Can you put raw meat in a slow cooker? Heaps of recipes say to brown the meat first in a frying pan. Why?

I thought the idea of a slow cooker was just to throw it all in and turn it on. Seemingly a lot of recipes require meats, onions etc to be cooked first? Why would this be so, what's the difference?Can you put raw meat in a slow cooker? Heaps of recipes say to brown the meat first in a frying pan. Why?
All meat that goes in the slow cooker is raw. It gets cooked *in* the slow cooker. The browning is for flavour and colour, nothing else.





I generally brown any meat I put in, but when in a hurry I have just put it direct in the slow cooker and it's come out great either way.





Enjoy it - meat cooked in a slow cooker is soooo delish!Can you put raw meat in a slow cooker? Heaps of recipes say to brown the meat first in a frying pan. Why?
A slow cooker will cook, but not necessarily brown the meat. The Maillard reaction is an important step in getting the most flavor out of your meat.


';The Maillard reaction occurs when the denatured proteins on the surface of the meat recombine with the sugars present. The combination creates the ';meaty'; flavor and changes the color. For this reason, it is also called the browning reaction. The Maillard reaction occurs most readily at around 300掳 F to 500掳 F. When meat is cooked, the outside reaches a higher temperature than the inside, triggering the Maillard reaction and creating the strongest flavors on the surface....';
Color is flavor. When you slow roast a meat, you want to get a nice even brown on it first. Get a large pot and very lightly cover the bottom with either vegetable or canola oil and turn up the heat to medium-high. Let the oil get hot and then gently put the meat into the pot. Let it get evenly brown on both sides. Remove meat from pan. Deglaze pan with small amount of water and use this liquid in slow cooker. It will add a lot of flavor to the final product, I promise!
of course you can. you are right. the whole purpose of the slow cooker is so the ingredients for the meal are all placed in the pot before work and you come home to a ready-cooked meal. if there is all this prep work before hand, you might as well begin to cook supper when you get home.


the temperature in the crock pot is high enough to cook raw meat, that's how roasts and chops and chicken are cooked. goes in raw, comes out cooked.
it will cook,but browning meat looks better.if you dont brown it,it looks grey,or muddy brown. besides the browned bits are what flovor the dish
It's primarily to improve the flavour; but it also reduced any bacteria.