I hardly ever brown stuff, unless it's a recipe I haven't done before then I follow it strictly. After that I just do whatever I like, not browning of course saves you time and having to wash another pan. I find chicken doesn't need it, not fillets anyway, and I cook chicken for a lot less time than recipes say. My cooker might just be a quicker cooking one but I find cooking it for longer than 4-5 hours (sometimes it doesn't need that) makes it way too dry. I do not know about chicken pieces with bones as I've never cooked them in there before.