Slow Cookers vs Dutch Ovens | Sur La Table – Lid & Ladle (2024)

FAQs

Which is better, a Dutch oven or a slow cooker? ›

Investing in a Dutch Oven is the best way to go, considering how durable and long-lasting they are. With electric cookware such as crock pots, there's a higher risk of them failing. However, with Dutch Ovens, all you need is proper maintenance to make it last decades.

The Le Creuset Dutch oven is the original one-pot slow cooker that easily goes from stove to oven to table. Sear on the stovetop to seal in juices and build flavor, add your favorite liquid, cover with the heavy lid, and pop the Dutch oven into the oven to finish cooking.

Investing in a pressure cooker or Dutch oven is likely the better bet for most cooks. Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

While a slow cooker offers convenience, it's not the only route to slow cooking. With alternative methods like Dutch ovens, stovetop simmering, oven baking, pressure cooking, and utilising crockery, you can still savour the joys of slow-cooked meals.

In reality, most recipes (with a few exceptions) can be cooked in cast iron. This is especially true of slow cooker recipes since a slow cooker is really nothing more than an electric dutch oven if you think about it. However, some conversion of cooking time is required.

First, using a Dutch oven creates flavor development. From browning the meat to cooking all the flavor boosters in one pot, making beef stew in the Dutch oven is perfect. You just can't get the same type of flavor depth and complexity by, say, throwing everything into a slow cooker.

It holds the heat evenly, and the enamel makes it great for easy cleanup.” He went on to say that at his restaurant, chefs use the brand's pans, and all of the sauces are made in Le Creuset sauce pots.

1. Putting a hot pan in cold water. While Le Creuset's enamel is designed to be durable in most conditions, says Nate Collier, spokesperson for Le Creuset, "Thermal shock may still occur," which could cause the enamel to crack or flake off.

Traditionally, a Dutch oven is a cast iron seasoned pot. This has changed over time, and now the Le Creuset pots (and knock-offs similar to it) are enameled cast iron and don't require seasoning. Lodge is a very well-known cast iron brand and is one of the few to still sell seasoned dutch ovens.

Food texture changes: Canned foods, such as vegetables, can become too mushy in a slow cooker. It's better to use them fresh or frozen. But, frozen veggies tend to make the texture of the dish more “watery”. Defrosting and draining the extra liquid before cooking can help minimize this.

What is the difference between a Crockpot and a slow cooker? ›

However, Crockpots generally have ceramic or porcelain pots, while most slow cookers have a metal pot. As with a lot of cooking appliances, the biggest difference comes from the distribution of heat.

Cost-Effective. Slow cookers are a great way to stretch your food budget. You can buy cheaper cuts of meat and let the slow cooker work its magic, resulting in tender and flavourful meals that champion the underrated bits of an animal.

Fish, shellfish, oysters and clams need to be cooked quickly. Obviously, slow cooking isn't quick, and it will obliterate these delicate proteins. The only seafood exceptions are squid and octopus because they tend to be tough meats and slow cooking makes them tender.

As for what kind of pot to use, most commenters agreed that a heavy casserole dish or Dutch oven would do the job nicely. One person particularly recommended using a cast-iron Dutch oven for its ability to evenly distribute heat and for the fact that it supposedly imparts a better flavor on the food.

For making great chili, it's a tie between the Dutch oven and the multi-cooker in slow-cook mode. Each requires some tweaking in the cooking methods, though. The Dutch oven chili had the best aroma, heat, and flavor, but it looked less than appetizing due to its dry texture. And the longer it sat, the thicker it got.

Its cast-iron walls are better at retaining heat than stainless steel, which helps keep temperatures more stable. It also redistributes that heat efficiently, so the oil can rebound quickly after temperatures drop when food is added.

Not only are slow cookers ideal for people who want to leave dinner to simmer away and attend to other errands, they work out to be one of the cheapest appliances to cook with in the kitchen. The electricity usage of an electric oven is estimated to be around two to 2.2kWh, compared to a slow cooker at just 0.7kWh.

While incredibly popular in home kitchens, Dutch ovens really aren't common in restaurant settings, beyond serving dishes.