Help! Why do my potatoes stay hard ( RAW ) in the slow cooker / crock pot?

[NotInTheMood]

This is my third attempt at making beef stew and although the met comes out lovely and tender the potatoes always seem cooked but hard. I've cut them smaller, left them for longer etc nothing works. Apart from the meat I think i prefer my veg an potatoes cooked on top of the stove as they seem to soften and and partly disintergrate thickening up the juices

'meat'

what kind of potatoes do you use? do they taste raw or is it just the texture?
waxy potatoes keep their shape.

Hmm it might just be normal white potatoes although I am sure I did use maris pipers the other day.

It is one of the strange things about slow cookers - root veg take longer to cook than meat. Apparently it's because it reaches cooking temperature for meat some time before reaching those for veg. You must:
cut the veg into thin slices and
put them in the hottest part of the pot ie next to the element and
ensure they are fully immersed in the liquid.
You can also parboil or saute before adding to the pot.

HTH

I always slice thinly and place at bottom as a layer - works fine for me