Dutch ovens........

[3006guns]

I'm seriously considering giving up my Coleman stove (or at least using it less) and learning to cook in a dutch oven. Lots of great recipies out there! Now, I want to just get my toes wet, so price vs. value is the big question. I've looked at Lodge and just about every import (including Harbor Freight) with the lip around the lid and three legs. I found one made by Universal Housewares (ps193) that's carried by quite a few online outfits like Amazon and I like the design. Rugged looking and has legs on the LID as well as the base....nice idea, but nowhere can I find how BIG it is! There's no dimensions or capacity given (I actually sent an angry email to their corporate offices). Has anyone bought one of these?

[Hickory]

These recipies are for a crock pot, but probely adapt them to a Dutch Oven.

http://www.50plusfriends.com/cookbook/crockpot/index-5b.html

[C1PNR]

Well, their ad says they're 11" so I guess that's the size.
http://www.universalhousewares.com/files/upfile33_29.pdf

IIRC that's about a 4 or 6 quart, which is the smaller size. I don't know why you don't just look for some Lodge. They're available in that and several other, larger, sizes. Plus they are a known entity.

After some experience, you may very well want to branch out into other brands, and styles, of cast iron.

[MT Gianni]

If I cannot take the oven out of the box and look at the fit I will not buy it. Right now it is tough to go wrong with a Lodge. Chinese imports have gotten better but most will loose moisture out the lid due to poor fitting. Loss of moisture is the detriment of a dutch oven recipe.

[Pat I.]

I'd stick with Lodge and go with the 12 inch 8 quart. I use the 12 inch 6 quart but sometimes a little more depth would come in handy.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-8-Quart-Camp-Dutch/dp/B00008GKDW/ref=pd_sbs_k_6

When you order your oven remember to order a lid lifter too.

[jlchucker]

What Pat I. said. That Lodge lid lifter is a handy thing to have. A Lid stand can be a handy thing, too. It keeps the grass and dirt off the cooking side of a lid when you need to set it down some place in order to add things to the contents of your pot.

[cheese1566]

I have good luck with my Cabelas dutch oven.

mmmmm....

Cherry Chocolate Surprise Cake
1 chocolate cake mix; prepared as
directed
1 egg
1 (20 oz.) can cherry pie filling 3 Tbs. sugar
1 (8 oz.) brick cream cheese 1 tsp. vanilla
Pour prepared cake batter into a greased 12" Dutch oven. Spoon cherry pie filling into clumps over cake
batter. In a small mixing bowl cream together cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Drop
by tablespoons over top of cake.
Place lid on oven. Bake using 8-10 briquettes bottom and 14-16 briquettes top for 1 hour or until top
center of cake springs back when touched.
Serve warm with whip cream as topping.
Serves: 10-12

found at :http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/dutch-oven-recipe-cherrychoccake.htm

[hoosierlogger]

They have Lodge at Wal-Mart. I looked at them this morning to see what brand they were. It even comes with a cook book.

[crowbuster]

yup I would go with lodge as the rest have said, will level out the learning curve and make it more fun when things come out right, keep the off brand for pork and beans if ya have to have one, good luck and enjoy.

C.B.

[Corbi]

I would definately go with a Lodge. The Lodge quality is much beter than the Chinese made ovens. They are a little more expensive but consider you are buying something that will last your life time plus some. Camp Chef makes a pretty good oven too but not as nice as Lodge.

For a starter oven you can't beat a 12" standard oven. Most of the recipes are written for a 12" oven. I like a standard oven as they brown faster than a deep oven. A standard 12" oven will feed a bunch of people. Walmart around here has the best deal on a 12" Lodge. $48. Bass Pro shop has the lions share of Lodge in stock.

An 8" oven is "close" to 1/2 of a 12" and will make main dish for 5 people.

You also will need a lid stand, lid lifter, gloves, and tongs. A chimney starter for the charcoal is great to have too. A carrying bag is handy.

Corbi

[BlueSmoke]

I have three Dutch Ovens. Here is my 2 cents worth....

My favorite by a long shot is one made by Camp Chef. It's a Lewis and Clark commemorative. Big deep lid that can be used as a fry pan. Small port between lid and pot where you could place a "meat" thermometer to check temps.

The lid fits perfect. It basically pressure cooks your recepies.

Sportsman's Warehouse has some awesome private label ones. Far ....Far....superior to those retailed by Harbor Freight etc.....

It's a great way to cook. We even use ours during the hot summer months so we don't have to heat us the oven in the house.

Regards,

BlueSmoke

[Tommy Kelly]

Does anyone here have a cooking guide for a dutch oven that tells how many coals go where to cook at different temp's. I have a nephew that has one he keeps in his wallet. He lives in texas and I live in Ms. he was down before christmas and I forgot to get a copy of his. They have a camper and a group of them use the dutch ovens to cook meals in when they camp together each one cooks something different and they make up a meal for the group with their different pots. The guide tells how many coals to put under and on top of the dutch oven to get the proper temp's. He cooks a mean apple cobbler in his and has cooked it several times here and it is always perfect.

[Dennis Eugene]

Wow! Dutch ovens are made for cooking? Dennis

[Pat I.]

This might be what you're looking for but you're better off getting a cookbook or searching the dutch oven sites.

18475

This is a pretty good site with some good links.

http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/

[Changeling]

Get a 12 inch Wagner or Lodge. I actually quit using slow cookers years ago after you see what a "Dutch Oven" can do. I use it in the house so not worried about an indented lid. If you can find a 12 inch Wagner with heavy glass lid, grab it and never look back, really great!. Research how to season it and it will just get better every time you cook in it witch will be often once you find out what it can do.

Check out yard sales, the old ons or definitely the best. Do NOT buy one of the "Thin" ones you see at Wall Mart!!!!!!!!!!

[fatnhappy]

If I cannot take the oven out of the box and look at the fit I will not buy it. Right now it is tough to go wrong with a Lodge. Chinese imports have gotten better but most will loose moisture out the lid due to poor fitting. Loss of moisture is the detriment of a dutch oven recipe.

I have both 12" lodge ovens and love them. I'm with MT Gianni, if i can't test the lid fit I wont buy a DO. It's that important.


I would definately go with a Lodge. The Lodge quality is much beter than the Chinese made ovens. They are a little more expensive but consider you are buying something that will last your life time plus some. Camp Chef makes a pretty good oven too but not as nice as Lodge.


I cooked with a couple camp chefs and thought highly of them. MACA makes an excellent oven too. If you want to render a whole hog MACA will have an oven to use. Seriously, they're plop ovens. once you plop them off the back of your pickup that's where you cook. However if you're cooking for an entire troop and their families a big MACA is just the ticket. My neighbor is the district comissioner for scouts and has a MACA that we have done two 20 lb turkeys in.

If you ever have the opportunity to get a lodge bean pot for a good price grab it. I have two and can't conceive of a better pot for doing pot roast, beef stew or beef stroganoff.

[winelover]

[QUOTE=Changeling;788482]Get a 12 inch Wagner or Lodge. I actually quit using slow cookers years ago after you see what a "Dutch Oven" can do. I use it in the house so not worried about an indented lid. If you can find a 12 inch Wagner with heavy glass lid, grab it and never look back, really great!. Research how to season it and it will just get better every time you cook in it witch will be often once you find out what it can do.


+1 on the Wagner. We have 2 but not with glass lids. Didn't know the came that way. Ours' are cast aluminum.

Winelover:drinks:

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Lodge is the only remaining manufacturer of cast iron cookware in the US, that is still producing now. In the past century +, names that were well known included Griswold, Wagner, Wapak and others. The problem is that those have become collectibles and the prices on them have gone out of control. The quality of the polished cookware produced by those firms for the better part of 100 years was exceptional. Griswold and Wagner both made DO sizes ranging from 6-13 but many of them are rarities. The true so-called camp or chuck wagon versions were at least size 10, had 3 legs so that they could sit in or above the coals or have coals and or briquets placed under them, They also had s "sailor hat" shaped lid into which coals or briquets could be placed. This provided steady heat on all sides. They are going for $200. and up. If I saw right the last time I looked at a Lodge display there is a similar DO with the legs and sailor hat lid with rim still being produced by them, and it is at a reasonable price. Anyone who is seriously considering DO cooking should consider this model. The Lodge foundry is located in Tennesse and I'm sure that they are available on-line and they probably also publish a catalog that lists dimensions of their wares. They also sell books on cast iron/DO cooking with lots of recipes. The quality of their casting is good, although not quite as silky smooth as the Griswold or Wagner.But once properly seasoned either the old names or the Lodge can and will crank out superb AAA+ chow. LLS

[10 ga]

I got just about all of my "dutch ovens" second hand. Yard sales, second hand stores, estate auctions and even the Goodwill store. They are even available at fleabay and Goodwill even has an online store. You'd be surprised at how cheap you may find some of the items. The 4 and 6 qt. sizes are most abundant. The best one is the "Lewis and Clark" commemorative and it was a gift from a now departed friend. 10 ga

[Lunk]

I was thinking about being flippant and saying Le Creuset but they don't make the type of dutch oven you're looking for so I'll agree with the 15 other people who already said Lodge. They are the best VALUE I've seen in cast iron, and are still made in the USA to boot.

[uncleskippy]

Dutch Ovens are the greatest. I have 3 with a Dutch Oven table. My son (11 yrs old) and myself have won 3 Cub Scout Dutch Oven Cooking contests. We cook everything from biscuits to chicken pie and deserts like fruit cobblers and brownies. If you do any outside cooking, you need to get at least one.

Here is a guide and recipe book I made for our troop/pack members:

http://www.oldhickory444.org/docs/dutch-oven.pdf

Once you start, you'll never quit.

Skip

[trooperdan]

Skip, what a great post! Thanks for sharing that, very well written and very helpful.

[fourarmed]

And you don't HAVE to have the camp oven to use coals. A ring - I use one that came off an old wooden wagon wheel hub - works underneath to keep the oven up above the coals, and you can put still coals on a regular DO lid. That is if you are using briquets. If you have a campfire, you can just sit the oven in the coals and pile more on the lid.

[uncleskippy]

You going to feed an army Suo Gan? :)

Maybe a factory outlet. Lodge is expensive. I have one that is a 6 qt. made by Calelas. It is well made and runs about $10 - $15 dollars cheaper than a lodge. A couple of my friends that have lodge, like it better

[Rick N Bama]

Lodge has an outlet store in S. Pittsburg TN. They sell just about everything they make there both 1st quality & seconds. I've never bought a second DO, but the stuff I have bought has been good. You might give them a call & see what they would run straight from the factory.

I don't have the number handy, but it should be on WhitePages.com.

Rick

[rtracy2001]

I only have a few dutch ovens:

1 10" Lodge

3 12" Lodge (1 deep 2 standard)

2 14" Lodge

1 12" Kelty Ridgeline (deep)

1 Camp Chef (looks to be 12")

I have used several others, but I get best results from the Lodge (have yet to try the camp chef, x-mas gift).

Many of the cheap imports, in addition to the lid fit issue, have inconsistent wall thickness resulting in uneven cooking. For the average Joe, that may mean a few crispy spots, or an undercooked area, both of which some people can live with. Not me.

I have the reputation of being handy with a dutch oven and I can't afford an oven that does not cook evenly.

Someday I may even get into the DO competition scene, but until then, I'll settle for eyes popping at the first bite.

[Rick N Bama]

Back in December we bought a Lodge 3qt Enameled DO that is made in China. Last night, as we finished off a mean beef stew, my wife said she now prefers to cook in the DO rather than in the slow cookers she's always used.

Rick

[Changeling]

Back in December we bought a Lodge 3qt Enameled DO that is made in China. Last night, as we finished off a mean beef stew, my wife said she now prefers to cook in the DO rather than in the slow cookers she's always used.

Rick

Your wife is one smart woman!!!!!