Dutch ovens

[Dr.Zayus]

I'm talking about cast iron ones, not the kind where you fart and hold your significant other's head under the covers.

Anyhoo...Wanting to buy one and the price range goes from $35 up to $300 and I'm wondering if I buy a cheaper one, will I be happy with it?...or is it better to fork out the big bucks for a fancy shamncy one because it will work better and last longer. Also, is it better to get the enamel coated kind? I have a stainless steel one, but I want to be like the cooks on TV with cast iron. They look like they know what they're doing.

Opinions? Experiences?

[Sparkle Motion]

I have Cuisinart and I love it. I'm actually starting to use it more than my slow cooker. I like it because it will actually reduce and brown sauces as opposed to the slow cooker which creates more liquid as it cooks.

It's perfect for braising meats and slow cooked meatballs. I'll see if I can find the recipe for the best meatballs I have ever had.

[RAGER]

I've got both the cuisinart and just plain old iron ones.  Love them both for different things.  Prolly not necessary to go Le Creuset but go decent like a cuisinart.

[Sparkle Motion]

Here is the recipe:

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Classic-Meatballs

Brown the meatballs separately, not in the dutch oven.  Be careful when you are browning the meatballs as they are very delicate.  Build the sauce in the pan that you cooked the meatballs in and then carefully add everything to the dutch oven an place in the oven covered.  Cook for 3 hours or so at 300 degrees.

[peoplething]

8 quart, cast iron, sixty bucks.

I have a 'Lodge' that I use all the time. Haven't had any problems with it and it too has mostly replaced my slow cooker.

[Pissy]

8 quart, cast iron, sixty bucks.

I have a 'Lodge' that I use all the time. Haven't had any problems with it and it too has mostly replaced my slow cooker.

This is the one with no enamel?  I have the same in a 6 qt I think. It works well. We still use the slow cooker mind you.

[peoplething]

^ yep, sans enamel.

I figured the coating would just end up cracking or chipping down the road, plus the raw iron was quite a bit cheaper. After using the naked metal for a while, it's absorbed different flavors from here and there. Over the weekend I roasted some tater's and meatballs in it. My wife said 'man the rosemary you used is great on this - it's delicious!'

I didn't use any rosemary at all, in fact the only seasoning was salt and pepper.

[MadJohnShaft]

The cast iron ones are very cheap so if you want to fuck around with putting coals on the lid and so on then get one of those for outside.



Otherwise for inside you need an enameled one - the cheap ones will flake off so only get an expensive one.  Do they have those oversold stores like Ross Stores or TJ Maxx's by you? They have them.  Get a round one, not an oval one.

Hot tip: Buy Bar Keepers Friend to clean the inside back to white - nothing else works!

[black]

Good call, mjs.
The Bar Keepers Friend is also great for keeping stainless steel pots and pans (like the cuisinart or calphalon one's) shiny and spot free. It works so well it's kind of spooky.

[VOLVO)))]

Protip: barkeepers friend is a microabrasive similar to car waxes sans the wax. I keep a tin of it in my truck for when I am antique/pawn shopping to clean off serial numbers and logos to make sure of my purchases.

As black said, does wonders on stainless. Keep it away from your teflon.

[Chovie D]

on amazon, you can get an enameled  lodge for $50. Mine lasted a couple years and only chipped when I foolishly threw a bunch of metal untensils in it while doing the dishes.
The best is crueset but thats $250. fuck that.

[Pissy]

yeah for $50 this one is kind of a no brainer, not sure if this s the ones Shaft is poo pooing, but if i was in the market i'd pull the trigger.  6 qt:





http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Color-EC6D43-Enameled-6-Quart/dp/B000N501BK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1373932097&sr=1-1&keywords=lodge+dutch+oven

Certainly not bulletproof though.

[RAGER]

i have that exact one and the 8qt. too.

[Dr.Zayus]

So, I guess the consensus is the 50 dollar enamel one...doubt I'll be thawing hot coals on it or anything. Thanks for the advice!

[Ryno]

My wife bought a colorful enamel "Rachel Ray" oval 6 qt. Dutch oven years ago.  I laughed at her when she brought it home because I always associate TV cooking personalities with garbage cookware.

But I've used it a hundred times or more and the thing always amazes.  I do a lot of pork shoulders in it.  Marinated and cooked with soy, pineapple, banana and other nasty, sticky, destructive stuff.  By the end, it looks like i have destroyed it. But the thing gets back to clean every time. 

The Le Creuset is on my wish list, but I'll stick with the Rachel Ray for now.   Oh...forgot to add it was a clearance item at 70% off or something like that.  I think it was $25.  Best $25 she's ever spent.

[Pissy]

So, I guess the consensus is the 50 dollar enamel one...doubt I'll be thawing hot coals on it or anything. Thanks for the advice!

yes, look at the reviews on the link.  close to 1500 with 4 1/2 stars.  And do a google on Le Creuset vs. lodge and you'll find that they're about dead nuts even - at least for the product line I posted.  Consider your audience though, perhaps you might want the 7.5 qt; my link was for the 6qt.

[Sparkle Motion]

Pro Tip for cleaning burned cookware:  Fill it with warm water and add a bounce strip.  My wife did it one day.  I thought she was out of her mind.  We let it sit over night and it came right out.

True story.

[Sparkle Motion]

Also if you're looking for a cast iron skillet they are almost always available at thrift/antique stores for a fraction of the cost of a new one.  sometimes they are a rusty mess.  Pissy can tell you how to get it looking like new.

[RAGER]

I don't think I've ever bought a new cast iron. have always gotten them used.  I take a wire wheel and a die grinder to them.  Then re season.  my new favorite pans are the DeBuyer mineral B.

[MadJohnShaft]

Our $50 dutch oven chipped within a few years - so I decided I was done with cheap versions of this stuff.  Best luck  - you will regret it.

I will have to remember that bounce fabric softener sheet - I have heard that before.


The $250 one is probably 5-6 years old now and thanks to bar keepers friend, still fairly light on the inside - not a single chip though. Solid.   I have blackened it many times intentionally or otherwise and foolishly left it sitting for a few days, always cleans right up.

I like the cast iron one for outside - you can make cornbread and baked beans - all that shit you would make on a campfire and they come with a lid lifter that you can use to kill zombies.

[Ryno]

I don't think I've ever bought a new cast iron. have always gotten them used.  I take a wire wheel and a die grinder to them.  Then re season.  my new favorite pans are the DeBuyer mineral B.

Oh man, Rager...If you posted that wire wheel/die grinder bit over at the Griswold and Wagner forums, you'd be cast out.  No pun intended. 

All of my cast iron, besides the Dutch oven, has come from garage or estate sales.  Or family hand-me-downs.  I've reconditioned them all with a home made electro-bath.  In some cases, EasyOff oven cleaner saved the day, but I don't like that method.  It works, but the chemical residue thing freaks me out. Grinders, wire wheels, sanding, media blasting are all big no-no's when cleaning or reconditioning old cast iron.

If you want to get involved in some serious nerd-level discussions on cast iron, go check out this place. 

http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?catselect=castirongeneral

Oh yeah, you need to be vetted by the admins before they let you post. But once inside, you'll find more info than you can shake a wooden spoon at!

[RAGER]

Shit all my pans I've done that to and they've lasted just fine.  I'll prolly check that place oot but i swear in the kitchen and play satanic music super loud while cooking and I'd bet they frown on that.  I am soooo done with forums that ignore the real world.

[RAGER]

Oh and I don;t like to follow the rules either.

[MadJohnShaft]

Well, I have $20 to buy a new one at the hardware store.

[Ryno]

Shit all my pans I've done that to and they've lasted just fine.  I'll prolly check that place oot but i swear in the kitchen and play satanic music super loud while cooking and I'd bet they frown on that.  I am soooo done with forums that ignore the real world.

Ha...It's a really interesting mix in there.  Mostly antique collectors and cast iron collectors, but also tons of cooks, chefs, and cleaning/reconditioning hobbyists.  I had no idea about a lot of what I was doing, or supposed to be doing, with old cast iron.  Browsed through that forum for a couple weeks and found out all kinds of interesting stuff.

There are people that use sanding and wire wheels to clean their pans.  And they'll swear all day that they're fine and work perfectly.  I don't doubt it.  But the electrolysis method is magic.  And once you do it, and have yourself a little setup, you'll be hunting down the nastiest, dirtiest, caked-on grease laden pans you can find, just for the challenge of making them new again. 

I never really cared to much for estate sales or garage sales.  Now I'll stop just to see if they have any cast iron or any tools.