Slow Cooker - My Beef is Dry, Dry, Dry

[Treadmillmom]

I have a 6.5 litre slow cooker and I just don't know where I'm going wrong. Everyone tells me how amazingly tender beef is cooked in a slow cooker. I cooked a beef brisket 12 hours and the meat fell apart, looked gorgeaus however dry and chewy. Beef 'n ale, 10 hours, looked and smelt devine however like a flavourless chunk of dried out overchewed gum. Slow cooked whole chicken, damn good. Diced chicken, only good for the bin.
HELP. My DH is threatening to smash it up!

What setting are you using? I'd always use the low one for casseroles, particularly if you're cooking them for so long.

Always on low.

10 and 12 hours seems quite a long time to be cooking, even on low. What does your recipe book for the slow cooker say? I cooked some beef in red wine yesterday on low for about 7 hours and it was tender and still quite juicy; I sealed it first, put half a bottle of red wine, some water, and carrots/shallots in there was well, which added to the moisture content. A whole chicken took 5 hours on high.

Are you sure you're adding enough liquid? [be it water wine whatever]

Do you ever take the lid off to have a look in/stir it? Maybe liquid is escaping that way?

Otherwise I'd agree that 10/12hrs is possibly too long - I do most of my meat on low for about 6hrs.

Make sure all meat is covered which means more liquid in a big one!
I only cook in water & flavours then add cornflour once done, not at the start.