I find nothing more relaxing than slow cooking on the weekends. Up until recently I would use my crock-pot and either search for recipes on the internet or just throw items in that worked well together. I’d set it on low, walk away, and 4-8 hours later I had dinner. All in all, not too shabby.
A friend of mine turned me on to the dutch oven and the wonders it can do. She boasts about how you can cook almost anything in it because of it’s enamel covered cast-iron. I’ve had it for a few weeks and also purchased the William-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking (of which another friend has a copy). Today I had my first smashing success.
I don’t think I can post the recipe due to copyright laws but to get the idea, you braise a 3lb pork shoulder in beer, onions, garlic, lime, and orange for a few hours. The key to this all was browning the pork shoulder in my cast-iron skillet prior to braising in the oven.
You’ll see my two favorite kitchen tools above. 12″ cast-iron skillet and 5qt. dutch oven. Truly a match made in heaven.
The finished product was extremely tender and juicy with the best part being the citrus hints from the orange and lime. More or less the flavors were infused with the meat which created a tasty fiesta worth repeating.
The cookbook has dozens and dozens of other recipes which I now can’t wait to try out but, the big revelation today was that a dutch oven blows the crock-pot out of the water.
Dutch Oven: Time Saver. Flavor Enhancer. All Around Bad-Ass.
