Can you use a dutch oven like a slow cooker?!


Question: There are so many great slow cooker recipes out there, but a lot of them require you to brown your meat, then transfer to the slow cooker and cook on, say "low for 9 hours". Can I use my dutch oven in a similar way so I can just use the one pot for everything? It seems much more practical to brown the food in the pot you're going to use so you don't lose the flavor from the stuff that sticks to the pan. If this does work, what temperatures in the oven would I substitute for 'low' and 'high'?


Answers: There are so many great slow cooker recipes out there, but a lot of them require you to brown your meat, then transfer to the slow cooker and cook on, say "low for 9 hours". Can I use my dutch oven in a similar way so I can just use the one pot for everything? It seems much more practical to brown the food in the pot you're going to use so you don't lose the flavor from the stuff that sticks to the pan. If this does work, what temperatures in the oven would I substitute for 'low' and 'high'?

You bet you can and in the oven is the best place to do your slow cooking. Not on the stove top. The best part is food always tastes better cooked in cast iron. Slow in an oven would be about 175 in your oven and high is 250 to 275

Sure. The thing is, your oven will be on all that time and most people wouldn't feel good about leaving the oven on for 6-hrs while they are not home.

If you are going to be home- just lower the temp to 300 or so.

Not really. You can adjust it so that you can cook it, while you're home for 2 or 3 hours. You need more liquid and cook over a low flame. Andit isn't practical. The pojnt of a slow cooker is fix it and forget it. A life saver for working women! Put everything together, cover, set, and come home to a cooked meal. What's better than that!

There is a new Rival versaware crockpot out that you can saute in on the stove and then put the crock into the crockpot base to save on washing extra pans and a digital timer on it that will adjust to warm when done.

Yeah, it's the original slow cooker!

As for the temps: especially since you are looking to simmer the food like a slow cooker, I'd put your burner somewhere near the lowest setting (electric, I assume?) for low, and not higher than medium for high. If you go much higher than medium, you're going to cook your food a lot faster than a slow cooker would.

I think you might be able to figure it out this way, too: think about a pot roast. You can cook it in a slow cooker or a dutch oven, or roast it in your oven. If you were going to slow roast it in the oven, what temp would you set it on? Then what does your recipe or owner's manual say for the slow cooker? For the dutch oven? Most pot roast recipes I've seen have instructions for at least two of those ways. One or the other will give you an idea of how to translate from the slow cooker to the stove-top (I just always go by intuition or call a family member).

No, you cannot use a dutch oven like a slow cooker. It doesn't work the same way. And you cannot leave it turned on all day while you are out, for example. They were not designed for that. Put a little water in the bottom of the dutch oven after you remove the meat and scrape off the bits from the bottom and add it to the slow cooker as part of the liquid, and you will retain the flavor.

YES! Just yesterday, I slow cooked some goat. I set the oven at about 180-200, left home at around 8am, came home around 8:30. My goat was perfectly cooked and tender, and the house didn't even smell. I'd added a bit of liquid (1/2 can of chicken broth and some dice tomatoes). Don't know if that was even necessary.

It's going to be my new way to do things like pigs feet, etc, that need a long time to become tender. What's great is it doesn't get mushy/soggy.

Good luck. Email me what your experience is.

Yes. The Dutch oven is the original slow cooker. And you do not have to cook in it for 8 hours. 2 hrs would be more than sufficient for even tough cuts of beef. So no need to fear about leaving the house with the oven on. You could brown the meat, add the veggies and the stock of liquids, bring to a boil and simmer over the lowest setting. Keep tightly covered. It's done in 2 hours.





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