I'm going to be doing the Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops from Good Eats
this evening:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._35131,00.html

He mentions in the episode that it can be done in a dutch oven, but
prefers to do it in a slow cooker. I have a Lodge cast iron
camping-style dutch oven (with the little legs), but no slow cooker,
and want to try the recipe with the dutch oven.

He browns the chops in a saute pan, transfers to the slow cooker for an
hour on high and 4:30 on low.

To do it in the cast iron, I was thinking preheat the cast iron the
oven to 400, transfer to (gas) stove for browning, put back in 400F
oven for 1 hour then lower the temp either to 200 or warm (the lowest 2
markings on the gas oven) for the 4:30.

I was wondering if my temperatures sounds right, and whether having my
dutch oven a half inch higher than most pans on the stove might inhibit
the browning.

wrote:
> I'm going to be doing the Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops from Good Eats
> this evening:
> http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._35131,00.html
>
> He mentions in the episode that it can be done in a dutch oven, but
> prefers to do it in a slow cooker. I have a Lodge cast iron
> camping-style dutch oven (with the little legs), but no slow cooker,
> and want to try the recipe with the dutch oven.
>
> He browns the chops in a saute pan, transfers to the slow cooker for an
> hour on high and 4:30 on low.
>
> To do it in the cast iron, I was thinking preheat the cast iron the
> oven to 400, transfer to (gas) stove for browning, put back in 400F
> oven for 1 hour then lower the temp either to 200 or warm (the lowest 2
> markings on the gas oven) for the 4:30.
>
> I was wondering if my temperatures sounds right, and whether having my
> dutch oven a half inch higher than most pans on the stove might inhibit
> the browning.

I think the browing will go fine.

Even on low, my slow cooker heats to above boiling (in fact, the
documentation says that low and high heat to the same tempeture. High
just gets there faster.) So I would recommend a tempeture above 200.
And I wouldn't go for 400 for the first hour...just set it to 225-250
and let her go. Go ahead and heat to 400 or so for the browning, but
when you put it back in, keep the temp low.

hope that helps

b.

wrote:
>
> Even on low, my slow cooker heats to above boiling (in fact, the
> documentation says that low and high heat to the same tempeture.

There is something wrong with your slow cooker or your reading
comprehension.

Sheldon

Your plan sounds good, although as another poster pointed out, you
probably don't need the hour at 400F. I would go ahead and keep the
oven on at 400 while the browning is going on, then immediately lower
the oven setting to 200 when you put the pot back in.

A good oven thermometer would be helpful since thermostats sometimes
lose it at their extreme high and/or low setting (if they're even
accurate anywhere in their range), and you don't want to go too far over
or under a slow simmering temp.

Since you're using gas, you'll probably have less problem keeping the
dutch oven hot than with electric during browning, more so because it's
cast iron. You'll probably have some oil or fat in the pan before
adding the meat. When a very slight wisp of smoke start rising from the
oil, it's hot enough - add the meat and brown away.

Bob
==============================
In article .com>,
says...
> I'm going to be doing the Slow Cooker Pepper Pork Chops from Good Eats
> this evening:
> http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._35131,00.html
>
> He mentions in the episode that it can be done in a dutch oven, but
> prefers to do it in a slow cooker. I have a Lodge cast iron
> camping-style dutch oven (with the little legs), but no slow cooker,
> and want to try the recipe with the dutch oven.
>
> He browns the chops in a saute pan, transfers to the slow cooker for an
> hour on high and 4:30 on low.
>
> To do it in the cast iron, I was thinking preheat the cast iron the
> oven to 400, transfer to (gas) stove for browning, put back in 400F
> oven for 1 hour then lower the temp either to 200 or warm (the lowest 2
> markings on the gas oven) for the 4:30.
>
> I was wondering if my temperatures sounds right, and whether having my
> dutch oven a half inch higher than most pans on the stove might inhibit
> the browning.
>

What he said may make sense, assuming that the low heat setting will
take a LOT longer to get the pot and contents up to that same cooking
temp.

Also, a high altitude location could make the one-size-fits-all slow
cooker control settings a bit hot, assuming they were set for sea level
at "normal" barometric pressure.

Bob
=========================
In article .com>,
says...
>
> wrote:
> >
> > Even on low, my slow cooker heats to above boiling (in fact, the
> > documentation says that low and high heat to the same tempeture.
>
> There is something wrong with your slow cooker or your reading
> comprehension.
>
> Sheldon
>

Thanks for the advice, Y.A.Bob and mcb... but I lost track of time this
afternoon and had to compress it from 6 hours in the oven to 3.5... so
I'm going to try :30 at 400 and 3:00 at 250.

So much for the concept of "slow" cooking the recipe! :-)

At those temps, you might also want to put a drip pan under the pot.
I'm guessing there will be some less-than-gentle boiling going on.

Might actually work out better on the stove top where you can at least
monitor and see what's going on...

Bob
====================
In article om>,
says...
> Thanks for the advice, Y.A.Bob and mcb... but I lost track of time this
> afternoon and had to compress it from 6 hours in the oven to 3.5... so
> I'm going to try :30 at 400 and 3:00 at 250.
>

Sheldon wrote:
> wrote:
> >
> > Even on low, my slow cooker heats to above boiling (in fact, the
> > documentation says that low and high heat to the same tempeture.
>
> There is something wrong with your slow cooker or your reading
> comprehension.
>
> Sheldon

My slow cookers Low setting is distinctly cooler than its High setting.
Maybe he's using a different brand or something.

wrote:
> Thanks for the advice, Y.A.Bob and mcb... but I lost track of time this
> afternoon and had to compress it from 6 hours in the oven to 3.5... so
> I'm going to try :30 at 400 and 3:00 at 250.

You were going to cook pork chops for 6 hours (!) in the oven and now
you're going to cook them for 3.5 hours (!), did I get that right?
After you've thereby produced petrified pork paperweights, what do you
plan to eat for supper? What in the world makes you think that pork
chops need to be cooked for that long? Did the tv program offer any
clue about the temperatures its slow-cookers use for High and Low?

If you brown chops first and put them in a 400 degree oven, they are
already more than Done in 30 minutes. -aem

> You were going to cook pork chops for 6 hours (!) in the oven and now
> you're going to cook them for 3.5 hours (!), did I get that right?

The plans changed, so I managed to cook them for 5 hours at 200 after
the browning...

> After you've thereby produced petrified pork paperweights, what do you
> plan to eat for supper?

.... and they were WONDERFULLY moist. These were nearly 2 inches thick
(they call them Iowa chops)

Sounds like "ya done good". Costco sells thick boneless chops like that
(sometimes at really low prices). They're very low-fat and meaty, but
can be as dry and taste-free as paper if not prepared properly.
Braising is one sure-fire way to get them to come out moist, tender and
flavorful every time.

Bob
===============
In article .com>,
says...
> > You were going to cook pork chops for 6 hours (!) in the oven and now
> > you're going to cook them for 3.5 hours (!), did I get that right?
>
> The plans changed, so I managed to cook them for 5 hours at 200 after
> the browning...
>
> > After you've thereby produced petrified pork paperweights, what do you
> > plan to eat for supper?
>
> ... and they were WONDERFULLY moist. These were nearly 2 inches thick
> (they call them Iowa chops)
>

Sheldon wrote:
> wrote:
> >
> > Even on low, my slow cooker heats to above boiling (in fact, the
> > documentation says that low and high heat to the same tempeture.
>
> There is something wrong with your slow cooker or your reading
> comprehension.
>
> Sheldon

>From page 5 of the manual:

Whether cooked on Low
or High, the final temperature of the
food is the same, about 200°F. The
only difference is the amount of time
the cooking process takes.

http://hbps.johnsonrauhoff.com/HBPS_...HB/8496700.pdf

b.

wrote:
> Sheldon wrote:
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Even on low, my slow cooker heats to above boiling (in fact, the
> > > documentation says that low and high heat to the same tempeture.
> >
> > There is something wrong with your slow cooker or your reading
> > comprehension.
> >
> > Sheldon
>
> >From page 5 of the manual:
>
> Whether cooked on Low
> or High, the final temperature of the
> food is the same, about 200°F. The
> only difference is the amount of time
> the cooking process takes.


With that particular brand. And anyway, if it isn't a higher heat level
changing "the amount of time required for the cooking process," then
exactly what is changing it?

> http://hbps.johnsonrauhoff.com/HBPS_...HB/8496700.pdf
>
> b.

It sounds like it's just the rate of temperature rise in the cooking
vessel that's changing.

The cooker could be cycling a single heating element on and off at two
different rates for "high" and "low". The element gets equally hot at
either setting, but it's allowed to stay "on", and thus stay hot, longer
in the "high" setting. Maybe it's on constantly in "high" and cycled on
and off at some rate in "low".

Just guessing, since I have no idea how that particular model works.
But there does seem to be a greater emphasis in the advertising for the
newer slow cookers on how quickly they get up to safe cooking
temperatures. Perhaps there was some customer dissatisfaction or a
liability issue with the older, "real" slow cookers (?).

Bob
======================
In article .com>,
says...
> > >From page 5 of the manual:
> >
> > Whether cooked on Low
> > or High, the final temperature of the
> > food is the same, about 200°F. The
> > only difference is the amount of time
> > the cooking process takes.
>
>
> With that particular brand. And anyway, if it isn't a higher heat level
> changing "the amount of time required for the cooking process," then
> exactly what is changing it?
>