What is the purpose of browning meat before you put it in a slow cooker?!
Answers: And is it entirely necessary? Is it ok not to brown it if I'm in a hurry?
Firstly, BROWNING THE MEAT DOES NOT SEAL IN THE JUICES! Thanks I just needed to get that off my chest.
Slow cooking will never give you that nice caramelized flavor, so recipes ask you to brown the meat first. The reaction of browning is called the Maillard reaction.
If it is asking you to brown chicken breasts or segments, etc, they just want you to cook the outside on it so it has a nice crust and retains the juices better on the inside. But if it is asking you brown ground beef, chicken, pork or turkey - you absolutely must do this. Otherwise it will not cook properly in the crockpot.
It's not entirely necessary but I do recommend doing it.
It does 2 things
1) Seers the outside meat and locks the juices in
2) Browning the meat creates flavor
Weather you do it or not, your food will be completely cooked after several hours in a crock pot. It will just be a better product if you brown it first. I have also just thrown the meat in the pot on a few occasions for expediency purposes.
Not only will it help retain the juices in the meat.. but it also gives it a better taste.. the browning of the meat adds a lot of flavor.. you then can decaramelize the pan you brown it in with some wine or broth..
Meat has to be cooked to a certain temperature to kill bacteria before it's safe to put in a slow-cooker. A slow cooker doesn't reach those temperatures.
What a load of bad answers so far (except the comment about browning for adding flavor).
Browning or searing does NOT seal in juices. This is widely believed and untrue. However, chemical changes during browning does add a lot of flavor. The suggestion of deglazing the pan after browning also adds a lot of flavor.
You don't have to brown unless you want the food to taste better. If you cannot detect a difference with and without browning then you might as well skip it.
It really makes it more flavorful. When I am in a hurry I skip that step & the food is fine.
Make time when you can, even do it the night before, chill in fridge till you need to start it the next day. Works.