Friday, March 6, 2009

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Stew Cooking Methods

By KC Kudra

You might have already tried making a chicken stew recipe or something similar and, if you did, the odds are that you used a saucepan on the stove. This is the most common way of making chicken stew but you can use a dutch oven or a slow cooker for stew recipes too.

Dutch Oven Stew Cooking Tips

A dutch oven, which is also sometimes called a french oven, casserole or stockpot, is a useful thing to have. Dutch ovens are heavier and thicker than stockpots, which means they can conduct heat deeper and more effectively. They are great for making stews, pot roasts, braised meals and more. A dutch oven can go on the stove to sear food and in the oven to finish the dish off. You can deep fry in dutch ovens because of their high sides and you can also use them to boil rice or pasta.

If you want to use a dutch oven to make stew, you can brown the chicken or meat in the dutch oven on the stove. Meat brown quickly in a dutch oven and you can brown more at one time than if you use a smaller pot. You can cook the stew on the stove or in the oven because dutch oven cooking is versatile.

Dutch ovens are often made from cast iron but this material is reactive with some foods. Some dutch irons have a colorful enamel interior and others are preseasoned by the manufacturer, meaning a layer f oil has been sprayed on and baked on. Preseasoning can wear off so enamel is perhaps a better option since it is more durable.

Crockpot Stew Cooking Tips

You can use a crockpot, or slow cooker, to make tasty stew recipes. Making a stew in a crockpot is very easy. You need to sear your chicken or meat to seal the juices inside, add the rest of the ingredients, and cook it on a medium setting for five hours or so or on a low setting for eight hours.

A stew cooked in a slow cooker will be very tender, the meat will be falling apart, and the ingredients will combine their flavors perfectly.

If you are going to be out all day and want to get home to a delicious southern chicken stew, a crockpot is the perfect way to make it. Making stew in a pan might take a couple of hours but that is no good if you are hungry when you get home because you will have to wait while it cooks and the delicious stew aromas will make you even hungrier!

It is well worth buying a crockpot because there are literally hundreds of slow cooker recipes for it. A slow cooker comes with instructions and basic cooking tips so you can start making wonderful stew recipes immediately.

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