Simmering/Braising question.

[Nocontact]

Ok, so I'm currently cooking chicken in my dutch oven with onion garlic lemon juice chicken stock etc., in the oven and it's supposed to stay in there at 350 for 2 hours. Trouble is, 2 hours ends at 7 and I'll be playing basketball then. Is there any harm to letting it sit in there for another 2 hours or would I be better off taking it out?
I'm basically cooking the chicken for shredding to make tacos tonight, just don' t know if there's any harm to leaving it in there longer.....

[GH1618]

Do you mean with the oven or off?

[Nocontact]

I mean leaving it in the dutch oven in the oven. I didn't think it'd be safe to take it off heat altogether while I'm gone but I'll try going the lower heat route. I'm only half hour off the 2hrs recommended at 350 so maybe dialing down to 280 and letting it be until I'm back will even it out.
Thanks! This board is great! What fast replies!

[GH1618]

I was wondering if your oven would turn itself off with a timer. Since it seems it will not, I agree with lowering the heat.

[Nocontact]

No, not that fancy unfortunately. So you think 280 or so is the way to go?

[Jzone]

Anywhere between 250 and 300 is cool.

Cheers.

[GH1618]

Or thereabouts.

[Nocontact]

Well that was a disaster! Came home to completely blackened and burned chicken and looks like I could have ruined my lodge dutch oven with all the food burnt into it. I guess my cast iron cooking needs serious practice!

[mrbigshotno.1]

You did't have enough liquid in there my man!

[monavano]

Heat up the dutch oven on the stovetop and deglaze it with water. Scrape, scrape, scrape and most of the burnt bits should come off.
Bummer!

[dave_c]

How much liquid did you use?

Typically for a pot roast and braised chicken, I use at least 3" inches of liquid and cook for 3 to 4 hours with very little evaporation - dutch oven with the lid on.

[Nocontact]

Yeah, definitely not enough. Those cast iron ovens are hard to regulate too, they REALLY hold the heat! Is it safe to use an SOS pad on a Lodge Cast Iron DO? There are bits stuck on tight!

[chowser]

You could try deglazing it to remove the stuck pieces. Just heat and add some acidic liquid, scrape.

[Jzone]

If it is porcelain lined, NO!!!

If it is pure cast iron no problem, just make sure to season it afterwards. (Rub with oil and put upside down in 250 oven with cookie sheet underneath for 1 hour. Let cool and rub off excess oil with paper towel.)

[GH1618]

I'm sorry. I should have thought about it harder. It should have been set down to 140 or 150. That probably would have worked.

[cowboyardee]

If I understand correctly, the OP was asking about some chicken that had already started cooking at 350... right? Would have been just fine turning the oven off after 1.5 hours and letting it cool covered in the oven over the next 2.5 hours. That would have gotten the closest to the doneness called for by the recipe. Also would have been completely safe, assuming the OP would eat it when [s]he got home after b-ball. Sorry I was too late to help though.

[Nocontact]

No worries, live and learn I guess. I will pass on the apologies to my poor hungry Girlfriend though...
Yeah, the plan was to eat right after bball. Didn't know if it would be safe to let it be at that temp for 2.5 hrs.

Jzone, it's seasoned cast iron, the black one, I don't think it's porcelain.

[Jzone]

You're good to go then. Use a sand blaster if you want... and have one :)

Cast iron is one of the coolest things ever. I have great pans that are over 100 years old. I have found them at thrift stores for $2 in rough shape, used an SOS pad like you said, seasoned them and gave them to friends who didn't have one.

They last almost forever even if abused :)

[cowboyardee]

Even by the strictest restaurant standards, food has 4 hours to get from 140 to below 40 degrees. And for most of that 2.5 hours, your chicken would still be above or around 140 - a dutch oven holds onto a lot of heat, as do most ovens. On top of that, there's basically no chance of contamination after cooking, since you're leaving the pot in a very hot oven (which kills bacteria) and not opening it (e.g. introducing bacteria) until it's time to eat.

[Nocontact]

This is good info to have. I'm going to try the recipe again just because it seems like it would be tasty, the chicken was for tacos, but now I won't be so concerned with the temp once it gets to simmering in the DO.

[wyogal]

oh, dear!!!!!!!!!!! That's horrible! I like to use my slow cooker, for just that reason. I'm always afraid to leave the house with the oven on.

[Nocontact]

Yeah it was pretty painful, I guess I wasn't too concerned about leaving it in a 200 degree oven and it's electric not gas so it doesn't seem like a big risk. But I guess it's better to be there to monitor against something like this happening.

[dave_c]

There's no big concern... except for the chicken drying out a touch.

I would back down the oven temp to 280F to 300F to cook for four hours.

[wyogal]

Turn it down.
or put it into a slow cooker.

[Jzone]

You can turn it down to 225-250 and leave it up to 3+ hours no problem. I never braise above 300 to start with. "Low" and slow is the key :)

Good luck on your game.