Dutch ovens & casserols - Le Creuset

Aussie_Hugh

Sorry if I have the spelling of 'Le Creuset' wrong, not too much French blood in me although at times a little red wine :-)[p]Anyway some time ago I read a post in this forum that the porcelain coated cast iron cook ware was fine in the egg. I have a couple of such items and cannot imagine that the egg would do them any harm as they are meant to go on the cook-top direct and in the oven. Unless of course the temp was way too high but that should not be the case when doing stews/casseroles.[p]So does anyone have any ‘horror’ stories about the egg damaging Le Creuset gear?[p]Another post suggested that it was OK to cook with lid off as the moisture is retained in the egg. Is that the consensus of this forum –lid on or off?[p]Finally when cooking stews/casseroles in the egg does the wood smoke flavour come through in the final product? If so what woods generally go with (a) red meat and (b) white meat stews/casseroles?[p]To anyone who responds, many thanks in advance for your time and feedback.[p]Cheers,
Hugh.[p]PS: I am pleased to see a few posts in recent times about searing with the dome open. I felt the egg should be able to handle both the dome open and closed grilling but there is seldom mention of lid up grilling.

Gretl

AussieHugh,
I have two Le Creuset casseroles, both of which have performed beautifully in the Eggs. The outsides get a dark film of smoke, but this cleans off easily. No problem. I have not, however, gone much above 400, so I can't vouch for high temp usage.[p]FWIW, I leave the lid off for cooking things like baked beans. Smoke flavor in casseroles comes from adding soaked chips or chunks at the beginning of the cook, and keeping the temp low (not above 350).[p]Cheers,
Gretl

Peggy

AussieHugh,
Hi there....in my opinion, I would never put my Le Creuset on the egg. It is such expensive cookware up to $200 - $250 for a casserole. On a low heat, the egg probably would not damage it, but I would not want to take the risk of damaging the beautiful porcelan exterior. Go purchase cast iron by Lodge. That's what I am going to do. Peggy

Peggy

Gretl,
well, if you have tried it without any damage, perhaps I will too!

Unknown

Actually I have damaged a lot stock pot but in the kitchen. The bottom finish got some cracks and sharp edges in it. We own a glass flat top range and were concerned that the pot would scratch the surface. The pot got donated to our bbq competition equipment stuff where we use it to heat up water on our Klose pit at cookoffs. [p]I would use a dutch oven to do cooking in a bge or pit. They are cheap and do the job really well. I actually use aluminum 1/2 pans because they are cheaper and cleanup is simply throwing them away.

Ed

AussieHugh,
We use LaCruset all the time in the egg to make beans. Never any problems. It will scare you the first time you pull it out--totally blackens it. Washes off easily with soap and water.
Ed

Puj

AussieHugh,[p]First off, you spelled Le Creuset correctly (now take back that apology)![p]Anyhow, others have confirmed the marriage of Le Creuset and the Egg so I'll offer my opinion related to the lid on/lid off issue. Most of my dutch oven cooks in the Egg are lid off. The only dutch oven "cooks" that I do with the lid on is bread baking. The lid keeps the moisture (which comes from the dough) in the dutch oven, which in turn, provides the steam to form "that wonderful crust." [p]Puj