School Me On DUTCH OVENS!

[Boston Mangler]

MANDATORY TECH: This will be used on trips that involve my cruiser

Ok guys, girlfriend picked up a cheapo dutch oven, we cooked a 1/2 assed cobbler that still came out amazing and now all my friends are hooked and want a cobbler everytime we camp! I wont argue as i love it too!

The cheapo oven we bought had a crappy lid that didnt hold coals well and the entire thing is all rusted out now.

Soooooo.....

From the research i have done, it looks like most recipes are designed for a 12" oven so that seems to be the logical option.

I have noticed there are several brands, Lodge Logic being the "Official Oven Of The Scout" and even having a "scout edition" oven. If i buy the "Scout Edition" do any proceeds go to the scouts? I know there are a bunch of scout folks on here, so it would be cool to support them!

Am i correct in assuming that Lodge Logic is a good brand? I like to buy the best and buy things ONCE, not a fan of throwing things out after a few uses (why i sold all my jeeps, hahahaha).

Anyway, i am thinking of the Lodge Logic 12" x 5" deep (a little deeper then most, part #L12DC03)

Anyone have any opinions to add?

I see that some say "Seasoned" and some dont. Whats the difference?

Thanks

 

[Dan2722]

Glad you found the magic of dutch oven cooking Kevin.

As far as brands Lodge is the standard and makes a very good dutch oven and pans. The difference between seasoned and non-seasoned is that a seasoned oven has already been treated to have a non stick surface and to not rust.

As you know cast iron is very pourous metal and will abosorb everything easily including water starting the rust process. An unseasoned oven comes coated in a wax to inhibit rust which must be stripped and cooked off before the seasoning process can begin. To season you coat the entire oven in Crisco or some type of a cooking fat lard, bacon fat etc. You then cook the oven at about 350 degrees for an hour or two to cook the grease into the cast iron creating a non-stick surface. Remember that what you season and cook in the oven will retain a hint of that flavor in the food, this is why I prefer to cook some bacon in the oven occasionally.

I personally would recommend a pre-seasoned oven as seasoning one is a PITA and if you do it in your house will stink the place up. A pre-seasoned one does not mean that you will not have to treat it every so often to keep the non-stick and rust inhibiting coating in place. Every year I use the weber large kettel grill and re-season mine.

A well used dutch oven will turn a glossy black over the years as the coating builds up and hardens. I know a few guys who will sand down the cast iron with a disk sander and then season them and their cook ware is as smooth as glass but requires a lot of work.

Sports Chalet has a good selection of Lodge cookware and I have bought my last two ovens there and will be going back to get a small skillet i have been wanting.

 

[Metal Twister]

Hey Kevin, I throw the dutch oven into the smoker to do the camp bean dish. I forgot to clean it last time so I borrowed Ed's sand blaster for the cleaning job. Then smeared on the crisco, and a into the smoker it went with the antilope steaks. Its easy and gooooood. Iwill pm you next week and let you know when we are firing up the smoker, stop by for lunch. Oh have you seen the smoker with the zoomies? Dont forget the race tonight at Plaster City! Im on my way right now...

 

[619TOY]

I have a 12", deep Lodge. I love it. I got it at REI when they had a 20% off deal. If you weren't set on the 8 quart, WalMart has the 6 quart Lodge all the time. I'd still recomment the 8 quart though. If you were a real baller, you could go for the SnowPeak aluminum for about $200 or so

 

[NLXTACY]

I tried showing my wife what a dutch oven is, she punched me in the gut.

Urban Dictionary: dutch oven

 

[Bluetribal]

Damn, beat me to it.....

 

[Brentbba]

What Dan said above. Lodge is the standard. After every use, I wipe it down with a little Crisco while it's still warm. Clean with warm/hot water ONLY!!! Never use soap on your cast iron dutch oven. You'll taste soap in everything you cook if you do. As far as I know, the scout verison from Lodge is profit for Lodge and nothing more. I like the scout emblem on the top of it but don't think it's worth the extra $$ unless you are really into scouting. Our troop owns 4 Lodge 12" dutch ovens. Go with the preseasoned one Kevin. I'd still take the preseasoned one and heat it up in a 350 oven let it cool a little and wipe it inside and out with Crisco and stick it back in the oven for an hour or so. Depending on your use, repeat the seasoning process yearly.

 

[PabloVTA]

now that's a smoker!

weld a hitch to it and put it on the rear bumper.

 

[ZPDFJ]

very cool

love the headers on your smoker...