Crock Pot vs. Dutch Oven

[AtlLaw]

The thread on venison shoulder roast got me thinking...  I know, I know... not usually a good thing...     BUT!
 
I have been using a crock pot for I don't know how long.     Matter of fact I've got 2, and that's not counting my little Fondue pot!   
 
Anyway, because I have used the crock pots for all my slow, wet cooking for so long, it's been quite a while since I have done any Braising in my Dutch ovens.
 
Now as one who loves to cook, I'm always looking for a new recipe to try, so when I found one for braised beef in one of my cast iron cookbooks, I broke out my enameled bean pot (what I call a DO w/o legs    ).  It turned out to be the best pot roast (chuck) I remember having ever done!   
 
Matter of fact, the recipe is going in my favorite recipes cookbook!     I'm compiling that so when I'm gone, hopefully not from food poisoning, my kids will always be able to cook a meal "just like daddy used to make!"   
 
You see, Kathie is a wonderful woman... the perfect woman for me!     But she is a disaster in the kitchen!  So I have always done the cooking in our home.  Oh she trys now and then...  Usually with bad results!      Get this, she has actually burned up 2 of my pots trying to boil water!!      And don't even ask me about the glazed ham episode!     I tell ya, it's a lucky thing I...  I...  um... what were we talking about?   

Oh!  braising!      Anyway, what do y'all think about braising vs crock pot cooked meats?     Is there really any difference or did I maybe just hit the right combination of (common) ingredients and technique in this last try?

[pastorp]

Only read difference I see would be in how hot you set the oven. For cooking meat you want a low heat so not much different than a crock pot. For breads & cakes in a Dutch oven you want higher temps than a crock pot can produce.

Regards,

[mechanic]

The crock pots are great.  The DO is better, but only if used outdoors with coals on the lid as prescribed by God.  ANYTHING cooked in a DO outside and away from society in general is fabulous.
 
Now a turkey breast seasoned and left in the crock pot while one is working really smells good about evening time.
 
Ben

[Buckskin]

 I am married to a woman who cooks like her mother did... So I make most of the stuff that actually tastes good also.  I like to eat, which is why I like to cook... Grew up on a beef/hog farm and my dad didn't hunt. So everything that I shot, I cooked, which is how I learned to cook. Dad always said, why would he eat a venison if he had beef in the freezer....  I did manage to change his opinion on venison though.
 
If I'm doing a beef roast, it's in a dutch oven and it is much better than slow cooker in my opinion because of it getting braised. Venison, obviously is harder to do in a DO because there is no fat to keep it moist, which is why I wrapped the shoulder tightly in foil.

[BUGEYE]

Since I can no longer go camping, and my lodge DO being too heavy for my hands, I put it out at the curb with some other stuff, and looked out about 10 minutes later and it was gone.

[AtlLaw]

I put it out at the curb with some other stuff, and looked out about 10 minutes later and it was gone.

     Shoot man!  Giving that stuff to a stranger!?       Ida run by your place on my lunch hour and hauled it away for ya!   
 
Why can't you go camping anymore bro?   

[BUGEYE]

 
     Shoot man!  Giving that stuff to a stranger!?       Ida run by your place on my lunch hour and hauled it away for ya!   
 
Why can't you go camping anymore bro?   

I guess I should have found someone from here that was close by, but my wife being a cleaning nazi, I decided to cut my losses and get rid of it.

I used to camp by myself in the winter to kill and eat squirrels but my heart and back and trembling has got so bad, that I'm lucky to be able to sit up all day.
I miss that camping terribly....

[AtlLaw]

my wife being a cleaning nazi, I decided to cut my losses and get rid of it.

Well, my wife mate ain't much on cleaning, unless someones coming over    , but she does let me know, often, that she can't understand why I need so much "junk!" and tells me, constantly, that I need to start "getting rid of some of that junk!"      This from a woman who has clothes in every closet in the house, some she has never worn!    Oh well... 
 

I used to camp by myself in the winter

Me to...    And we always camped out on the farm during deer season.  I dearly loved to do the camp cooking.  But, as time marched on it got to be more comfortable to turn the garage into "deer camp."  Sleep on cots, running water and indoor plumbing, the campfire runs on propane, color tv, a refridge to keep the beer cold and a hot tub to keep us warm!     I still get the urge to camp once in a while but I just drink until it goes away.   
 
This is our deer camp kitchen!  Note the crock pots!  I was doing oriental style short ribs there, but now I'm gonna try that recipe but braise the ribs instead of using the crock pot!   

[Buckskin]

Clothing optional deer camp, eh? Well at least you put on an apron to cook!

[BUGEYE]

AtlLaw, ain't nothing more fun than deer camp..  but I used the december break in the oconee natl forest so I wouldn't interfere with the deer hunters and knocked off a squirrel for supper.(my wife and daughter would throw away the skillet if I cooked one at home)
oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

[mcwoodduck]

Well,
The new crock pots have steel or cast iron inserts (go to Williams and Sonoma) that allows you to brown in the crock and then use the electric heat to slow cook the meat and vegtables giving you the best of both worlds.
Allows you to brown the meat, get all the tasty brown bits of meat and vegtable sugars to give you a deep rich flavor in your roast or braise. 
A dutch oven or heavy sauce pan will do the same thing, and if you want it low and slow just brown on the stove top, add liquid and stick in a low temp oven < 350Degrees F for  while till tender and suculant.   We bought one of the propane ovens and it works well for stews and pot roasts.
You can also simply brown the roast and vegtables in the dutch oven, then place the stuff in the crock pot and use the liquid you are about to dump in the crock pot to de glase the dutch oven or pan and get all the gooey brown goodness off the bottom of the pan to add deep flavors.
 

[Ranger99]

use 'em both.
wouldn't be without either one.
crock pots shine when you need to
be busy at some chore or the like
without having to hover over a d.o.
to make things happen.
in the country i always try to have
a sack of cleaned and picked beans
so when i first get in the door, i fix
a pot to get going, then carry on with
whatever i need to be busy with at
the time.
on this other hand, you sure cain't beat
them dutch oven bisquits! ! 

[subdjoe]

The crock pots are great. The DO is better, but only if used outdoors with coals on the lid as prescribed by God.  ANYTHING cooked in a DO outside and away from society in general is fabulous.
 
Now a turkey breast seasoned and left in the crock pot while one is working really smells good about evening time.
 
Ben

They do a pretty good job in the fireplace too.

[jpshaw]

Slow cooker for me.  I sometimes will use a Dutch Oven to braise with but usually transfer to the slow cooker.  I, too have two of them, one 2x the size of the other.  BTW the proper term to use is "slow cooker" since "Crock Pot" is a trade name with Copyright owned by Rival Cookware.  So if you have a Rival brand it's a Crock Pot, all others are slow cookers.  I doubt they would file a law suit unless you published it in a book or something.

[AtlLaw]

They (dutch ovens) do a pretty good job in the fireplace too.

Ya know, I was always gonna try that!   
 

"Crock Pot" is a trade name with Copyright owned by Rival Cookware

I never knew that!!!      We been callin all slow cookers Crock Pots ever since I can remember!  Was Rival the first to come out with slow cookers or what?      Cool though, learn sumpin new everyday!   
 
 

[Ranger99]

well. . . .i'm in the south, and we say
crock pot for slowcooker, skilsaw for
any circular saw, sawzall for any reciprocating
saw, any cold drink vending machine is a coke box,
all soft drinks are cold drinks, and. . . . . .


didn't we do all this a while back?

[jpshaw]

I never knew that!!!      We been callin all slow cookers Crock Pots ever since I can remember!  Was Rival the first to come out with slow cookers or what?      Cool though, learn sumpin new everyday!   

Yeah.  Rival was the first and they called it Crock Pot because of the (then) non removable crock inside.  So now most people call them crock pots even if they're another brand.  The only problem would be if you published it in a book or made one with your brand and called it a Crock Pot.  I know some regions where every soft drink is called a "Coke".  I wouldn't worry about it.  I put it out there for just trivia information.

[AtlLaw]

I know some regions where every soft drink is called a "Coke". ...  I put it out there for just trivia information.

Let me tell ya, in Atlanta, the home of Coke, and most of Jawja that I know of, it's like you say;  all soft drinks are "cokes."  As in I ask you "You want a coke?"  You say "Sure!" I say "What kind?" The kind can be Sprite, A&W Root Beer, Diet Coke, etc!
 
And trivia is good!