Kitchen

[LizzieInSRQ]

I bought one from Sam's Club a few years ago. I've made: 

Chicken & Dumplings

Chicken Corn Chowder

Chili

Pot Roast

[Kachina624]

Before buying, consider that cast iron + a good size roast will be very heavy.  Can you easily lift a hot pan with this weight?

Also if you have a glass top stove, many metals are not recommended for use on them. 

[coffee drinker]

@ScrapHappy Just a thought -- I received an email from Costco who has 2 Tramontina enameled cast iron Dutch Ovens (4 & 7 qts) selling for $70 for both pots with $4 S&H.  It's item number 1455590 if you're interested in looking.  I don't believe you have to be a member to purchase. These pots have 2485 five star reviews.  

[ECBG]

I make pot roast and stews in the crock pot.  I like that I can leave them, plus everything is delicious.

[tansy]

I loved cooking in my Dutch oven, much better results than with my slow cooker but it's too heavy now to use safely.  I should see if my DIL wants it.

[ECBG]

---

@tansy wrote:

I loved cooking in my Dutch oven, much better results than with my slow cooker but it's too heavy now to use safely.  I should see if my DIL wants it.

---

@tansy 

What is your success from?  Do you brown first?  Just wondering.

[cindyNC]

I have one Le Crueset dutch oven...5 quarts?.  I rarely use it.  But I have a few off brand dutch oven pieces and the one I use the most is a shallow oval one.  

I make pork chops, pork steak, baked beans etc....The oval shape definitely works better for me and there are 2 of us in the house. I normally brown the meat on the stovetop, then add my sauces/liquids and cook in the oven at 225-250 degrees for a few hours.  The last 45 minutes or so I remove the cover to let the sauce cook down. 

My off-brand one is heavier than the Le Cruset dutch oven.

[Kachina624]

@cindyNC   I'd call a shallow, oval pan a casserole, not a Dutch oven. 

[Free2be]

I use the 5 qt. dutch oven more than any of the others, probably because it holds a whole chicken perfectly as well as enough soup for a couple meals plus some for freezing.

I'm 75 y/o and don't find the full cast iron too heavy to lift to and from the oven when full although I wouldn't want to carry it across a room.  That would be tempting the devil.  Isn't that what rolling carts are for?

[Sooner]

@ScrapHappy We cook some one-pot meals quite often in the 5 qt round ovens.  They are great but so are the more shallow ones, which we also use often for a roast with veggies around it.  

We use the soup pot types for a lot of soups (even just quick combined canned soups), pastas, and steamed meals.

It all depends on what you cook most as to what size and shape to get.  There is information online that can help you decide--and charts for size and serving amounts on Williams Sonoma and I think the Le Creuset site too.

Do you saute a lot?  Braise then put the cover and finish in the oven?  Do you usually use more flat roasts or taller ones?  Do you roast or braise whole chickens?  Make stir frys?  Deep fry?

Imagine what and how you cook and that will tell you!