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Opinons please - Dutch Oven or crock/slow cooker?

SFsc616171

SFsc616171

Hello Folks!

I am expanding my cooking experience, away from pans and the microwave, towards the idea of either a dutch oven or a slow cooker. (I'm not really an oven-type, but have a countertop model for when I have to cook in one, for me-myself-and I.)

So, here is the question for your opinions and answers.

"Which of these two cooking tools would you suggest and why?"

(I'm retired, major domo, chief cook and bottle washer and burser.)

Thank you for your inputs.
 
PastorPC

PastorPC

I love cooking and cook with pots/pans, pressure cookers, slow cookers, dutch ovens, steamers, smokers, grills, woks, deep fryers, and some others. Please don't take my slow cooker away from me. I simply love it. For game days... I can make queso or all kinds of appetizers. On cold days, I can make chili, stew, and a ton of other recipes. To have fun with a slow cooker, go to www.allrecipes.com and filter slow cooker or use it in the search. Thousands of recipes. The easiest recipe that sounds gross is filling it with meatballs and mixing a bottle of bbq sauce and grape jelly together and let it heat till hot. At church, I have NEVER had to take any of my meatballs home. Slow cookers are pretty easy to clean. let it soak overnight and throw it into the dishwasher. Because it is electric, you can cook on counter top or anywhere where there is a plug.
 
garyg

garyg

B&B membership has its percs
I tend towards the dutch oven for basics (smaller Le Creuset), but when it gets time to feed a mob the slo cookers get used to free up stovetop space and allow some things to be prepped and cooked in advance. For example, last week the dutch over was used for Sunday sauce, only 4 guests & leftovers. Thanksgiving, the crock pots do a decent job with both stuffing and mashed potatoes .. and Owen is right, for pot roast the dutch win
 
Rai Tech

Rai Tech

Dutch oven fantastic for everything I have ever cooked. Crock is great if leaving for an all day slow cook, but monitoring a Dutch and blending spices and techniques... nothing compares.
 
k2clones29

k2clones29

It depends on what you want. If you want convenience of something you can set and walk away from (even not be home for), nothing beats a crock pot. But if you want a better finished product, nothing beats a dutch oven. Also, a great dutch is about the same price as an average crock pot, so it is more cost effective. I have both and use both regularly, so ultimately I would recommend the same. But in the beginning, you have to decide whether you want to be involved or not involved in the process.
 
langod

langod

k2clones29 said:
It depends on what you want. If you want convenience of something you can set and walk away from (even not be home for), nothing beats a crock pot. But if you want a better finished product, nothing beats a dutch oven. Also, a great dutch is about the same price as an average crock pot, so it is more cost effective. I have both and use both regularly, so ultimately I would recommend the same. But in the beginning, you have to decide whether you want to be involved or not involved in the process.
Click to expand...


+1. Pretty much what i was going to say. I have both and use each a lot. I have a Lodge cast iron Dutch oven and not only does it make excellent stews, pot roast, etc., but i also use it to bake bread -- gives an excellent crusty exterior. Also makes a fine deep fryer.

If you go with cast iron instead of the fancier enameled kind, it should only be about $30, so I'd recommend getting both. But if I had to pick just one, I'd go with the dutch oven. Overall it's more versatile, so is a better bang for the buck if you're likely to want to use it for anything other than stews or soups.
 
Luc

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I bought the biggest Dutch oven that I found at the local store. It's a 7 Qt made by Chasseur and I don't regret it one bit.

There are things like baked beans that are great in a crockpot but I can do that in the dutch oven. I bought a crockpot thinking that I would use it once in a while. It was a year ago and I barely used it 10 times. The chasseur is easier to use IMO. It's perfect for stews, soups, etc.

As the sides are high, I'm not worried that something will overflow.

The chasseur is used 2-5 times a week. During the summer, it's less as I use the BBQ more often (often like an oven with indirect cooking).

I looked at a common brand such as Creuset and the main difference between the two is in the lid. The lid has rims on the chasseur where LeCreuset doesn't. It means that when you are cooking, any liquid evaporating gets trapped in those rims and goes back in the pot.

If I would buy another one, I might get one with a black enamel inside instead of off-white/beige.
 
danek

danek

The crock pot is handy, but very limited - it only does one thing well, and that's low temperature for long times.

The dutch oven, however has limitless possibilities. I think the biggest advantage is the ability to sear at high heat then throw in the oven for the low and slow. Everything from a fast, stovetop vegetable or fish braise, to a ragu for pasta, to an entire one pot roast and veggies, to a clafoutis dessert, to a loaf of bread, I could go on for days.

But maybe the most convincing argument might be to ask cooks what their favorite cooking implement is. Often, you'll hear them wax poetically about Grandmas's hand-me-down dutch oven, but I have yet to hear similar emotion toward a crock pot.
 
YetiDave

YetiDave

Dutch oven, especially with winter coming up. There's nothing more comforting than a loaf of bread, beef in beer stew with herb dumplings, lidded pie, hearty soups, stick to your ribs bolognese sauce or pot roast. All of which can be done in a Dutch oven. Hell you could even cook a pasta bake in one. As said above they work great for deep frying too, and you can even smoke beans or chilli in them if you've got a BBQ
 
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mikewood

mikewood

You need all three!
Crock pot. Great for slow and low cooking. Stews etc.

Cast iron dutch oven. Great for beef and gravy like sauce and hearty stews. The iron really helps the flavor

Ceramic coated iron Lodge or le crueset brand. Better for acidic stews, tomatoes etc. you can make spaghetti sauce that's awesome in this stuff.
 
Topgumby

Topgumby

Seriously, while a good cast iron dutch oven, especially an enameled one, might be considered spendy, a crockpot shouldn't be.

Heck, while combing thrift stores for razors and such if I had a dime for every crockpot I saw I'd be as rich as August West. I'm guessing that they are priced accordingly. I rarely saw good cast iron dutch ovens, but I did buy a five quart Lodge (modern) for six bucks the other day. I'm giving it to the wife for her cabin camping excursions.

The Lodge 7QT dutch oven is 50 bucks on WallyWorld's website, free shipping to your nearest store. They have enameled 6QT Lodge dutch ovens for the same price, depending on color. You can spend much, much more on brands like Staub but I'd rather take the couple hundred bucks difference and spend that on dead animal flesh to put in it.

New Wallyworld crockpots look to be about the same for super deluxe models, with barebones coming in at under $20. I'm sure you can spend hundreds on a crockpot, too, but the basic models my wife and I use seem to work just fine.
 
oc_in_fw

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
Topgumby said:
Seriously, while a good cast iron dutch oven, especially an enameled one, might be considered spendy, a crockpot shouldn't be.

Heck, while combing thrift stores for razors and such if I had a dime for every crockpot I saw I'd be as rich as August West. I'm guessing that they are priced accordingly. I rarely saw good cast iron dutch ovens, but I did buy a five quart Lodge (modern) for six bucks the other day. I'm giving it to the wife for her cabin camping excursions.

The Lodge 7QT dutch oven is 50 bucks on WallyWorld's website, free shipping to your nearest store. They have enameled 6QT Lodge dutch ovens for the same price, depending on color. You can spend much, much more on brands like Staub but I'd rather take the couple hundred bucks difference and spend that on dead animal flesh to put in it.

New Wallyworld crockpots look to be about the same for super deluxe models, with barebones coming in at under $20. I'm sure you can spend hundreds on a crockpot, too, but the basic models my wife and I use seem to work just fine.
Click to expand...

I agree that the world is big enough for both. When I do lima beans and hamhocks I do it low and slow in the crock pot. Plug it in and forget about it for a while. Now I just have to cook my first cornbread in one of my CI pans.
 
mretzloff

mretzloff

The Dutch oven is a lot more versatile. In my opinion, after a while, everything from a slow cooker starts tasting the same.
 
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