Among Friends

[gloriajean]

I hardly ever use a crock pot, but I got my sister's old one when she went to the Nursing Home.  Last night I decided to pull it out and made a pork roast in it before I went to bed, added onion, seasonings, potatoes and carrots.  Well this morning the meat was fine but the vegetables were tough.  So I sliced the meat, made gravy, put the sliced pork in the gravy, it was dry, and I cooked the carrots and potatoes separately - potatoes are cooking now, and will add them to the dutch oven.  I usually make my pot roasts on top of the stove - guess that's the best way.  

Does that happen to you? Maybe I did something wrong.  I put it on low for the night.  Don't carrots cook in there?  

[qualitygal]

temp and time?  See what it said. Just in case, that would be my first check.

[gloriajean]

Doesn't say temp.  Just Off, Lo and High. I used Lo and on all night - maybe about 8 hours or so.  Long enough anyway.  Roast was done and onions, that's all.  

[Elbelle]

Did you add any water or broth?  I always add one can of broth.

[PinkyPetunia]

Potatoes and carrots need to be in a liquid to cook properly, so place them on the bottom of the crock pot.   8 hours on low might have been too long of a cooking time for a lean meat. 

Learning how to use a crock pot is somewhat of a trial and error thing.  You will get the hang of it after using it a few times.

[ChynnaBlue]

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@Elbelle wrote:

Did you add any water or broth?  I always add one can of broth.

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Yes, you absolutely need some kind of liquid in there. I've never had vegetables come out tough and it's more often the opposite, that they can be mushy if left too long.

Did you follow a crock pot recipe or just use a stove-top recipe in the crock pot? You need to make sure you use a recipe adapted for the crock pot.

Meat in the crock pot is also more flavorful if it's seared first, so I always season and sear the meat, then add it to the crock pot with the other ingredients.

[gloriajean]

I always put a cup of water in it first.  I had lots of liquid in which I made gravy out of.  Maybe my mistake was not putting the veggies on the bottom.  I put them all with the sliced onion on top of the meat.  I had no directions.  I just did like I do on the stove top.  I like that way better, especially since they don't come out that well.  Again, the meat was fine.  Maybe I should have just cooked the meat and the veggies separate. Thanks for your posts.  This is an old crock pot.  

[151949]

I'm trying to figure out why you cooked a dinner overnight instead of cooking it during the day.Oh well. yes , your mistake was that the veggies need to be in the water - they go in first and the meat on top.Generally, I prefer to do a roast 4 to 6 hours on high. I don't think low is hot enough to cook meat,esp pork, to be sure anything harmful in it is gone.

[fthunt]

My dog wouldn't have let me sleep a wink if she smelled a piece of hot meat!    Bow Wow

[gloriajean]

151949 - I wonder what all those numbers mean for your nic????  Anyway, the reason I cooked it all in the crockpot overnight was because I planned it to be our lunch, not supper, and glad I did because I had to cook those veggies over again!!  Now I know better.  I will now (if I use the crock pot again) put the veggies on the bottom in the water.  

Thanks everyone!!  Knew I could count on you!