Marinade the meat for at least 12h in a mix of some random fat, random acid, salt, and seasoning. Then roast it in an oven bag. Slow and low heating (I use 125°C), trying to minimise the amount of vapour that is formed. It'll take a few hours, and you need to flip it halfway so both sides get in contact with the juices. Near the end, if you want, open the bag and rev up the oven temperature, to brown it on the outside and, if there's leftover juice, let it dry and coat the meat.
Which acid is up to you; I use alcohol vinegar if I don't want it to interfere too much on the taste, otherwise I use a red dry wine for beef and lime juice for pork. The "random fat" is usually veg oil, just so the seasoning spreads more evenly across the meat.
Although... frankly, I'd rather use a pressure cooker for those.
Yep Braising is the way. It's amazing for tougher cuts. I do a brisket ragu 160oC for 4-6 hrs, a parchment paper lid and uncovered for the last 2 hrs. A dutch oven isn't necessary, I sometimes use a stewpot or a chef's pan.
Fat and connecting tissue melts with heat, that's what gelatin is.
Time and heat=fallapart dry meat. Balance heat and time to have it fall apart and not be dry, but you can't perfectly have both. Sous vide, lowest possible foodsafe temp and long time works pretty good, but you still don't want to go overboard.
Also, everybody likes the mallard reaction and browning and you don't get that with low heat (like 129F).
If all you want is fall-apart meat, that's easy, though, just render all the connective tissues into liquid.
No, that's the tri tip I just finished for dinner. It was pretty good. But this is broil-high for 15 minutes on each side, then 5 hours at 100C/200F. I flip it halfway through the low and slow. That really helps, but I can't seem to get it to fall apart completely. This is loose but not falling apart.
Low and slow is my advice too - but also IME there's something magical that happens when you use creamy soups as a starter with your meats. I spent years trying to make something healthier than my mom's roast beef recipe, which is basically cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix plus a roast, but nothing I did could make it fall apart and stay moist like hers. I settled on using real onions in place of the onion soup mix which helps lower the salt content a bit but my family often asks me to just make it like my mom did.
My technique is to "shock" the meat (not sure of the right term here) and then turn the heat way down and go low and slow... So for example.... If I have a 5 lb shoulder roast I'll go 1/2 hour uncovered at 475F and then turn it down to 200-250 and go another 4 or so hours (still uncovered) or til it's about 165 internal on a meat thermometer. The 1/2 hour at 475 forms the crust and seals in the juices.
The term is "reverse searing". Sear the meat on the highest heat generally done on the stovetop, then get it to the ideal internal temp at a lower safe temp (generally done in the oven).
Slow and low. As someone mentioned below, keeping the meat covered while cooking in a dutch oven or tall roasting dish is crucial for making sure that it doesn't dry out. In a pinch the crappy aluminum roasting pans will work just fine, the key is that your roasting container should be taller than the meat do that you can cover it while it's cooking. For beef and pork, around 200 Fahrenheit and for chicken thighs, around 275. Chicken breasts don't have enough fat as it is white meat so I wouldn't try them slow and low. Just cook until it falls apart to your liking, time depends on the size and cut but those temperatures will do you just fine.
For Pork Shoulder, I found Michael Rhulmans recipe to be pretty versitile:
To cook the pork, as noted in post: Ideally, sear it hard over coals in the Weber, covered for 20 to 30 minutes, then put it in a Dutch oven, covered, for 6 hours at 250 degrees (or 4 hours at 300˚F). I think smoke is critical, but if you want to make it super easy on yourself, put the raw shoulder in a Dutch oven and roast it covered at 225 overnight and that’ll do the trick as well. Stir in the sauce. Taste for seasoning—salt, sweetness, acidity,heat. Adjust as you wish
The key is low and slow. Under 300 and over 4 hours. The key is to keep the mead moist or it will be dry and no good. If you seal the meat inside a container the water genreally stays in place. Once you get a better idea about it all, exposing the meat to smoke or limited high temp that causes browning enhances the flavor.
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