My 'easy' slow cooker chicken tacos turned into a 4-hour wait because I didn't brown the meat first. Is that step really necessary?

I threw everything in the pot raw, like the recipe said was fine. But after 6 hours on low, the chicken was still weirdly rubbery and pale. I ended up pulling it out, browning it in a pan for 15 minutes, and putting it back for another hour. Total time was way over what I planned. Some people swear by browning for flavor, others say it's a waste of time for a slow cooker. What's your take? Do you always sear meat first, or just dump it in?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara3853mo ago

You said you threw it in raw like the recipe said was fine, but I've learned the hard way too. That browning step is not just for flavor, it changes the texture of the meat. I always take the extra ten minutes to sear chicken or beef first, otherwise it just steams and gets that weird rubbery feel you described. What kind of slow cooker do you use?

tylermason3mo ago

Ugh, my lazy cooking is showing.

the_river2mo ago

It's funny how we always think shortcuts will save us time but they just end up creating more work in the long run. Kind of like how I always skip reading the instructions on furniture assembly and then spend twice as long fixing my mistakes.