Crock Pot Beef Dilemma

[smlewis00]

When I make a beef roast, I always just put the raw meat with a little seasoning and water in the crock pot without doing anything to the meat beforehand. My friend recently told me that it is better to brown the meat on the stove before you put it in the crock pot. Does it really make a difference? What does browning the meat before it goes in the crock pot do? Have I been making my beef roasts wrong all along? Oops! What do you think?
Obviously, I have not been cooking very long. I am just learning. Any tips or advice is very appreciated. Please be kind!

 

[OhioTom76]

I don't bother browning the meat before hand - though many recipes call to do that. Problem is, unless you really brown it well, most of the brown stuff just melts off of the meat while it is slow cooking - to the point where you almost can't even tell in the first place. I've noticed when I put the meat into a baking dish with a lid and into my oven on low for several hours, somehow the dry heat manages to work its way in and eventually brown the meat. Not so with a crockpot, so instead I will take the meat our and put it in a baking dish, breaking it up just a little, and throw it under the broiler at the very end just before serving.

 

[True2marie]

You can do either. The recipe for any roast (via a crock pot) comes out about the same. The only difference is the texture might be slightly different, not enough for anyone to care.