10 Things to Do With Your Dutch Oven
If you’ve made the splurge to buy a gorgeous Dutch Oven from Le Creuset, Staub, Lodge, or another brand, you’ll want to pull it out at every possible opportunity. Fortunately, this is piece of cooking equipment is truly versatile. Use it on the oven, the table, even on the grill or the campfire, this heavy-duty, heat-resistant vessel does it all.
Here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy our Dutch Oven.
1. Roast a Chicken
With its high sides and heat conducting properties, an enameled cast iron dutch oven is ideal for creating a moist, evenly roasted chicken. One of our favorites is chef Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk, in which chicken is roasted in a flavorful sauce of milk, lemon and sage.
2. Bake Some Bread
One of the latest trends to rock the bread-baking world is the famous "no knead" bread recipe that is baked in a Dutch oven. Turns out, the inside of a Dutch oven with a lid creates the perfect mini-oven for perfectly baking a loaf. About.com's Southern Food Expert has a great No Knead Dutch Oven Bread recipe.
3. Pop Some Popcorn
A little oil and a handful of popcorn kernels in a Dutch oven, put the lid on, and you'll have fluffy, crunchy popcorn in a matter of minutes. Sprinkle it with sugar to make addictively sweet-and-salty kettle corn. It's a perfect movie-night or after-school treat and you don't need a popcorn popper to make it!
4. Poach Some Salmon
Simmer some flavorful liquid -broth, wine, even tea - in the Dutch oven and add some fish fillets for a delicious, simple, and elegant way to cook it. Try this recipe for Ginger Tea Poached Salmon. You can poach chicken breasts in chicken stock for making chicken salad or pot pie, or even poach pears in red wine for an elegant dessert. Use the lid of your Dutch oven to trace a round of parchment paper and rest the paper just on the surface of the poaching liquid; it'll help contain the heat for more even cooking results.
5. Make Some Chili
Dutch ovens were made for chili, they have a generous capacity for feeding a crowd, they'll simmer your spicy concoction with a nice even temperature, and they're pretty enough to bring the whole thing to the table (or a potluck) to serve it up. You can't go wrong with our Easy Chili Recipe.
6. Make the Yummiest (and Easiest) Mac & Cheese Ever
Since most Dutch ovens are ovenproof, it's great to be able to mix up a stovetop macaroni and cheese recipe, then sprinkle it with breadcrumbs and pop the whole thing under the broiler to brown. If you try this Easy One-Pot Mac & Cheese recipe, which has an unusual method for boiling the noodles, you'll never go back to the traditional way of making from-scratch mac and cheese.
7. Fry Up Some Donuts
Many cooking experts agree that the best deep fryer is not the electric deep fryers, but a simple Dutch oven. They're big enough to fry big batches at once, and it's easy to maintain the proper temperature, especially with a frying thermometer. Give it a try with a batch of yummy cake donuts, which can be topped with a variety of icings and sugars.
8. Bake a Cobbler
A pile of seasonal fruit, topped with a biscuit, and baked in your Dutch Oven... dessert perfection! We love this roundup of cobbler recipes, or simply make up your own by tossing sliced fruit with a little bit of sugar and a spoonful of cornstarch to thicken the juices, then top it with your favorite biscuit dough.
10. Stir up Sloppy Joes
If your Dutch oven can withstand the heat of the grill (check with the manufacturer to see what the recommended maximum temperature is), fill it up with beer, sliced onions, and bratwurst. Simmer the sausages for 20 minutes or so, then transfer them right onto the grill to finish cooking and get nice grill marks. It's summertime eating at its best!
Your Dutch oven is great browning the meat and making the sauce for a big batch of sloppy Joe filling. It's the perfect game-day meal or for feeding a couple of hungry families. Try our Southwestern Sloppy Joes recipe.
If you’ve made the splurge to buy a gorgeous Dutch Oven from Le Creuset, Staub, Lodge, or another brand, you’ll want to pull it out at every possible opportunity. Fortunately, this is piece of cooking equipment is truly versatile. Use it on the oven, the table, even on the grill or the campfire, this heavy-duty, heat-resistant vessel does it all.
Here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy our Dutch Oven.
1. Roast a Chicken
With its high sides and heat conducting properties, an enameled cast iron dutch oven is ideal for creating a moist, evenly roasted chicken. One of our favorites is chef Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk, in which chicken is roasted in a flavorful sauce of milk, lemon and sage.
2. Bake Some Bread
One of the latest trends to rock the bread-baking world is the famous "no knead" bread recipe that is baked in a Dutch oven. Turns out, the inside of a Dutch oven with a lid creates the perfect mini-oven for perfectly baking a loaf. About.com's Southern Food Expert has a great No Knead Dutch Oven Bread recipe.
3. Pop Some Popcorn
A little oil and a handful of popcorn kernels in a Dutch oven, put the lid on, and you'll have fluffy, crunchy popcorn in a matter of minutes. Sprinkle it with sugar to make addictively sweet-and-salty kettle corn. It's a perfect movie-night or after-school treat and you don't need a popcorn popper to make it!
4. Poach Some Salmon
Simmer some flavorful liquid -broth, wine, even tea - in the Dutch oven and add some fish fillets for a delicious, simple, and elegant way to cook it. Try this recipe for Ginger Tea Poached Salmon. You can poach chicken breasts in chicken stock for making chicken salad or pot pie, or even poach pears in red wine for an elegant dessert. Use the lid of your Dutch oven to trace a round of parchment paper and rest the paper just on the surface of the poaching liquid; it'll help contain the heat for more even cooking results.
5. Make Some Chili
Dutch ovens were made for chili, they have a generous capacity for feeding a crowd, they'll simmer your spicy concoction with a nice even temperature, and they're pretty enough to bring the whole thing to the table (or a potluck) to serve it up. You can't go wrong with our Easy Chili Recipe.
6. Make the Yummiest (and Easiest) Mac & Cheese Ever
Since most Dutch ovens are ovenproof, it's great to be able to mix up a stovetop macaroni and cheese recipe, then sprinkle it with breadcrumbs and pop the whole thing under the broiler to brown. If you try this Easy One-Pot Mac & Cheese recipe, which has an unusual method for boiling the noodles, you'll never go back to the traditional way of making from-scratch mac and cheese.
7. Fry Up Some Donuts
Many cooking experts agree that the best deep fryer is not the electric deep fryers, but a simple Dutch oven. They're big enough to fry big batches at once, and it's easy to maintain the proper temperature, especially with a frying thermometer. Give it a try with a batch of yummy cake donuts, which can be topped with a variety of icings and sugars.
8. Bake a Cobbler
A pile of seasonal fruit, topped with a biscuit, and baked in your Dutch Oven... dessert perfection! We love this roundup of cobbler recipes, or simply make up your own by tossing sliced fruit with a little bit of sugar and a spoonful of cornstarch to thicken the juices, then top it with your favorite biscuit dough.
10. Stir up Sloppy Joes
If your Dutch oven can withstand the heat of the grill (check with the manufacturer to see what the recommended maximum temperature is), fill it up with beer, sliced onions, and bratwurst. Simmer the sausages for 20 minutes or so, then transfer them right onto the grill to finish cooking and get nice grill marks. It's summertime eating at its best!
Your Dutch oven is great browning the meat and making the sauce for a big batch of sloppy Joe filling. It's the perfect game-day meal or for feeding a couple of hungry families. Try our Southwestern Sloppy Joes recipe.