u003cbr/u003eYou can, but I don’t recommend it. Not only does u003ca href=u0022https://www.southernliving.com/food/slow-cooker/brown-meat-before-crock-potu0022u003eu003cstrongu003ebrowning the meat add flavoru003c/strongu003eu003c/au003e, but it renders out a lot of the fat beforehand. You may end up with more liquid and grease in your dish if you skip this step.u003cbr/u003e