Crockpot Question - How To Layer Ingredients?

Question

I just recently starting using a crockpot to cook, but somehow my dishes are not coming out the way they're described like "fork tender" or "juicy".... I think I am not layering my ingredients correctly! I tried putting the meat on top, as suggested by all cookbooks, but my meat has been coming out chewy or dry. Also, some of my potatoes are coming out this weird purplish-gray color. So my questions are:

1) Meat on bottom or meat on top?

2) Do I need to put enough water in the crockpot to cover all of the ingredients, or can you cook w/o much liquid?

3) Where do I place potatoes? I thought I read somewhere to NOT put near meat or near the edges of the pot...is that what is turning some of them purplish?

Thank you!

Answer 1

I agree with Bebe about browning the meat first and then adding the potatoes later but I found this on the web (I haven't tried it yet) :
crockpot, meats, soups-stews

1.00 lb sirloin steak; trimmed
4.00 medium potatoes
4.00 medium carrots
2.00 stalks celery
10.75 oz reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
10.75 oz reduced fat cream of celery soup
10.75 oz tomato soup
1.00 pkg onion soup mix
10.75 oz water
1.00 bay leaf

Cube beef into bite-size pieces. Place in casserole or baking pan with lid. (Do not precook meat.) Peel and cube potatoes, carrots and celery; place on top of meat. Add soups and water; place bay leaf on top. Cover and cook in oven for 8 hours at 225 degrees. When done, discard bay leaf, stir stew and serve.

Now that I found a different recipe I'll have to try this one out. Thanks for leading me to this.

Answer 2

Well, I crock pot alot especially in the summer when I don't want to heat up the kitchen. What I've found is it is better to start the meat early in the day, say a roast... brown all sides, and place it in the crock. Then add any flavorings you want the meat to pick up.... garlic, onions...etc... A couple of hours before you want to serve dinner is when you add things like potatoes, tuck them around the edges, into the juices the meat has given off, if its not enough liquid to cover, add a little stock or water, it should all come out evenly cooked and pretty.

Answer 3

we also just started using a crockpot....did a roast last week. Potatoes on the bottom,meat on top, 1/4 cup of water....it turned out great.

Answer 4

when we crockpot, it's normally a deer roast. so we put in the bottom carrots and celery and onions. then the meat and then we throw in two cans of condensed soup. as for the potatoes, we do two things. sometimes 2 hours or so before we eat, we throw them in...but normally we just nuke the potato and get the flavors from the gravy the soup makes.

Answer 5

my answer to you is that if your trying to make pot roast in the crock pot you puy the meat on the bottom and you dont need water it is like making it in the oven the reason that the potatoes are coming out that crazy color is because thay got dry just cut them int o thin slices and the juice of the meat will cover them and they will cook right p.s. it's happened to me before

Answer 6

yes, definatly put a good sear on the meat first
I put my meat on top, and normally just cover the meat with liquid

tasty porkchops:
sear boneless porkchops on sides and edges
place in bottom of crockpot
1 rib of celery
1 carrot
chopped
one can of cream of mushroom soup (gives it all the sodium)
and a bottle of beer.

cook all day on low