The gas station hot dog that made me stop using my slow cooker
Stopped at a Shell off I-40 last Tuesday, grabbed a roller dog with jalapenos because I was desperate. It tasted better than the beef stew I had slow cooking for 9 hours. I checked my crockpot at home, the meat was gray and the broth was bland. That $1.50 dog ruined my $25 chuck roast dinner. Anyone else had a cheap convenience meal beat their home cooking that bad?
Nine hours on a chuck roast is your problem right there, that cut is done at 7 or 8 and every hour past that it just falls apart into gray mush. Next time sear it hard in a skillet first and toss in a packet of onion soup mix plus a cup of beef broth, then pull it at the 7 hour mark. Also leave the lid alone, every time you peek you lose 20 minutes of heat. A roller dog tastes good because it's loaded with salt and fat, that's a tough combo to beat when your stew is bland.