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#1
09-25-2005, 08:41 AM
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Do I need a dutch oven or a roasting pan?
I have a set of great cookware. I have a giant stockpot. I have a slow cooker. I love all of them dearly. However, I don't have a dutch oven or a roaster. How useful are they? Are there things one can cook in a dutch oven that I can't make in my crock pot? Are real roasting pans a lot better than the cheapo aluminum ones at the grocery store? Is it worth trying to find space in our tiny apartment kitchen for these things? I'm going to roast my very first chicken this afternoon, but I need a pan first! Help a girl out!
Mods, if this is IMHO, please move it. It seems like the food questions end up all over the place, so I wasn't sure. 
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#2
09-25-2005, 10:29 AM
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I love my dutch oven. I've only just got it (already burned stuff onto it, grr!) but it really is great - I really spent the money and went for Le Creuset, though. Personally I don't see the need for a roasting pan because the aluminum ones at the grocery store don't need to be cleaned, but I'd be willing to have somebody try to change my mind if they see any real taste benefits...
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#3
09-25-2005, 10:35 AM
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The only real advantage to a dutch oven over a crock pot is that you can brown a pot roast before cooking it. Dutch ovens tend to be thicker material, so heat distribution/retention is good. I've never owned one and don't feel there's a great hole in my cookware.
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#4
09-25-2005, 10:48 AM
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I use a vitreous enamel roasting pan to make gravy from the meat juices after roasting. (it can be put over direct heat without any damage) and so there's one less pan to wash. It doesn't take up space because it just sits in the oven when not in use.
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#5
09-25-2005, 11:00 AM
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Just a side note for Zsofia: Try Bon Ami to clean your enameled cast iron like Le Creuset. I had a problem with burn/scorch marks in a shallower roasting pan, and it worked like a charm. I've since used it with my dutch oven and now it's always all pretty inside.
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#6
09-25-2005, 01:05 PM
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I couldn't live without my dutch oven -- it gets used several times each week. OTOH, I don't have a crockpot OR stockpot, so some of the things I use it for won't apply in your case. And you likely don't have a husband who says he will die if he doesn't get dumplings at least once a week.
I think the biggest advantage of the dutch oven is that you can get it (and contents) up to cooking temperature fast, so it useful even when you didn't plan your meals in time to start them before work. Mine is plain old cast iron, btw, inherited from my grandmother who got it as a wedding gift so it's just about at the century mark and absolutely in just as good a condition as the day it was made. Bet you can't say that about any other material they make pots out of.
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#7
09-25-2005, 01:08 PM
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Forgot about the second part of your question -- nope, I don't have a roasting pan. Since I don't (generally) cook for large groups, I found a 13 X 9 cake pan with a roasting rack set in the bottom works just fine 363 days a year.
When it comes time for the whole ham for Easter and the monster turkey for Thanksgiving, I go aluminum.
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#9
09-25-2005, 03:50 PM
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Oh, I forgot to say why I love my dutch oven so much - I love my crock pot, in fact it's cooking right now, but you can't really smack it on the stove, brown your onions in it, make a stew in it after you get home from work, take it from oven to stovetop to fridge, etc. The dutch oven is very convenient that way, in terms of cleanup. Also enameled cast iron can go in the dishwasher, according to the Le Creuset website.
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#11
09-25-2005, 05:00 PM
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We have a pair of old style, oval, black and white flecked enamel, roasting pans that go way back (Probably older than me) and we use them for everything. They are the all purpose pans in our kitchen. We make roasts, stews, meatloafs in them- whatever needs to cook at length in the oven. I wouldn't know how to cook without them. Definitely handy, but absolutely necessary? Probably not, but I don't think there is a better way to make a pot roast or roast a ham.
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#12
09-25-2005, 05:04 PM
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...or roast a turkey, or chicken. The pans are deep enough to collect and hold the juices and it's straight from the oven to the stovetop to make the gravy right in the pan. You get a great gravy from a roasting pan. That's a basic advantage.
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#13
09-25-2005, 05:16 PM
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...you just can't get a fond in a crockpot at all, but you can in a roasting pan.
Sorry for the triple post but my mind is on slow roast... ;.)
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#17
09-25-2005, 10:42 PM
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Quote:
Back to the OP: I do a lot of roasts, so having proper roasting pans is much less wasteful for me than buying aluminum ones all the time. But there's nothing wrong with the aluminum trays at all, if you don't roast very often and don't have a lot of space to store things. But if your roast chicken works out so well you want to make it a regular meal, I'd definitely recommend getting a nice roasting tray and rack.
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#19
09-26-2005, 08:12 AM
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Quote:
Link for the confused. So who wants to define Roasting Pan?
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#22
10-01-2005, 03:37 PM
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I don't know what I'd do without my baked enamel 22 cm Le Creuset dutch oven . I've been using it almost daily for the 14 years I've had it. I boil pasta in it. It makes a great pan-fried steak. It's indispensable for making risottos. I can roast a small chicken, or cornish hens in it. I bake casseroles of all kinds in it. It's excellent for making spanish rice, where you brown the rice in oil first, then add your broth, veggies & spices, and cover & simmer. It's definitely my Mac & Cheese making pot. My only regret is I don't have two.
I got mine with the steamer that fits on top of the pot, and the pot's lid fits on top of that. It's great for steaming things along with whatever main dish you're cooking. Or, if you're making something that would require an herb faggot, you can just dump your herbs in the steamer and let that herbal goodness drip down into your dish. I don't own an electric stock pot, but I do have some large stock pots for when I'm making large soups/stews, or boiling lots of potatoes/pasta, but my dutch oven still gets far more use. Pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of my dutch oven they way it does in metal stock pots. For roasting larger chickens, I have those glass/pyrex baking dishes, which work great. For a large turkey or something, I'd probably just use one of those disposable foil type pans. You don't have to worry about clean up, or finding a place to store it. My $.02.
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#23
10-01-2005, 03:59 PM
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I'd go for the Dutch Oven as well. You can roast in a pan as long as you take steps to get even constant heat.
One thing I learned from Alton Brown which has worked so well is to get a clay flower pot that a chicken will fit underneath. Place it in the oven and set the oven to the highest temp or do a self clean cycle. Then set your roasting temp, put the chicken under the red hot clay and you will have an incredibly moist and delicious bird with a great browned and crisp exterior. The steady heat radiation given off from the pot does the trick.
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#24
10-01-2005, 05:57 PM
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We have both. The roasting pan gets used about 4 times a year (six if we make chex mix a couple of times), and the dutch oven almost never. They seem to mostly exist to take up space. Unlike the crock pot and the glass/ceramic cookware sets, which are more size appropriate for most meals.
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