First Time Cooking in a Dutch Oven? Here Are 15 Things You Should Know (2024)

What Is a Dutch Oven

A Dutch oven is a large, cast iron cooking pot with a fitted lid and either a seasoned or enamel-coated nonstick surface. Though it may come with a hefty price tag—and is rather hefty itself—it can help you accomplish lofty culinary goals with its ability to withstand a variety of cooking techniques: like baking, braising, and roasting, to name a few.

Cook Low and Slow

One of the main benefits of using a Dutch oven is its ability to retain heat over a long period. Its lid design helps to trap steam and retain moisture for more flavorful, juicy dishes.

Avoid rushing the process and let your braised dishes—like short ribs or pot roast—cook low and slow: from 2 hours to an entire day, depending on the recipe. Resist the urge to lift the lid too frequently, which can let out precious heat and moisture, and extend your cooking time.

Combine Cooking Techniques

Unlike a classic slow cooker, a Dutch oven allows you to develop deep flavors in a recipe by combining several cooking techniques, like searing and sautéing, in conjunction with braising. This layering of flavors helps develop a more complex and well-balanced result rich in umami.

For example, enhance your dish's warmth and aroma by sautéing onions, carrots, and celery before adding the rest of your ingredients. Next, sear or brown your proteins to promote the Maillard reaction, which helps develop complex flavor at high temperatures.

Use High Heat With Caution

Low-and-slow cooking is what Dutch ovens do best. While they can also operate at high temperatures, it doesn't mean they should. Another consideration is that the Dutch oven's design is such that while cooking, it gets much hotter inside than it is outside.

Many enamel-coated brands boast temperature thresholds up to 500°F, and non-coated pot limits are much higher, but that doesn't mean high temperatures are best for the life of the pot. Prolonged use of a Dutch oven at high heat can break down the seasoning layer on non-coated pots, causing excessive sticking, and discolor the coating of enamel-clad pots.

Avoid Drastic Temperature Changes

Dutch ovens are sensitive to drastic temperature changes, which is the number one cause of cracks in their enamel surface. Here's how to avoid them:

• Before cooking, consider preheating your pot along with your oven or electric stove, bringing them to temperature simultaneously. While preheating, ensure there's enough water, oil, or butter to cover the bottom of the pot.
• After cooking, always let your Dutch oven cool before dowsing it in cold water or adding other chilly liquids or ingredients.

Ensure All Parts Are Oven-Safe

Before using your Dutch oven for bread-baking or any endeavor that involves a hot oven, confirm its knobs are oven-safe at high temperature. While Le Creuset knobs are oven-safe to 500°F, standard plastic knobs on other brands may withstand temperatures only up to 390°F, which cuts it close for many oven applications.

If you're planning to use your Dutch oven regularly at higher oven temperatures, consider replacing its standard plastic knobs with ones that can withstand high heat.

Mind Your Stovetop

One of the best qualities of the Dutch oven is its versatility of use in the oven and stovetop, but stoves aren't all created equal:

• Gas and induction stovetops work best. Each type delivers even heat to the bottom of a Dutch oven, preventing hot spots and uneven cooking.
• Electric and glass stovetops require caution. Electric plates and glass tops can scratch the bottom of your Dutch oven, particularly if it's enamel-coated. To prevent damage, avoid sliding the pot across the burner.

Keep It Out of the Microwave

A Dutch oven is not at all suitable for the microwave. First of all, it's made of cast iron, and we know that metal in a microwave is a non-starter. Secondly, microwaves can't penetrate metal so, even if the oven doesn't explode, the food inside a Dutch oven wouldn't cook anyway. For a quick warmup, use the Dutch oven on a stovetop burner's low setting or transfer food to a microwave-safe container.

Never Heat a Dry Pot

Applying heat to a dry enamel-coated Dutch oven can cause permanent damage. Whether you're preheating or cooking with a Dutch oven, always start with a liquid or fat—ensuring it coats or covers the entire bottom of the pan—before you turn on the heat. Also, don't leave a pot unattended for too long and risk it boiling dry.

Deep Fry With Care

Yes, you can deep fry in your Dutch oven, but it may not be the best weapon in your arsenal for the job. A covered electric fryer with a temperature gauge is ideal for deep frying, but you can make a Dutch oven work, too, under advisem*nt.

Here are some key points to keep in mind when deep-frying in a Dutch oven:

• Use a Dutch oven that's at least 5 inches deep.
• Fill the pot about one-third full with oil. This minimizes the splashing of hot oil and allows room for the oil to rise when you drop in food for frying.
• Heat up the oil-filled pot slowly rather than starting on the highest heat setting. This prevents scorching and encourages a steady heat.
• Use a dial-type meat thermometer. They are relatively long, making them safer for monitoring oil temperature, and they can help you avoid too-high temperatures.
• Keep the lid handy in case there's a flare-up. If there is, quickly (but gently) clamp the lid onto the pot to extinguish flames.

Be Mindful When Cooking Acidic Foods

This Dutch oven tip applies more to a seasoned cast iron Dutch oven than one with an enamel coating, but every Dutch oven user should be aware nonetheless: When you cook acidic ingredients—like tomatoes, wine-based sauces, and citrus—for longer than 30 minutes, the protective coating built up on the cast iron starts to break down.

The consequences for seasoned cast iron pots are that trace amounts of iron can get into your food, which isn't unhealthy but may result in a metallic flavor the longer it's cooked. Erosion of the protective coating may also affect its non-stick capability. In an enamel-coated Dutch oven, prolonged cooking with acidic ingredients may discolor the interior coating but doesn't erode it.

The bottom line is, if using a seasoned cast iron Dutch oven with highly acidic foods, ensure the pot is well seasoned and limit cooking to short periods. After cooking, remove the acidic food from the pot quickly, transfer leftovers to an airtight container, and then rinse and re-season the Dutch oven as soon as practical (avoiding drastic temperature changes, of course).

Top With Foil

Here's a tip that helps with cooking and cleanup: Before braising in the oven, cover the pot of your Dutch oven with a sheet of aluminum foil and then put the lid on. This tactic tightens the seal during the cooking process and prevents stains on the inside of the lid during braising, making cleaning easier.

For another lid tip, whether you use foil or not, be careful when uncovering a Dutch oven. The lid is designed to seal in heat built up during the cooking process, so always open the pot away from you to prevent your face from meeting a blast of steam.

Avoid Using Sharp Utensils and Abrasives

Dutch ovens coated with enamel are inherently prone to scratching, which is detrimental aesthetically, operationally, and health-wise:

• Scratches destroy the look of your cookware, which is one of the reasons we love enamelware so much.
• Food tends to stick to scratched surfaces because the enamel coating is what gives a Dutch oven its non-stick characteristic.
• When a Dutch oven's enamel coating is scratched, that coating ends up somewhere, and that's likely in your food.

To reduce the risk of scratching the enamel coating of your Dutch oven, use silicone and wooden cooking utensils instead of metal ones, When cleaning, avoid scrubbing with abrasive sponges, like steel wool pads.

Wash It By Hand

Dishwasher detergent, which contains bleach and enzymes that are inherently harsher than dish soap, is a definite no-no for an uncoated cast-iron Dutch oven. A dishwasher cycle obliterates its protective seasoning layer and can cause your pot to rust.

Dishwashers are kinder to an enamel-coated Dutch oven, but they should still be avoided. The enamel's no-stick surface makes cleaning by hand easy, and frequent exposure to dishwasher detergents can dull a Dutch oven exterior's shiny enamel finish. Even if it's touted as "dishwasher safe," it's worth the extra effort to hand-wash your Dutch oven to protect your investment.

Put It Away Dry

When you're done with your Dutch oven, ensure it's thoroughly dry before stowing it away. This prevents rust from forming, especially along the rim, which is left uncoated in many Dutch ovens. To further protect that vulnerable rim, periodically rub a little vegetable oil along it to fortify its seal.

Take Advantage of Lifetime Warranties

Before you move to replace a damaged Dutch oven or buy your first one, do a little digging into its warranty. Many brands offer a replacement through their warranty programs, especially if you end up with a substandard product because of a factory defect. A good warranty means you're not left out of pocket.

On the other hand, most manufacturers won't replace a Dutch oven that's been mishandled or abused. Le Creuset of America, for example, offers a lifetime limited warranty that covers "defects in material and workmanship at the time of its purchase" as well as "normal household use." Among other things, it does not cover "any use not in accordance with the cookware instructions provided."