I do have a sear step at the beginning of this slow cooker short ribs recipe. While this isn’t 100% necessary to a great-tasting dish, I do love the added crust and flavor the searing gives the short ribs. Remember, the idea of a sear step isn’t to cook the meat. In fact, the faster you can get the sear on the meat the better. It’s simply a way to add more flavor to the dish. If you do decide to skip the searing step, just don’t forget to add salt and pepper to the slow cooker when you place the short ribs in the slow cooker.