Stew in the oven or on the stove, does it make a difference?
What is the advantage (if any) of finalizing a stew or other slow-cooked meals in the oven instead of on a hob?
A lot of recipes tells you to set the pot in the oven to cook for x hours after the initial frying has been done on the stove. Why is that, couldn't you just as easily cook it at a low temperature on a hob for the same period of time?
The only advantage I can see is that the dish maybe doesn't burn as easily when cooked in the oven.
Best Answer
In the oven, that heat is coming from all directions more or less equally. On the stovetop, the heat is coming only from the bottom. This can potentially cause convection, and almost certainly requires occasional stirring (especially for larger batches), meaning that the ingredients are being moved around. The combination of the ingredients being heated more when they're at the bottom and the movement can cause them to start breaking apart, and generally cook unevenly.
Personally, I only find this to be an issue with beans and meat (and it's not something that's going to cause failure; it's really just a refinement) but if you are making an especially large batch of stew, you may want to try the oven.
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Is stew better in the oven?
You just can't get the same type of flavor depth and complexity by, say, throwing everything into a slow cooker. Second, baking the stew in the oven for about 2 hours really helps the flavors come together and make the beef ultra tender.Is it better to slow cook in the oven or on the stove?
"In contrast, stovetop cooking does take a little more effort when making the dish, but it's typically a faster process when compared to foods you would slow cook in the oven. This method is good for chili, soups and stews," she says.Do you cover stew in the oven?
Cooking a soup, stew, or sauce uncovered allows water to evaporate, so if your goal is to reduce a sauce or thicken a soup, skip the lid. The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes\u2014that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.Is stew better the longer it cooks?
Wrong! Stew is the ideal time to skip the lean, pricier cuts of meat and go for the less expensive, tougher cuts. The long, slow cook time leaves lean meat, like sirloin, tough and chewy, while tougher cuts, like chuck, break down and become really tender. Follow this tip: Stick with using chuck meat.Beef stew tests | stovetop vs oven, temperatures, marinades, pre-seasoning, thickeners
More answers regarding stew in the oven or on the stove, does it make a difference?
Answer 2
Generally speaking, stews are cooked on the hob when the liquid element requires a reasonable amount of reduction.
Casseroles (stews done in the oven) are generally covered for the majority of the cooking time, occasionally being uncovered near the end to thicken up a little.
Answer 3
I can think of two advantages:
Less heat in the kitchen. (if it's cool outside, fine, losing heat to the ambient air might be useful ... other times, it's not so nice)
Convenience. When you keep the stew (or other long cooking item) on the stovetop, you need to stir it occassionally. The heat from all sides helps, but the fact that you don't need to effectively overheat the stuff at the bottom (so that the remaining heat can conduct / convect though ... or be lost to the air), reduces the need to check on it so often and give it a stir.
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And, then there's the fact that it's actually the traditional way of doing some stews. Housewives would drop off their assembled dishes with the baker, he'd put them in the oven after he was done with the baking for the day, and leave them in the cooling oven, they'd then collect them in the afternoon. This freed up the housewife from having to slave over the fire all day, so that she could do other tasks (eg, laundry, back in the days when required going out to a stream and beating the clothes)
Answer 4
You can only make thin stews in the stove. If the stew is meant to be eaten after it has hardened, you can't make it on the stove. It won't be dry enough, and the topping won't bake.
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