Because I trust the butchers where I shop, I don't mind buying "stew meat" which is a melange. It's nice pieces of meat trimmed off as they're cutting. They cook at different rates and have different flavors. The latter can make the stew more interesting, and the former doesn't matter if you're giving the meat plenty of time in the pot. I've heard that some butchers/companies throw "bad" meat together and call it stew. I don't know what that means. I don't mind paying less for odds and ends, and having to trim it up a bit.