Searing Meat Before Cooking: Worth the Extra Effort?

At a recent dinner party, we were asked whether it was really necessary to sear meat before cooking it, especially if it was just getting slow-cooked in a braise or a stew.

Our friend logically pointed out that if it wasn't an important step, then why go to the extra trouble or dirty more dishes?

Read our reply below and let us know yours!

First of all, contrary to widely held belief, searing meat doesn't actually seal moisture inside the cut of meat or result in juicier meat. It does, however, give meat dishes an incredible depth of flavor. Additionally, it gives meat an appetizing color and kills off any bacteria that might be hanging out on the surface of the meat.

Searing over high heat caramelizes the surface of the meat, which enhances the savory 'meat' flavor and fills the finished dish with complex layers of nutty caramel and coffee-like bitterness. In technical terms, this is called a Maillard reaction and is a flavor profile we omnivores happen to find quite delicious.

Without searing, meat dishes taste flat and bland. As an experiment, it would be fun to try making side-by-side batches of a dish like our Slow-Cooked Brisket and Onions--one with seared meat and one without--to see how they compared. (If you try it, let us know!)

We have to admit that searing actually has no affect (positive or negative) on the cooking process itself and that the surface bacteria will die during cooking anyway. The meat will cook just fine without searing.

So is it necessary to sear me? Well...technically, no. But we think that the depth and complexity of flavor we gain in this step is well-worth any extra effort. What about you?

(Image Credit: Health.com)

Comments (13)

Searing meat is worth the effort every time. I skipped this crucial step a couple of times, citing the same reasons of time and dirty pans, and regretted it immensely.

Searing meat also makes a nice fond at the bottom of the pan that when deglazed, definitely makes the gravy/sauce/braising liquid more flavorful!

I always sear, but I was reading Jamie Oliver and he claims that after experimenting with browning and not browning, he found the stews he made that weren't browned tasted better, so he has pretty much stopped browning for stews...

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/meat/jools_s_favourite_beef_stew

I have a specific beef soup I make, and my husband decided to make it once, but didn't take the time to brown/sear the meat first or caramelize any of the veggies. First, there was a big difference in flavor, and this is going to sound gross, but there was an excess of foamy boiled blood at the top of his soup (hopefully, you know what I'm talking about, it's hard to describe). The soup wasn't near as brown as mine turns out either. I always caramelize items like onions too, because I think it adds to the flavor. So personally I prefer seared meat.

Yeah, I was in a rush a month or two ago and didn't dredge/sear the beef before making my standby stew, and there was definitely a drop in flavor. It was still good, but not luscious. Too bad; it really is a pain for the slow-cooker stuff where you aren't going to cook in the same dutch oven you can sear in...

Also...don't forget to marinate the meat with olive oil before you drop the delicious piece into the searing pan or pot. I made that mistake once and the meat sort of stuck to the dutch oven that I used.

On a note, in the second paragraph, you have two "is a" before flavour profile; did you do that on purpose or it's a typo? There was a study out there that said we block out these simple words when we read( another example is the word "THE". Many people don't notice a repeat of "THE" in a sentence when they conducted the experiment). So I was just wondering if you did that just to get a kick out of it.

I believe in searing, too, for all of the reasons mentioned here. It only takes a few minutes & the results are definitely worth the effort.

It's the little things that count, and searing does. I mean, look how far just a dash of salt goes!

For a dinner party dish I might, but otherwise I don´t bother. If the beef is good and you take care to let the vegetables cook well, it´s perfectly fine by me. I add some caramel for colour, though.

not searing meat before braising would be like not caramelizing onions before making french onion soup. just plain weird.

I have to disagree with Chef Jamie. Skip browning the stew meat and you lose a lot of the flavor in the broth. It improves the color and texture, too.

Besides, if I didn't, my Grandmother would reach down from heaven and swat me with her slipper.

While I almost always sear my meat (deep, deep brown - sometimes almost charred!) I think it does depend on the dish. I recently had a very light, finely shredded pulled pork. It wouldn't really make sense to have seared it before cooking. The flavor and texture were light and almost airy, and a darkly browned crust wouldn't have worked in the dish.

But for most beef and pork roasts and stews, yes, I'll brown it deeply.

Sometimes you just don't want or need that browned flavor.