Crock pot - what am I doing wrong?

[pantherlj]

My mom got me a 5.5 quart oval crock pot for my birthday. I have tried 2 recipes and both were flops. The meat was very dry.

This is the pork recipe we tried tonight. It get very tender, fell apart while cutting but it was so dry that is tasted terrible. I cooked it on low for 8 hours.

http://busycooks.about.com/od/porkentreerecipes/r/caribpork.htm

I tried a whole chicken on Sunday. Again, it was falling off the bones but the breast was very, very dry. This is the recipe I used. I cooked it for 8-9 hours, I can't remember.

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/31/19755

Are the hours just wild estimates?

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

I love my crockpot, but my husband does say that things tend to taste the same. I tend to cook things that are saucy - so I don't know if that helps with the dryness.

I like to make sausage in red sauce in the crock pot. The sausage gets really really tender.

I also make a pork shoulder/butt in the crockpot. Just put it in fat side down and cook forever. I turn it over part way through. When it is falling off the bone I take it out. Pull it apart and add bbq sauce. It is great on rolls that way.

 

[cryssi]

what I've done to modify recipes that cook for 8+ hours is to add alcohol. 1 bottle of good beer to beef dishes, 1/2 cup or so of wine to chicken (and some beef and others). It really helps.

chicken will tend to be dry regardless, though, so just make sure your sauce is tasty, and dip your meats in it when you eat...

 

[jonestavern]

what I've done to modify recipes that cook for 8+ hours is to add alcohol. 1 bottle of good beer to beef dishes, 1/2 cup or so of wine to chicken (and some beef and others). It really helps.

chicken will tend to be dry regardless, though, so just make sure your sauce is tasty, and dip your meats in it when you eat...

Yes, I agree to perhaps add more liquids or sauces.
For the pork recipe, perhaps another half cup of apple cider or apple juice, beer or wine. I might also add a cup or so of natural chunky applesauce or diced apples or a chutney or salsa.
When the recipes say use a 'trivet' or diced veggies (celery, carrot, onion), I'd go with the veggies, if you don't want more liquid, the veggies will give off some liquid & lots of flavor, themselves.
For the 'roasted' chicken, you might want to add tinned or boxed chicken &/or veggie stock, beer or wine, or salad dressing~
Have you tried shortening the cooking time? If you are away you can plug it into a brandname, UL listed delay timer~
Do you know if your CP cooks at a higher temp than the norm? Rare, but not unheard of to have a malfunctioning CP, even a new one.

Jean