Should I lightly boil or steam meat (eg, beef) before searing? The common technique I know of is braising, or, basically, sear the meat (eg beef, pork, chicken), 2 minutes per side, then add liquid, cover, and put in oven at low heat for 1 - 2 hours. This works great for flavorful, tender meat. However, it does not develop a crust or 'bark' on the surface, I think because the 2nd part of covered heating in the oven causes the surface of the meat to get lots of liquid. And any sauce or dry seasoning I put on the surface of the meat falls off. This leads to the meat having a single texture of tender and moist.

Is there a technique of slow, covered cooking first, followed by searing or heating to get the desired crust or bark on the surface? My goal is to have the tender, moist texture on the inside, complemented by a drier, crunchier surface with lots of dry seasoning.
Yes, but I don't know if there's an official name for it. We do this a lot in pressure cooking, to get the appealing mallard reactions (caramelization). Typically, after cooking you can put the meat under the broiler to crisp it up (common examples are a whole chicken or carnitas).

Example recipe for Carnitas: https://callhimyeschef.com/2013/02/19/carnitas-under-pressure/