Buying a dutch oven--advice?

Hi,

I have noticed a number of recipes lately calling for the use of a dutch oven and I'm thinking of buying one. A quick look at Crate & Barrel revealed a $110 pot! Anyone cook regularly with them and if so, any recommendations for brands? Thanks!

I have a Lodge dutch oven.  It's made of enameled cast iron, and it cost about $50.  I've definitely gotten my money's worth.  I use it all the time, especially for making soups and stews.  I think it holds about 6 quarts, which is a little smaller than some, but suits my needs just fine.   I've also used my mom's All-Clad, and it's awesome.  It was probably about $300, though.

I have a le Crueset doufeu, 5 quart size.  It was a very expensive pot, and I don't see the round one on the market now.  I got mine discounted at Tuesday Morning, ten years ago.  At that time it was $180 retail, but was marked down to $80 in a clearance.

It's very heavy enameled cast iron; something to consider if that will be a problem.  I have never used it with the self basting feature.  The lid is indented and is supposed to self baste if you put ice in the depression.  That causes the steam to condense and baste the contents.  I use it mostly for long cooking stews, curries, chili, and such.  The heat is very even and you can get it simmering over very low heat. 

I have a regular Le Cruset dutch oven (5 1/4 quart I believe) and I use it constantly.  They are expensive, but well worth it.  I imagine it will last me the rest of my life -- and I get some use out of it (at least once a week).  It is important to purchase one with a well-fitting lid, especially if you want to use it in the oven.  It's also extremely heavy -- but that's the point. I also have a smaller pot that was my grandmother's. 

I'll throw my weight behind the Le Creuset recommendations. Whether you get Le Creuset or no cast iron is what you want.

Thank you for the replies! Very helpful!

I also have a Le Creuset 6 quart French oven and I LOVE IT. The TJ MAX by our house usually had Le Creuset items, something to check out. Technically, I bought ours for my fiance's birthday a couple years back. It had a tiny chip in the lid, which is why it was at TJ MAX, but you can barely tell. We love it and use it all the time. It is awesome for soups/stews and we also use it for roasts and other stuff.

Not to mention, they're gorgeous

I got a Lodge withOUT the enamel coating.  Cast iron is made here in the USofA and often/always sent to China to be coated. 

It was $40 bucks (5qt) and I ordered it online.  You might be able to find them at Target or now at Fry's/Kroger. 

There are two kinds of dutch ovens, the indoor $$$ kind all enameled and pretty, and the outdoor $$ camping kind like Lodge for cooking in campfires or with charcoal briquettes. They do the same thing and work the same way. Indoor enameled ones are easier to clean up. The outdoor ones are harder to keep from rusting but once seasoned, do really well. They usually have feet on the bottom so they stand up above coals, but you can get them without feet so you can use them in an regular oven indoors. (Feet can catch on oven racks and tip over pot.)

If you are on a tight budget, a cast-iron camping one works, but has to be cleaned a special way (scrub with oil & salt, use no soap ever) but if you can find a enameled one, it's way easier to clean, but the enamel is prone to chipping ... and which ever kind you get, THEY ARE HEAVY!

Besides the rust prevention problem of uncoated cast iron, acidic foods pick up an iron taste and often turn dark.  Wine is especially bad.  I remember one disaster with coq au vin.  The red wine looked awful - very dark, and it smelled of iron.

That's why I prefer enameled cast iron.  You get the even heating and heat retention, without the problems.

I have 2 dutch ovens, one Le Creuset enameled 6 qt. and one All-Clad 5 qt.  I love both of them, but use the All-Clad more often because:

1. It is lighter.  Once the Le Creuset is full of food, I can barely lift it out of the oven.
2. It is actually a better size for what I cook most of the time.  I probably use it 3 times a week (I love leftovers).  I use the Le Creuset maybe once a month.
3. It is easier to brown meat in the All-Clad without it sticking using a minimum amount of oil.

I do love the Le Creuset for how evenly it keeps stews at a simmer either in the oven or on the stove top.

I have lots of cast iron (not enameled) skillets (they are much lighter than dutch ovens and I can handle them).  I love them, but feel they only work best on gas, not electic stoves.  Also, any acidic food like tomatoes or wine can only spend a short amount of time in cast iron without picking up a metallic taste and discoloring.  Most of what I cook in a dutch oven has acid it it of some kind.

I know that dutch ovens are expensive, but I have had mine for more than 20 years, and expect to keep them for the rest of my life.  I would def. consider going for an All-Clad style one for the most versatility.  There are some non-name brands that are pretty reputable, you could google reviews of some of the cheaper brands than All-Clad.

I love my black iron pots, I collect old cast iron cookware, along with having the camp dutch ovens too.  I cook exclusively in cast iron!  That being said, I'd love to have an enameled dutch oven for when I want to cook acidic foods that have tomatos or wines...those foods will eat the seasoning off cast iron...and I'm pretty protective of my antique iron.  

Pampered chef has a great one...have a party and you can get $$ off!

try Martha Stewart at Macys they are often on sale for a great price and many sizes

I bought mine at Big Five Sporting goods.  $25.00,but heavy as sin.  Intended for outdoor use, but if you season the cast iron well and have a gas range it is excelent. The built in feet make it inpractical for an electric range.  Heavy cast iron made in China.  Nothing sticks and clean up is a wipe with a paper towel.

I cook for myself and my handicapped wife and could not survive an Oregon winter without my Dutch Oven.  Makes excelent bread and cakes on the barbeque also.

Les Bliss

Canby Oregon

Actually, I've never had to purchase one separately.  I guess I've been lucky; any time I've bought a set of pots and pans, a Dutch oven has always been included in the set.  I used one just yesterday to make chili.

I've got one I love that I found for $26 at Marshalls--I use it extensively in the winter and love it.  The things to look for in a good Dutch Oven are weight, size (I am cooking for one, but mine will hold an entire chicken, a big one), you want to get an over-safe rubber top nob is possible, and how well the top fits.  Oh, and enameled--they clean up easily and your sauces won't taste funky. 

If you subscribe to Cook's Illustrated, they have a really good article from two years ago that compared everything from the inexpensive ones at Target to Le Cruset.  Target beat Le Cruset for bang for the buck.

I cooked with teflon coated cookware for years but recently switched back to stainless steel because it actually cooks and cleans better than the coated pans, and doesn't scratch. I found my stainless dutch oven on Ebay for around $30. Nice thing with stainless is that even buying used it's going to be in pretty good shape. The comment above about getting a pot with an oven-safe handle on the top is extremely good advice.

Although they are expensive, I would recommend splurging on a nice enameled dutch oven by either Mario Batali (Crate & Barrel) or Le Creuset (Williams-Sonoma).  You can sometimes find Le Creuset at TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning, if you're lucky.  You will have it for YEARS and the enameled ones clean up so much easier than a regular cast iron pot.  Totally worth it and you'll use it all year round.

Costco has a Ceramic coated 6qt dutch oven for $50 that is just as nice as my mom's Le Creuset! Also, I read a review in Cook's Illustrated that said Walmart has a perfectly good one for $50 also. I agree that ceramic covered cast iron is the best way to go as it gives you the even slow cooking that you need and is easy cleanup.

Le Creuset is awesome, but there are some great imitations out there these days that are much less expensive.  Never seen the doufeu, claire, but enjoyed reading about using ice on the lid -- what an amazing idea.

I often use a cast iron skillet to make marinara sauce, but my mom always told me not to let it sit after it's finished cooking.  It's my understanding that cooking with unenamelled cast iron can boost the iron content of foods.  

Hooray for cast iron and boo for cookware that's coated with teflon type stuff.