Just a silly question!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

summer22

Assistant Cook
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
11
Location
Australia
Sorry if this is silly but i just have no idea!

When using the slow cooker, i always brown my meat slightly before throwing it in.
I'm following a recipe at the moment where it says to flour meat, then throw in slow cooker...:ermm: ..so do i not brown meat? Or do i flour it, then brown it?

If anyone could help i would be so appreciative!! Cooking a new recipe for the hubby tonight & i'm already stuck .. oh dear! :LOL:
 
Not a silly question!!

IMO it's always a good idea to brown meat before cooking it in a crockpot. The chemical reaction of browning meat is what gives it its delicious "meaty" flavor.

And you shouldn't lightly brown, you should get it nice and brown.

In the case at hand, I suspect the flour is to thicken the liquid into a sauce. Like dusting onions with flour when making French onion soup.

So, I'd day you can likely do it either way. Flour and brown or just toss in flour and into the slow cooker. The former will give you more flavor but the sauce might be a bit thin. You can fix that later.
 
Oh wow, i always thought i was to just to slightly brown! Thanks for your tip!
And thanks for replying!
What a fantastic site this is :)
 
it almost always helps to brown any meat before adding to a crock pot recipe for the aforementioned reasons.

but if a recipe calls for it, or just how you do it - or have been taught, is by flouring then browning, then they definitely mean you should brown the meat to a good, dark (but not burnt) crust. that's what the flour is for.

ok, with the exception of a type of "flouring" in chinese cooking known as velveting. that's a dlifferent thing, altogether.
 
No matter what anybody says... there ARE silly questions. This, however, is not one of them.
 
I use my crock pot a lot. If it's beef or pork I like to brown it to a deep brown before putting it in the crock pot. If it's chicken I will brown it but not quite as much as beef or pork. Seafood .. never.

The difference is mainly taste. You will get a stronger more robust flavor if you brown it well first.

You don't have to but it is an option.

Best to experiment and see what you prefer.

So how did your dinner turn out?
 
I use my crock pot a lot. If it's beef or pork I like to brown it to a deep brown before putting it in the crock pot. If it's chicken I will brown it but not quite as much as beef or pork. Seafood .. never.

The difference is mainly taste. You will get a stronger more robust flavor if you brown it well first.

You don't have to but it is an option.

Best to experiment and see what you prefer.

So how did your dinner turn out?



It's funny i have never known to well brown the meat! I'm so glad all you lovely people have shared that tip with me :)

Dinner turned out quite nice. We had Massaman Beef. If was pretty simple to make ( i used the Massaman paste from jar :LOL: )
It was just lacking something! The flavour just wasn't quite there but still a beautiful meal!
Thanks for asking!
 
Sorry if this is silly but i just have no idea!

When using the slow cooker, i always brown my meat slightly before throwing it in.
I'm following a recipe at the moment where it says to flour meat, then throw in slow cooker...:ermm: ..so do i not brown meat? Or do i flour it, then brown it?

If anyone could help i would be so appreciative!! Cooking a new recipe for the hubby tonight & i'm already stuck .. oh dear! :LOL:
The only silly question is the one you don't ask as my old Dad used to say.

It's purely a matter of taste. The browning sets up what is called the Maillard reaction which some people (including me) think improves the flavour of the finished product. However, it isn't essential so you can do as you like - either brown or flour or flour and then brown. Mind you, if you follow the recipe completely the first time you can decide if you like it and then experiment when you make it again.
 
It's funny i have never known to well brown the meat! I'm so glad all you lovely people have shared that tip with me :)

Dinner turned out quite nice. We had Massaman Beef. If was pretty simple to make ( i used the Massaman paste from jar :LOL: )
It was just lacking something! The flavour just wasn't quite there but still a beautiful meal!
Thanks for asking!
Perhaps browning the meat would help this.
 
Back
Top Bottom