On a cool autumn last day I had a weakness for beef stew, and the process of preparing it made me once again with the old cast-iron Dutch oven found years ago by my mother in an antique shop, which I have since ignored and allowed to gather dust in the basement.

While it vigorously scrubbing with steel wool, I was the whole reason the matter was reminded banished to the basement in the first place. It is very difficult to clean, and like all cast iron cookware, itNeeds proper seasoning before you can use it. It can not be placed in the dishwasher, as the rusting of iron and must always be covered with a layer of fat to keep properly seasoned. Cast iron enthusiasts regularly debate the merits of shortening versus vegetable oil as the perfect condiment. In fact, the process is properly seasoning cast iron cookware is an art in itself. Perhaps the achievement of perfectly seasoned cast iron pans is a rewarding experience, but who has theTime?

You may wonder why someone would all go the problems. Cast iron has excellent thermal insulation properties that make it very energy efficient. You can achieve an ideal cooking temperature to low and medium heat settings, reducing the risk of burning or drying out your food. It is perfect for the long, slow cooking of our favorite comfort foods. If you remove the cast iron pot or pan from the heat source, it retains the heat for a long period so that your food will stay hotlonger than the food in cookware made of other materials. The heavy, thick metal resists warping and lasts forever. These characteristics are why so many people, undeterred by hand washing and the need to swear it properly seasoned, cast iron cookware for.

Fortunately, there is another type of cast iron cookware, that the cook all the advantages of cast iron cooking, is without its drawbacks. Cast iron can be enameled, a process that seals in the iron layersGlazed enamel. This process has numerous advantages. It eliminates the need to keep the iron properly seasoned. The smooth, glassy surface of the tooth enamel is much easier to clean and enameled cast iron cookware can be placed in the dishwasher. The smooth surface also allows you to secure this type of cookware for all types of heat sources including ceramic and induction cook tops use. The enamel layer allows you, with tomatoes and other acidic ingredients, the cook usuallyreact unfavorably with cast iron. And the tooth enamel can be produced in unlimited colors, like fire engine red or lemon yellow, making it a perfect choice for today's design-conscious kitchen. It is so attractive that you can walk your stew or roast in a cast iron Dutch oven cook-mail right out of the oven to the table.

I Wrote to my beef stew in my old Dutch oven and it was actually had one of the tastiest stews I have ever made. It was bubbling gently in the oven for hours and remainedhot when they put on the table. But, unfortunately, confirmed the cleanup process that they went straight back down into the basement. Now I have to hang a number of attractive enameled cookware in my kitchen pot rack (with a matching Dutch oven), and my old cast-iron Dutch oven is again in need of a good dusting.

Dutch Oven Beef Stew

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into bite-sizedEach

8 ounces Kielbasa, cut in half lengthwise then into bite-size slices semicircles cut

2 onions, coarsely chopped

1 / 2 teaspoon garlic salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup dry red wine

1 (10 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

1 (8 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, diced

5 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes

2 cups carrots, slicedinto bite-sized rounds

1 / 2 cup barbecue sauce

1 cup frozen green peas

1 (8 ounce) can lima beans, drained

Pre-oven to 300 F. In a large Dutch oven with refractory handles, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add beef to the Dutch oven and brown well, stirring constantly. If your Dutch oven is rather small, do this in batches rather than trying to brown all the beef at once. Return all beef to Dutch oven, add onions and Kielbasa. Fry until oniontranslucent, stirring constantly. Stir in garlic, salt and pepper. Add red wine and stirring to loosen browned bits. Stir in both cans of soup, tomatoes with their juice, potatoes, carrots and barbecue sauce. Stir well, cover and bake in the oven for at least 3 hours. Before serving, remove the Dutch oven and place it on the stove over medium heat. Reduce, stirring constantly, until thick sauce to desired consistency. Add green peas and lima beans and stir until heated through. Serves10.

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