Well the deed was done yesterday. Pics first then some words on it all.
So this was over 6 pounds.
I seasoned with SPOG, the onion is dehydrated onion so is chunky and amazing, not a powder.
I put in the oven at 325F and roasted it uncovered for a couple of hours as I went and ran errands. The bark and flavor was amazing, though the whole thing was not done. I was then slicing pieces off and eating it as I lay it down and added onions, tomato, wine, water, and beef bullion flavor.
With all this added covered it with foil and proceeded to braise at 325 for another 3 hours. It was not tender and falling a part all the way through so I carved off a good chunk and put in a bowl with shiritaki rice (like a noodle), some of the liquid and veggies that were still in the pan.
AMAZING flavor all the way around!
I removed the rest of the meat from the bone so it would cook and fall apart more easliy.
I then recovered, put back in the oven, and proceeded to overkook it for like 3 more hours hahaha.
I did not ruin it but I started smelling some slight burning of food smells and when I pulled it out and uncovered basically all the real liquid was gone and it was a little toasty. I added water which reconstituted things and saved it but it is/was not going to be the amazing goodness it should have been if not overcooked to hell hahaha.
I simply got busy doing other things and figured it could handle it and by the time I smelled the situation it was overcooked. It will still eat well but won't be a masterpiece.
The pics above are all before it was overcooked so you can see how it went and and was well on it's way to being something amazing but user error occurred hahahaha.
I would not hesitate to do this again and honestly after the initial roast I would just remove all the meat from the bone so it braised faster instead of trying to let it fall off the bone on its own and drastically increasing the cooking time. Lesson learned :)
I hope you enjoy the pics and the info! :D