Slow cooker-getting meat tender

We can't seem to get beef tender in our slow cooker so I'm wondering where we are going wrong. Whole chicken is great and lamb joints. Today dh did beef stew in red wine.he used diced casserole beef from tesco but we have used various cuts.Cooked on low today for 7-8 hours but was still chewy.Cooking on high for a bit seems to make little difference.Any tips?

The trick to tender beef is.....to brown it, then boil it in stock first, then let it go cold before you cook it in your stew. Therer is some science involved in this which my DH could explain. t seems like it defeats the whole slow cooking process but it works

I've never had any problems with mine and I cook it for about the same length of time. Has it always been Tesco meat that tough? If so, I'd be inclined to try meat from somewhere else. I think if you cooked me on low for 8 hours, I'd be tender

No not just tescos meat. I shall try cooking it and cooling it first next time.

I don't do the boiling bit, but always brown it in a got frying pan first.

I always brown mine in the frying pan first to seal it and keep the meat juicy. Try cooking over night on a lower temp rather than during the day on the higher temp if you can, with your veg and sauce, that might help

I like to brown it first too. But dont always. I find using larger chunks and cooking for longer on low helps. I often cut up a roast into large chunks as the meat is nicer and usually on offer. Works out cheaper than stew cuts.

Yup no boiling, sealing only in VERY hot fat, searing on all sides... not just top and bottom. Searing is not frying btw. Sealing or cooking 'en papillote' like you do with fish will help retain the juices in the muscle fibres. But the most important thing is the cut of beef. The tougher the better for slow cooking. The pieces with the most amount of collagen basically. So brisket, skirt, etc. Normal (dry) cooking would toughen the collagen up so much that it would be chewy and unpleasant .. never again cooked dinner. Whereas warm wet cooking, it melts the collagen and and turns it into gelatin. The parts of the cow that do the most work, any part nearest the head and then at the other end.. the tail.. will slow cook the best. the middle parts are best for quick fried steak and roasting joints. The cheapest parts are best and will taste a million dollars. The best parts will not give you the beautiful falling apart tender juicy stewed beef you expect.

I brown in pan, then cook on low for about 12hrs. Seems to make it very tender