Guide to buy your Le Creuset cocotte

Le Creuset cast iron cocottes are ideal for slow cooking and for preparing traditional recipes. We have often talked about it, but rarely have we commented on the different cocottes that exist. There is a wide variety of Le Creuset iron cocottes, and the question often arises as to which one is best for you or which cocotte is the most ideal for each recipe.

Cocottes are versatile utensils by definition, but it may be useful to know what each of the cocottes we have in the store is most appropriate for.

Points in common between all Le Creuset iron cocottes

All Le Creuset cocottes start from the same base: they are all pieces made in France of vitrified cast iron. Cast iron gives us excellent cooking of recipes and its vitrification helps to protect them and is an excellent cooking surface, natural and very easy to clean. All can go both to the fire (including induction) and to the oven.

It should also be noted that the black cocottes and kettles have a black enamel inside (the rest have cream). We also find some cocottes that have a steel knob -suitable for use in the oven at any temperature- and others that have a phenolic (black) knob, which can be baked up to 190º. This is specified on each of the product pages in our store.

Thus, speaking of Le Creuset cocottes, apart from the enamel and the knob, the only aspect that can change from one cocotte to another is its shape.

Types of cocotte: which cocotte interests me for each type of recipe

Truth be told: all cocottes are really versatile, and you can make a wide variety of dishes in them. For example, you don't have to limit a stew to a casserole type cocotte or a traditional cocotte roast or a low casserole cake...

But at the same time we must say that although all Le Crueset cocottes are made of the same material, their shape influences the cooking results, since the distribution of heat is different depending on whether it is more or less wide, or more or less high. . It is not the same to have the rice of a risotto distributed at the base of a wide casserole-type cocotte, than the rice at height if it is cooked in a normal cocotte.

Old-fashioned chicken fricassée in an oval cocotte and Bread in a round cocotte

Round and oval cocottes

The round cocotte is the most common, I would even say that it is the basic one if you want a versatile and daily cocotte. A piece in which you will do everything due to its shape and characteristics: due to its material, roasts are perfect, due to its height you can also make stews, soups and creams; In it you will also cook fabadas or other grain recipes. Fish is also welcome, and a zarzuela will be wonderful in it, and the heat that you get with the iron allows you to also bake perfect breads. You can't go wrong with the round cocotte, because it is also available in a wide variety of sizes, to be able to adapt to your needs in terms of the number of servings you usually need*

Now, if you are used to preparing large quantities or if you often cook chicken stewed in a cocotte or prepare all kinds of roasts, as well as whole pieces of fish, I would advise you to buy an oval cocotte : it is exactly the same as the round one, but because of its shape you can better distribute the different pieces or cook larger pieces of meat or fish. To take into account the capacity: it is longer, but also narrower than a round one, so the capacity is maintained despite increasing the size (a 27cm oval cocotte will have a similar capacity to a 24cm round one).

Cocotte Doufeu

If you tend to make long and juicy cooks, the Doufeu cocotte is the most appropriate: its lid has a special design so that, placing ice on top of it, the steam that is released from the same juices during cooking condenses and returns to fall in the form of drops on top of the meat or fish, spraying it, making it richer, more tender and juicy. This cocotte is available in some sizes of the round cocotte as well as the oval one, you can see them all here .

Woodcocks en cocotte Doufeu

Low cocotte and high cocotte

Sticking to the round cocotte, the question often arises as to what is the difference between the low, the normal round and the high cocotte. You can see the difference in the photo, and that is that the low one is a few centimeters less in height, and the tall one gains a few. Baja is one of my favorite cocottes and I almost always recommend it unless the cocotte is going to be used primarily for soups or creams. Being less high, the cocotte heats up faster with the lid on; in turn, the heat that radiates from the lid to the interior helps the food to cook faster and helps us to brown the food. It's comfortable to use, it takes up less space and it's not small either: in how many preparations do you really use all the height that the normal cocotte offers you? As I was saying, if you make the soups in other cocottes or other utensils, the low cocotte can be an excellent option.

Low cocotte, normal cocotte and high cocotte

Just the opposite occurs with the tall one: if you tend to work on preparations that require a lot of capacity at height, such as creams and soups, the tall cocotte will be great for you.

Cocotte low casseroles and kettles

Then there is the low casserole type cocotte. As you will see, I think you can be inspired by the recipes that were traditionally made in stoneware or terracotta casseroles to get the best out of it: stews, rabbit, soupy rice dishes, risottos... If you require a wide base, without having to be tall , you will work very well with this cocotte, since you will be able to stir comfortably while the cooking is distributed wonderfully throughout the base, also thanks to the fact that the lid will be closer to the food.

Keep in mind that you have the saucepan with a black interior and with an enameled interior . Which one interests you? The one you like most. The enamel helps in part to make it stick less, although the black enamel, thanks to its vitrification, is not going to stick either and perhaps it is not as elegant but it requires even less care and is more rustic.

Finally, the marmite type cocotte . Its curved shape allows mixing, favoring the natural movement of liquids. It is also widely used for stir-frying since its bottom needs less oil than other flat-bottomed cocottes. The kettle is an intermediate element between the normal cocotte and the casserole type, which for day-to-day use -creams, risottos, stews...- is also very versatile.

Cod with onions in a casserole-type cocotte and Monkfish a la marinera in a kettle-type cocotte

New Le Creuset cocottes: the Balti Dish and the Cocotte Every

Recently, two novelties from Le Creuset have appeared that cannot be missing from this guide to cocottes: the first, the Balti Dish cocotte , which is somewhere between a cocotte and a tall frying pan, making it very versatile, and can even be used as a wok. It does not have a lid, which makes it cheaper and less heavy, and its height and shape will allow you to use it for roasts, stews, rice dishes or for stir-fries and frying.

On the other hand, they have also released the Every cocotte , a tiny cocotte, 18cm in diameter, designed to be used on a daily basis for frying or small amounts of soups and creams, stews... and especially rice, since it comes with a double lid specially designed to make rice in the authentic oriental style.

Cocotte Balti Dish and Cocotte Every Le Creuset

*NOTE: We always recommend keeping the cocotte that suits those of you at home. If you take a large size thinking only of special days and holidays, you will use it little, because it is heavy (and a larger size is heavier), apart from the fact that you will have a cocotte left over for the food that you introduce to cook on a daily basis. Buy the size you really need and take advantage of it. On special days, you will use a second saucepan that you have at home to cook for more guests... or the day will come when you will buy a larger one for those special occasions.

Some cocotte recipes to inspire you:

- Porrusalda with cod
- Lamb korma (Indian stew)
- Fish soup
- Brandy pork loin
- Woodcocks in cocotte
- Fish and seafood stew
- Monkfish suquet with shrimp, mussels and hazelnut allioli bread
- Pork stew in red wine with bacon and onions
- Monkfish a la marinera
- Lamb in honey with red cabbage jam
- Soupy seafood rice
- Clam stew with broccoli
- Seafood soup with rice
- Old-fashioned chicken fricassee
- Spaghetti with meatballs in homemade tomato sauce
- Mussels In Sauce
- Chicken thighs with vegetables
- Picantones with honey mustard and lemon
- Cod with Canarian onion and wrinkled potatoes in a cocotte
- Winter cocotte: healthy and comfortable
- Round stuffed chicken stewed in cocotte
- Roast chicken in cocotte with vegetables
- Asturian stew
- Beetroot cream
- Pork loin in cocotte
- Beef stew with beer
- Beef cheeks with boletus

And some sweet ideas...

- Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce
- Bread with old dough in cocotte
- Sponge cake with a touch of cocoa made in a cocotte
- Fig jam
- Marbled sponge cake in cocotte