I just got the wife the dutch oven she asked for for Christmas. What kinds of dishes do you use yours for?
Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
- Thread starter deruitem
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Stew, chili, ragu... I'm going to try baking in it and I've recently used it paired with an ET-732 (the food probe) which makes for a very good deep fryer. The heat retention makes for great temp control
Just about everything.
My favorite-
Brown a lamb shoulder chop in olive oil. While browing, cut a lemon into quarters, cut up some onion and tomato, and get some chicken stock and maybe some white wine out. When the chop is browned and the oven is at 300-350 degrees, add the liquid, lemon, onion, and tomato (you could add the onion and some garlic earlier to brown it with the chop). Add a can of cannelli beans and some herbs (I like spearmint, sage, and rosemary) with some salt and pepper.
Cook for 90-120 minutes as you go about doing whatever and let the lovely aroma of braised lamb with herbs and some white wine fill the house. Realize that as delicious as it smells and as hungry as you are that it won't be ready for another hour. Dig through the refrigerator looking for something to tide you over.
Finally, inhale the chop and accoutrements.
Brown a lamb shoulder chop in olive oil. While browing, cut a lemon into quarters, cut up some onion and tomato, and get some chicken stock and maybe some white wine out. When the chop is browned and the oven is at 300-350 degrees, add the liquid, lemon, onion, and tomato (you could add the onion and some garlic earlier to brown it with the chop). Add a can of cannelli beans and some herbs (I like spearmint, sage, and rosemary) with some salt and pepper.
Cook for 90-120 minutes as you go about doing whatever and let the lovely aroma of braised lamb with herbs and some white wine fill the house. Realize that as delicious as it smells and as hungry as you are that it won't be ready for another hour. Dig through the refrigerator looking for something to tide you over.
Finally, inhale the chop and accoutrements.
Nice gift for your wife.
Yeti Dave sums it all up. The fact is that your wife can use your enameled cast iron to cook anything. It's real benefit is the thermal mass of the cast iron paired with a non-reactive coating.
The cast iron's ability to hold heat is it's real strength. The enameled dutch oven does it all, but particularly lends itself to braising, stewing, roasting or baking or any dish that lends itself to longer cooking times.
I occasionally work at home, so will prepare supper in the evening timing the meal so that it's almost cooked when it comes time to pick up my wife at the train station. The latent heat in the cast iron continues to finish cooking the food, and keeps it warm during my trip plus her taking some time to change into casual clothes and relax a bit before dinner.
A few tips:
If you treat the dutch oven well, it will provide decades of great cooking. Get ready for some great meals.
Yeti Dave sums it all up. The fact is that your wife can use your enameled cast iron to cook anything. It's real benefit is the thermal mass of the cast iron paired with a non-reactive coating.
The cast iron's ability to hold heat is it's real strength. The enameled dutch oven does it all, but particularly lends itself to braising, stewing, roasting or baking or any dish that lends itself to longer cooking times.
I occasionally work at home, so will prepare supper in the evening timing the meal so that it's almost cooked when it comes time to pick up my wife at the train station. The latent heat in the cast iron continues to finish cooking the food, and keeps it warm during my trip plus her taking some time to change into casual clothes and relax a bit before dinner.
A few tips:
- Always preheat for 3-5 minutes before adding food.
- Never use a high heat, but always start at medium. As the dutch oven heats up, you'll find that you can turn the burner down to low.
- Always wash by hand, never in the dishwasher.
- Be respectful of the enamel finish. It's hard, but brittle so can be chipped if handled roguhly.
- If you have some staining or accidentally burn something on the interior enamel. Bon Ami or plain baking sode makes for an effective and gentle cleaner.
If you treat the dutch oven well, it will provide decades of great cooking. Get ready for some great meals.
Get a bone in roast brown it with garlic onions pour a couple cups of wine in put in a little salt and some pepper have the oven warmed up to 220 roast for three hours then check add more wine or and veggies carrots celery potatoes or your favorites put back in for two more hours pull it ou add seasonings to taste and serve.
There's no end to what can be cooked in these. We have a fleet of Le Creuset cookware and can't be happier to honest.
They distribute heat amazingly well and are super easy to clean. +1 on the tips redrako added above!
There are a number of things that I couldn't think of cooking without these, but rice, roasts and basically any sauteed dishes were immediate hits.
They distribute heat amazingly well and are super easy to clean. +1 on the tips redrako added above!
There are a number of things that I couldn't think of cooking without these, but rice, roasts and basically any sauteed dishes were immediate hits.
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- Thread starter
- #8
Keep em coming, I think I am going to print this post and add it to the pot!
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- #10
Looks a lot like my taco chilliCooked last night in my Le Creuset 5.5 qt round French oven
You can do soups, stews, braises, no knead bread in the Dutch ovens. LC calls them French ovens. I love all of my LC pieces, your wife will love it!
I do everything from braising a full meal to boiling pasta in mine. The thermal inertia of the cast iron gives you a stable platform to do just about anything and the enamel coating makes for an easy clean up.
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- #14
Anyone have any last minute ideas of what works great to cook in a dutch oven? I want to put the ideas with my wifes Christmas gift
Osso buco
Coq au vin
Cassoulet
Joe Booker stew
Etouffe
Coq au vin
Cassoulet
Joe Booker stew
Etouffe
How about pot roast? Lots of people are good at cooking them.
Otherwise...stews and chili, or really anything that can be cooked in a crock pot.
Soups, curry dishes, gumbo, jambalaya, chix and dumplings, stews, bread, etc.
We make beef bourguignon in our Le Creuset every Christmas and it works really well. From browning the meat, to the oven, to reducing the sauce and re-combining at the end…handles it all and there's just one dirty pot at the end.
Ben
Ben
Any slow cooker recipe can be cooked in a dutch oven either on the stove or in the oven (if your oven goes low enough). That's a good starting point, especially because slow cookers and dutch ovens are coming back as popular kitchen tools so new recipes are available around the internet that are more than some mushy pot roast variation. The benefit of using the dutch oven over a slow cooker is the ability to brown the meat in the dutch oven and keep all that flavor from browning in the food. No need to transfer between a skillet and the slow cooker and lose the deliciousness left in the pan.
The only caveat about dutch ovens is make sure you get one that specifically says it is oven safe up to 500F so you can do everything, including baking, in it. Dutch ovens make delicious pizzas. Many of the dutch ovens on the market have handles and/or lids that are not safe in the oven, even in the 300s. Plastic will melt, lids crack, etc.
The only caveat about dutch ovens is make sure you get one that specifically says it is oven safe up to 500F so you can do everything, including baking, in it. Dutch ovens make delicious pizzas. Many of the dutch ovens on the market have handles and/or lids that are not safe in the oven, even in the 300s. Plastic will melt, lids crack, etc.
