Has anyone put food in the bottom of the pot without using the racks?
388651
I have not. I only use this for smoking and pressure smoking so my food has been racked.
388652
Not me. It is best to have the smoke surround the meat. Looking back, I wouldn't purchase it, if the choice came up. There is no phone support available.
388653
Yes. A small turkey breast because it had to, to fit. The skin that touched the bottom was stuck, slightly burnt (over browned) in small spots and soggy from sitting in the liquid. The Turkey tasted awesome even if it wasn't pretty.
291873
I put the bottom part on the lower rack (it's too tall for my upper rack) and the lid on the upper. I've never had a problem! And I DO use heat to dry. Maybe I'm just lucky...?
309336
No, I have not, but see no reason you should not. I put the tray and rack in the dishwasher all the time.
2041336
Hi...I own two of these and love them. The Calphalon 5 qt tri-ply stainless steel dutch oven heats very fast. I've used it to cook curry chicken, brown stew chicken and even rice and I've never had food stick to the bottom. Here's the trick with stainless steel pots....if cooking meats, add about a tablespoon of oil to the pot before you add the meat, allow the oil to get very hot. Because the pot has a very thick bottom, it does take about 4-5 minutes to get very hot on medium heat. It is a wonderful pot....use the same utensils that you would have used in your nonstick to protect the interior from scratches. Give it a try!
529614
I have used it With and Without.. Either way is good..If used without, it doesn't leave very much grounds to float around and settle..Right now, I am using it without. Its a nice lil Pot for the money.. I would recommend it.
1616128
Yes, I place a shell on the bottom and then place pieces of chicken, hot peppers, and cheese on it, I then top it all with another shell. I also have filled it with scramble eggs, hot peppers, bacon bits and cheese.
309337
I have not. I wrap the bottom in aluminum foil, I suppose it would be fine since it is made from stainless steal.
2061387
I do. Top rack. I have even added them to boiling soup to help cool. They do wear down so squeeze them to check for leaks.
720645
Great question! Unfortunately, I only have one of these, so I don't nest them for storage. But I assume that if you have other pots that fit inside for storage, it's doable.
972332
I did not use a bottom and it is just fine. Also, if you are going to have a large volume of water pouring in at once there will be less resistance to drainage without the bottom.
1044491
You can get by without one, with the rack you can run a higher temp and not worry about burning the stuff on the bottom
759984
I have not but you certainly could. One suggestion: be sure to put things on the bottom shelf first to make it more stable. I have bag of soil, pots, tools, etc. on mine. Am very happy with the table.
1811550
Yes we have a layer of aluminum foil at the bottom of the tray. Just keep it away from the heat elements. Which is not a problem normally.hope that makes sense.
1333711
Hi.I haven't try it yet. But i did put a cooking pot inside . Its safe though. I actually love it. The food will be cooked so quickly and so delicious. I hope this answer will help.Regard
1683956
I haven't and would not use it for soup. In my opinion, it's not deep enough to cover vegetables and or meat with broth. I always use my stock pot for soups.
957944
Yes, the jars should not come in contact with the bottom of the pot because they can crack. You can try using jar rings as a rack, but I found them to be a little unstable and one jar tipped. Jars need to remain upright in the canner. If you buy a regular large canner, such as one from Graniteware, it comes with a rack. Wire racks are also available from other manufacturers. I chose this one because it fits in my stockpot. You can read more about canning at http://nchfp.uga.edu/, the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
694727
I haven't - if we want to warm up the containers, we heat up water in our kettle and heat it that way. We usually use thermal containers for those meals.