Le Creuset Casserole - what are the basic "rules" for cooking with it? I need a general guide to temperatures and cooking times for various types of dishes please.

[Astrophe]

DH just bought me one for our anniversary :) , and we are expecting DC #4 in a week or so, so I need to get a handle on how to use it quickly!

There are loads of 'slow cooker' recipes out there, but I'm wondering if an experienced Le Creuset user can give me the basic principles, so that I can just bung things in (as I don't expect I'll have the time or energy to follw recipes for a while!).

I'm a reasonably experienced cook and have done casseroles many times, but usually I cook them for an hour or two...whereas I'm thinking I can use this as a slow cooker, and cook things for longer, which will hopefully make arsenic hour easier for us.

Thanks :)

Bump for the UK timezone :)

It's a pan! It doesn't have any special features or magic tricks I'm afraid!

It is a very nice pan that will spread out heat very evenly making it less likely that stuff will burn, but that's about it.

Just bung stuff in and cook with it in the same way as you have always done!

I use it for slow casseroles, cook it in tbe oven for 4-5 hours on a low heat (140 degrees cent) for example.

Use it for soups too.

Mine came with a good cookbook though!

lol thistle - but what temps should I use and for how long? As I said, I usually do casseroles but in a saucepan, so at about 170, for an hour or 2...but I'm hoping someone can tell me some basics - eg, 'chicken at 150 degrees for 4 hours, beef at blah blah for blah long...that sort of thing.

Also thoughts on browning meat/adding flour/not browning meat. And I've read (somewhere?) that hard veg like potatoes take longer than the meat, so you should put them near the edges?

I know I can just experiment, but bit pressed for time.

thanks sleepy. was it a le creuset cookbook? I don't think mine had one, will check the box again though.

Yes, it came with it, but that was nearly 6 years ago now.

The casseroles I do don't have potatoes in them, but I brown the meat, take it out and then lightly cook the onions/ carrots etc for 5-10 mins till softened. Put meat back in, throw in a bit of flour to soak up juices, add a bottle of pale ale then bung in oven for 4-5 hours on low heat - say 140- and the meats comes out beautifully.

You can get le c cookbooks on amazon, just had a look!