Customer Reviews

Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 2-1/4-Quart Buffet Casserole, Blue

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For a small kitchen or a single or small family, this is one of those handy pieces you tend to keep on the stove right next to the tea kettle. Functions as a medium-large skillet, low stewpot, round roasting pan, and small-medium casserole. Heat a tortilla, fry sausage & potatoes, scramble eggs, grill a cheese sandwich, do a ham slice with pineapple, bake macaroni & cheese or green bean casserole, make chicken & rice or pork chops & kraut or pot roast & veggies, saute onions or mushrooms, fry salmon patties or crab cakes, scallop potatoes or cauliflower or oysters, stew tomatoes or apple slices, stir up Rice-a-Roni or a frozen stir-fry mix, roast a chicken or batch of veggies, bake cornbread or gingerbread or an upside-down cake! This brand absolutely cannot be beat for gently cooking anything on low to med heat (for high heat use Scanpan). A few minutes soaking and ANYTHING washes off in a snap. Limited on space? This baby replaces the need for LOTS of other pots & pans, and does so in grand style!

This wonderful pan is a cross between a dutch oven and a heavy skillet. It's perfect for slow, wet, braising of tough cuts of meat like brisket, or for baking a couple of skinless chicken quarters without them drying out. Rice dishes like paella and jambalaya turn out beautifully - the even heat makes carmelizing onions and browning sausage a pleasure, the heavy lid does wonders for the rice, and the pan is pretty enough to bring the whole thing right to the table once you're done.

As an added bonus, this pan can share lids with the 5.5 quart (26cm) leCreuset dutch oven. Since this pan has a dome lid, and the dutch oven has a flat one, using this lid will give you a little extra space for a roast or chicken when using the deeper pot. The two pots together live on my stovetop - one or the other gets used almost every day.

My favorite buffet casserole recipe: soak about 2 lbs of beef flanken-cut ribs, or 3 lbs of short riblets, in heavy salt water for a few hours, or overnight. Rinse and dry well. Brown the ribs in the buffet casserole until the meat starts to "tighten up" (you may need to do this in two batches), then remove the ribs from the casserole, pour off any fat, and let the ribs cool a bit (some juice will run out). Rub the ribs all over with a mixture of garlic powder (1/8th cup), cocoa powder or hot cocoa mix (1/8 cup), dry mustard (1 tablespoon), ginger powder (1/2 tablespoon), and cayenne pepper powder (1 shake). Return the ribs to the casserole (bone down), cover, and cook on very low heat on the stovetop, or in the oven on 325, for about 45 minutes for the flanken, or 1.5 hours for the riblets - the meat should be falling off the bone. Salt to taste and enjoy. (This recipe cures PMS :-))

Le Creuset has a reputation for creating high-end, high-quality products, and the buffet casserole certainly helps maintain that reputation. I purchased one as an early Christmas present for myself, and have been using it every day (sometimes several times a day) since I got it. So far, I've used it to scramble eggs, caramelize onions, bake a chicken, roast garlic, brown meats, make pancakes - you name it.

My favorite way to use it is in the oven. The lid fits so well there's almost no loss of moisture, which means I no longer need to use oven baking bags or foil in order to retain moisture in food being baked.

True to their advertising, cleanup is a breeze. There is no such thing as "burned on food" - A few minutes soaking in warm soapy water is all that's needed to make even the most stubborn food release from the dish.

I was so impressed with the performance and versatility of the buffet casserole that I bought several more, which I gave as Christmas presents.

I bought this casserole wanting to make duck confit in it, and it has worked great. It's a heavy, beautiful dish, that's perfect for slow cooking. Vegetables, duck, and pork chops will all work great in this dish. The dish has a plastic handle, which is approved to work in ovens up to 400 degrees fahrenheit, so this dish is just as easy to use on the stove top as in the oven. I only wish I had bought the bigger one.

One of the best pieces I've bought. I don't even need to buy a skillet as I use this for everything instead. This is the cheapest price I've seen.

Great Le Creuset product. Can go from stovetop to oven. Only drawback is that it is so heavy.

I own several peices of cast iron, and this is my newest one, takes the place of a fry/wok pan. I made chicken pot pie my first night, and stir fry the next, I can get the veggies, meat and noodles in at the last minute.
this size is good for three women with moderate appetties, maybe one left over portion.
Plan on having this pan for the rest of my life, so easy to clean! just soak for a few minutes.
I burned my pan! agghhhh! put it back on the burner full of water and baking soda, simmered it ,scraped with a platic spatual and it came clean!

Although never cheap, it's a beautiful casserole with powder blue color which is great for low to medium heat cooking. Since it is made of enameled iron, its heat distribution is even throughout the cooking surface; therefore avoiding hot spots. This is a perfect size to cook for 3-4 people. Get one larger for company. One caveat-never use high temperatures on it. It quickly ruins the inside surface and it's almost impossible to clean burned food without scratching the surface.

Le Creuset manufactures porcelain enameled cast iron cooking vessels as well as other products. These cooking vessels are cast from molten iron poured in sand moulds that are used only once. For this reason, one pot may look like another, but each is unique in its own way.

Cast iron is a highly efficient material which absorbs and distributes heat efficiently. For this reason, it is recommended to use low to medium heat when cooking with cast. There are a few exceptions like boiling water where cooking on high heat is appropriate and okay. Otherwise, cooking with high heat may cause food to stick, discolor the enamel coating, or cook the food unevenly. Remove cast iron from the heat and it does not cool off quickly. This helps your food stay warm while serving. Beware; iron tends to be heavy so these cooking vessels tend to be heavy as well.

Cast iron is an effective material for cooking so why cover it with enamel? Iron tends to rust; iron oxide (rust) doesn't add any complimentary flavors to your food. If your cast iron cooking vessel was not enameled, you would have to season and maintain it. Adding the porcelain enamel not only looks good, but has multiple benefits. The enamel, being a solid coating, is one of the most hygienic surfaces to cook on, does not stain, absorb odors, retain flavors, and is easy to clean. The enamel can be damaged, so limit cooking tools to plastic or wood.

The benefits of cooking with Le Creuset cast iron are many, but lets get down to the buffet casserole specifically. 2 1/4 quarts is not a lot of space when it comes to casseroles, consider your recipes when determining the size you need. The buffet casserole tend to do best if at least 3/4 full. Any less and you may overwhelm your food with the evenly dispersed heat in the pot.

With a large flat bottom that curves up this pan resembles a curved sided saute pan the only thing missing would be a long handle. The tight fitting lid is mostly flat with curved sides, sealing in heat, moisture, and flavors. Use the lid to hold your meat while you are making a sauce from the drippings, or holding your prepared vegetables while creating your culinary delight. Its shape and design makes this an extremely versatile pan. I tend to cook large amounts so this pan is usually used for side dishes and desserts.

Once you get beyond the basic functionality, the buffet casserole can really open up the possibilities. Keep in mind this is a 2 1/4 quart pan with about an 8 inch diameter, perhaps the optimal pan for families from 2-4. Some possibilities for this pan besides casseroles include frittatas, breakfast egg soufflé, dinner rolls, Pepsi chicken wings, roasted chicken, sloppy Joes, Mac-n-cheese, baked squash, shrimp scampi, cobblers, pies, pineapple upside down cake, sticky buns, deep dish apple pie, or bread pudding. The possibilities almost seem endless.

One feature that people tend to complain about is the cost. The cost does seem steep compared to other pans made from other materials. Cast iron doesn't seem like it should be expensive, compared to the old cast iron pans past generations have used for cornbread and camping. However the manufacturing process requires making a mould for each and every pan produced. These heavy pans then go through an enameling process before being shipped. If you take what goes into making and distributing these high quality cast iron products, the cost tends to make sense. Then consider that this pan will easily last a lifetime when taken care of.

PROS:
Extremely versatile, replacing the need for several pots and pans
Efficient absorption and distribution of heat
Hygienic enamel cooking surface
Does not stain, absorb odors, or retain flavors
Easy to clean when not abused or misused
Can be transferred from stove top to the oven to the table
Can easily last a lifetime

CONS:
Its heavy, as cast iron tends to be weighing in at about 6 pounds.