Slow cooker/crock pot questions

[Anonymous]

I just got a new slow cooker and will try a beef stew tomorrow. I have 2 questions:

(1) almost all of the recipes I see say to brown the meat/onions first and then transfer to the slow cooker. Is that step really necessary? That seems to take away the ease of having a one pot meal, especially on a week day.
(2) the broth in the recipe does not look like it will be sufficient to completely cover the meat. Is that ok? Or does this mean that the meat that is submerged in the liquid will completely fall apart while the meat on top of the liquid will be on the dry side? Or does it all taste the same?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Your food will "look better" if you brown the meat first, and browning can seal in the flavors. You don't have to do that step, if appearance won't really matter. Slow cookers require very little liquid. I think you're going to love using your slow cooker--anything to make mealtime easier is a big plus in my book!

[Anonymous]

1) Yes, it helps keep the juices in and keep the meat from drying out. If you're looking for fast weekday recipes, do chicken.

2) It will be fine and will all taste the same. Juice will come out of the meat as it's cooking.

[Anonymous]

I also find that when you brown the meat first, it holds together better. If you just put in raw meat, you'll get fall apart meat. So if you're making a beef stew, if you brown the meat first, you'll still have beef cubes, but if you don't you're likely to end up with shredded beef stew. It all tastes the same, but I take the time to brown the meat if I want the meat to be in whole pieces at the end. I don't bother if I won't care.

[Anonymous]

Browning the meat produces better flavor.

[Anonymous]

OT but how do you thicken the stew? Or do you?

[Anonymous]

Op here... thanks everyone, the responses were very helpful.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't make beef stew in a slow cooker, and I use mine a lot.

[Anonymous]

to thicken stew, add 1-2 TBSP of instant dried tapioca (they look like little beads) along with the ingredients before cooking.

[Anonymous]

link to tapioca (avail at giant, etc)

http:/http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Minute-Tapioca-8-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B001EQ4GKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335713871&sr=8-1/www.amazon.com/Kraft-Minute-Tapioca-8-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B001EQ4GKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335713871&sr=8-1

[Anonymous]

Tapioca? Not corn starch or flour?

[Anonymous]

NP here: Can you brown the meat the night before? So all you have to do in the morning is dump in the crock?

[Anonymous]

If you cook the meat in the crock pot first, it will brown. But then you would have to wait for that to happen before you could add in the other ingredients, so not so convenient.

[Anonymous]

Since I use potatoes in my beef stew, I make a slurry of potato starch and broth (or water) and I put the slurry in sometime before the last hour of cooking. I also cut up my potatoes in different sizes ranging from big pieces (about 1" per side) to small pieces (about 1/4" per side). The little pieces dissolve and help thicken the stew, I find that the potato starch (whether from a slurry or just coming off of the potatoes cooking) changes the flavor of the stew the least, since it's an ingrediant of the stew and not another added starch (tapioca, corn, wheat).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: Can you brown the meat the night before? So all you have to do in the morning is dump in the crock?

I've done it. Brown the meat and make a bit tupperware container and put everything you want into stew in the tupperware (I put the meat and the veggies/etc separate) and in the morning, dump the containers in the crock pot, turn on, rinse the containers and done. Works fine. I separate the beef from the rest so that the juices/fluids do not start dissolving the browned edges early (I'm the one that posted about the beef falling apart if you don't brown it).