Use less tender cuts of meat:
Beef: Arm pot roast, blade steak, brisket, chuck pot roast, chuck short ribs, flank steak, round steak, rump roast, shank cross cuts, shoulder steak, and stew meat are perfect for slow cooking.
Pork: Blade roast, boneless port shoulder roast, country style ribs, sirloin chops, sirloin roast, and smoked pork hocks.
Chicken and Turkey: Bone in breast halves, and bone in or bone out drumsticks and thighs.
Slow Cooker Tips:
~ Remove the fat from your meat because you do not want excess fat floating in your liquid. Most slow cooker recipes are low in fat also.
~ Cut the meat into manageable pieces. If the size of the meat is large than 2 pounds, cut it in half to even out cooking.
~ Brown for flavor: Browning meat before adding it to the cooker adds flavor. Try dredging them in a little flour before browning.
~ Do most of the work the night before. This way, you won’t have to do a lot of prep work early in the morning.
~ Cut vegetables so that they can fit around the meat. Vegetables cook slower so cut them into small pieces and put them toward the edge of the slow cooker.
~Dairy products curdle fast, add them in the last 15 minutes of cooking so that they maintain their integrity.