randall nortman

(I'm working on a wedding registry, so you might get a lot of posts
from me for the next few days... sorry to be a bother.)

I've get a 3.5qt Le Creuset pot and I love it. Love love love love
it. But I need something bigger -- my standard soup/chili batches
seem to come almost up to the lip of the 3.5qt pot, so I'd like
something with a bit more headroom. I would also like to possibly
experiment with roasting whole birds or big hunks of beef/pork, though
being a mostly vegetarian, this is something I'd do only rarely, and
probably only for company. I imagine that anything big enough to hold
a turkey is way bigger than I want for making chili on the stovetop,
so perhaps I should aim more for something that can hold a
moderate-sized chicken or duck, or perhaps leg of lamb. I assume that
oval is better for those purposes, but is oval awkward on the
stovetop? Does it heat unevenly, given that the burner is round
rather than oval?

I would love to have a whole set of Le Creuset in all sizes and
shapes, but even putting aside the cost, I don't have room to store
more than two right now, perhaps adding a third when I get a new house
with a bigger kitchen. So, if you had to add just one size and shape
to an existing 3.5qt round, what would you choose?

TIA,

--
Randall Nortman

wayne boatwright

Get a 5 qt. oval oven. This will give you the headroom and the shape will
allow cooking a variety of foods. You don't need Le Creuset to roast a
turkey. I have nearly 30 pieces of Le Creuset and never use it for a
turkey. A cheap to moderate costing roaster will get that job done.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

kls

On 24 Apr 2005 17:42:13 +0200, Wayne Boatwright

I disagree: get the 8.5 qt. round oven. I do almost all of my
stovetop cooking and a lot of my oven dishes with mine, which I love
love love love . I bought it from Caplan Duval:
http://www.caplanduval.com/ where I found the best price. Incredible
selection here, too, so why not add that to your wedding registry?

peter aitken

Both round and oval are great. But the oval really comes into its own when
you are cooking something that is longer than it is wide. Pork roasts,
ducks, etc. And you can use it for other things that cook in the oven. I
have the large and small le Creuset oval Dutch ovens and they both get
regular use.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

randall nortman

I think, after further consultation with my fiancee, that we're going
to go with round (probably 7.25qt) for now, mostly because we decided
that 95% of the time, we'll be using it to make soup/chili/stew on the
stovetop, and round just seems better for that. However, I am still
very interested in the idea of having an enclosed roaster for just the
sort of things you mentioned. But does one really need expensive
enameled cast iron for that? I've seen some inexpensive clay/ceramic
roasters, very cheap ("Graniteware") metal roasters, and of course
plain unenameled cast iron dutch ovens (e.g. Lodge). Seems like for
roasting a bird, these would be fine (though the cheap metal ones
probably develop hot spots). I guess a leg of lamb you would want to
sear on the outside first and then deglaze the pan? In that case, I
expect the Le Creuset would win hands-down.

ellen

I agree with Wayne -- there have only been a couple of occasions when I wish
I had a larger one but when I "tested" them in the store to see if I could
lift them easily -- not that you can lift any piece of Le Crueset easily --
I found the larger ones would be a real problem for me. having a slide in
range with the oven under the range top means I have to lift it off the
range and then lower it to the oven shelf while standing far enough back to
be able to clear the oven door. It sure would be nice if these ranges had
oven doors that swung to the side.

I also like the buffet server and use that quite a lot.


Ellen

edwin pawlowski

Do you thinks the damned bird will care? By the nature of the heat in an
oven, it will not get a hot spot. It is not sitting ver a flame as a
burner, it has heat coming from all directions. It is silly to pay big bucks
for a roaster. A Dutch oven is a different matter as it is used in other ways.


Don't bet on it. That Lodge CI pan will give it a real run for the money
(and it costs a lot less money). So will a large CI skillet. We use that
for many of our roasting chores. When you crack the coating of the Le
Creuset, you'll be wondering why you didn't by Lodge in the first place.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

pltrgyst

We have the 7 qt round, and find it the perfect all-rounder, for chili,
braising, etc.. We had one smaller, plus the 8-3/4 round, and got rid of them
for lack of use. At the smaller diameter, the added thickness was much less
meaningful -- the pan did nothing better than our thick Dehillerin copper pans.
And the larger one was bigger than any of our dishes required, as well as
unwieldy.

Oh, and the 7 qt is a perfect fit for the large burners on the smooth-top stoves
we've had, for another thing.

If I ever considered another, it would be a 7qt or larger oval, specifically for
long joints, etc.

-- Larry

kls

The weight and unwieldiness of the larger Le Creuset pieces are
nothing to joke about, truly. But for me, the multiple advantages of
my monster 8.75 qt French oven far outweigh these problems, and I just
move slowly and carefully with the hot pot when lifting it in or out
of my stand-alone oven. Physical fitness has a role in cooking, I
guess!

peter aitken

Doesn't cast iron present a problem for acidic liquids?

I have a 25 year old le Creuset dutch oven and it has yet to crack. Anyway
they are warrantied for life (to the original purchaser) so this is not a
concern.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.