Hi. So, I’ve never seen this before. I’ve noticed plenty of recipes and come across the discussions here about searing/browning beef before starting the crockpot, but since when did the crockpot on High become the way to prep the meat? Did Eleanor of Northeastern/Central Eastern Pennsylvania develop a method to save dirtying a pan? Does searing meat on High help with the quick cooking time on Low?
I’m halving the recipe, so I’m thinking it could be:
1 lb. Beef cubes (stew meat)
1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz bag of frozen vegetables
3 potatoes, cubed
3 beef bouillon cubes (if that)
2-3 cups of water
- Brown the meat with onions, stirring frequently
- Place meat and onions in crockpot with with vegetables and potatoes (plus seasoning)
- Add bouillon cubes and water
- Cover and cook on Low for at least 3 hours. (I’m hoping for 4 plus)
I’d appreciate redirection, if needed.
by huanthewolfhound
14 Comments
Maybe older crockpots on high got hotter? I can’t imagine a modern one on high at temp doing much browning.
Browning the meat adds more flavor to the final dish. It’s an additional step if you want a bit more flavor but you can also skip it. Do it in a separate pan, or if you have an instant pot that doubles as a slow cooker, use the saute function and then cook on low.
id brown outside the crock pot then add to crock pot
Insta pots have a browning setting, but in a crockpot crock this would take hours. The recipe seems to be poorly written.
It’d be faster in a separate pan, just deglaze with a little water to save that fond.
Eleanor be tripping
Rapid City, SD shout out! Whoop whoop!
I’ve got a Sear and Stew slow cooker – Morphy Richards.
It’s a metal pot so you can use it on the stove, then put it in the slow cooker.
They do exist, I know they aren’t the norm – But they do.
https://www.morphyrichards.co.uk/products/sear-stew-3-5l-slow-cooker
I have a crockpot that gets hot enough to brown. It takes longer, I just come and stir every 10 or so mins and it takes about 30 or so total? It’s crockpot brand and the lowest setting is like a high setting.
I recently bought a Green Life crockpot, where the insert can go in the oven or on the stove. So I think you can brown meat in your crockpot, but I don’t know about browning it on high in the crockpot. Also, this crockpot is so much lighter than the old one. I love it.
A co-worker brought in chili that she made completely in the Crock-Pot one time it was some of the most disgusting food I’ve ever tried in my entire life. I felt really bad at the end of the night because I made chili and she didn’t know I was already planning on making it and I brought more it was all gone at the end of the night and hers was basically untouched.
I cook whole beef roasts in it, they go in raw and come out just fine. Has no one else done this?
No, you’re not going to brown meat in a traditional slow cooker. Doesn’t get hot enough, plus it’s intentionally made to evenly spread the heat, not just have a surface hot spot.
Keep in mind the world is full of shitty slow cooker recipes, so take them with a grain of salt.
But realistically, Eleanor has a multi-purpose device like a Ninja that has a sear mode and just failed to mention that very important fact.
I’m not sure how I feel about the sodium content of Dale’s beef bean soup. As far as the beef stew yeah I’d definitely not add so much bouillon. You can always more later if needed. Also, I can’t imagine browning beef in a crockpot, doesn’t seem possible. I’d just do it on the stovetop or if you have an instant pot, the saute function works, gets really hot fast. You might want to add the frozen vegetables during the last half hour of cooking, everything else should be fine for 4 hours plus.
I’ve seen that done on the TV in one. Mine says clearly do NOT operate when empty need to put some liquid in or it cracks