My slow cooker and I are not best friends — more like casual acquaintances. I feel bad about this, but I am so attached to my enameled cast-iron Dutch ovens (Le Creuset and Lodge) for long, slow cooking, that I often overlook the advantages of an electric slow cooker.

But when it comes to tougher cuts of meat like pork shoulder, the slow cooker really does have the upper hand. A slow cooker set on low maintains a continuous gentle simmer (at around 200 degrees) for hours and hours. This is the ideal temperature and environment for breaking down the connective tissue in a tough cut of meat and making it very tender. It’s difficult to replicate this gentle simmer in a conventional oven, even on its lowest setting. The problem with the slow cooker, however, is that you are left with a lot of flavorful — but thin — liquid after slow-cooking.

The solution, which one-pot minimalists won’t love, is to take that leftover cooking liquid and reduce it on the stovetop until it thickens and intensifies. That’s exactly what I did with the cumin-coriander-chipotle-tomato cooking liquid I had left over after making my Slow Cooker Spiced Pork for Tacos and Rice Bowls. I divided the liquid and used some to toss with the cooked shredded meat (to keep it moist and flavorful for storing and reheating) and reduced the rest of the liquid into a bold sauce. An extra step, but so worth it.