Dutch Oven Recommendations
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Which Dutch Oven do you use? Do you have a recommendation on what I should be looking for? Which recipes do you use it for?
Ashley
I have two dutch ovens. One is an enameled cast iron variety, and the other is an All-Clad stainless steel pot.
My two pots
The Tramontina cast iron pot like I own costs a little less than $50. I've never owned a Le Creuset Dutch oven, but this is a similar product except it costs $50 instead of $300.
Cook's Illustrated does say the Le Creuset is their favorite pot, and they still recommend the Tramontina, but their best buy option is now the Cuisinart version, which is $169.
I don't use my cast-iron Dutch oven nearly as much as I used to, mainly because I got an All-Clad stockpot($258) a few years ago, and I really prefer it. It's not technically a Dutch oven, but it performs all the tasks I used my Dutch oven for, so I consider it a substitute.
It IS an expensive pot, but I use and love it so much, it's felt worth it to me.
Why do I like it better?
Well, interestingly enough, I have way less trouble with food sticking to the bottom. And when it does stick, I can scrub with a lot more abandom than I can with my enameled pot (it's not hard to scratch the enamel!)
Along the same lines, I can use whisks and other utensils in the stainless steel pan, but those tend to damage the enamel in my cast iron pot.
I also like that the stainless steel pot is so much lighter. Cast-iron is great, but it is a lot to lug out.
And lastly, the stainless steel pot heats up a lot faster than the cast-iron pot.
What do I use it for?
I use my pot for making soups, browning meat, heating milk for yogurt, cooking pulled pork in the oven, making jambalaya, cooking apples for applesauce, making chicken broth and more!
I only use 8 pieces of cookware (I don't count my cast iron Dutch oven because I never use it anymore), so each of those 8 pieces gets used a lot, including my All-Clad stockpot.
Readers! What's your favorite Dutch oven?
Do share in the comments and give Ashley your opinions/recommendations.
I do have a Le Creuset. I went to an outlet store prepared to buy one with a cosmetic defect. For some strange reason, the sale they were having at the time made the 1st run version CHEAPER than the outlet version. I was just lucky that day!
You'll be delighted to hear that a few years ago Aldi got a shipment in of cast iron Dutch ovens! I think I paid $35 for it. I use it a lot and it works like a champ. I don't even know the brand.
I have this one, too, and it's great! I think it's even at Aldi this week or next!
I have one of Aldi's cast iron skillets and I love it! It's one of the eight pieces in my collection of cookware.
It's not enameled, though, and I think I prefer that over enameled.
They supposedly had cast iron skillets a few weeks ago, but there were none to be found when I checked my local store. 🙁
Lodge is superior, widely available, and cheap, too. 12" <$20.
I got mine at Aldi last year for $29.99 plus tax.
@PBE, I got one from Aldi at that time too and it’s a Crofton not listed when you look up branch but it works
I have an enameled cast iron french oven - oval shape rather than the round dutch oven. It is a knock off brand that I got at Home Goods for about $50. It is functional, but looking a little worse for wear. I would look for one with a dark interior because my white interior is stained no matter how I try to clean it. I would also look for a metal handle. The handle of mine is part of the lid so is also enameled cast iron and is chipping and rusting.
I use it for soup/chili on the stove top but mostly for braising in the oven. I will agree that is super heavy and would not be a good choice for someone with limited arm strength or mobility. It has replaced my slow cooker for a lot of my cooking. I am lucky to work from home so this is an option for me. I find that the roasts/chicken come out better from the oven than the crock pot. Not bashing that crock pot though as it saves me when I am not going to be home to prep dinner!
My dutch oven is also a stainless steel pot with stainless steel lid. Actually, I have two sizes of dutch ovens that came as part of a set of pots and pans my mother-in-law bought in 1962 for over $200, a price which would have made a lot of people cringe in 1962! They are FlavorSeal by Cory. But they've been worth it, because I'm still using all of the pieces here in 2016 as my only pans, except for two cast-iron skillets and one very small saucepan. They are double walled and do a good job on the stove top and in the oven. I've looked at the enameled cast iron, and they are enticing -- those colors! -- but I get a whole lot of use out of my stainless ones and can't justify the expense of a cast iron dutch oven. Since mine are stainless and the bigger one is quite large, I can use them to make pickles, homemade tomato sauce, jelly, and other high-acid or high-volume foods. I use them to make stews and soups, boil pasta, oven-cook pot roasts, mash potatoes for a crowd...... They are my go to pans for anything big.
I have a flavorseal dutch oven can I use it in the oven? will the handle hold up?
My mom just two weeks ago bought me an enameled cast iron Dutch oven from the Pioneer Woman line at Walmart. I half-heartedly shopped for a Dutch oven some time ago, came to no conclusion (because Internet), and stopped. Walmart is perhaps not a place I would have looked, honestly, but the PW one is pretty decent, if you ask me. It heats evenly and cleans easily, which is all I really know to look for.
My previous go-to had been a Revereware copper-bottom pot. It's fine, but on my electric stove, I had trouble getting it to heat evenly. It worked better on the gas stove that I had in an apartment before I was married. I used it for 20-some years. But I do feel like the cast iron is a step up.
I have 2 le Cruesets that I bought over 25 years ago. Honestly, they are worth every penny. I use the one to make bread the no knead way and it comes out amazing. I definetely would buy the le Crueset and see it as an investment.
So, if you have a Le Creuset, does the enamel finish hold up better? I've hated having to be so careful with the finish on my Tramontina, and I've wondered if spending more gets you a better enamel finish.
I've had a LeCrueset dutch oven for many years and love it. It's great for soups, stews, chili, slow cooking meat, and, as Christina said, making delicious no knead bread! I'm not gentle with my cookware and have had no problems with the finish. The interior is somewhat "stained" but that's just the look that comes with use. If you do a lot of cooking, it's a great investment.
tl;dnr: Le Crueset is sturdy, hard to damage, and the company stands by its 101 year warranty. They're a good value for the price.
My newest Le Crueset is about 15 years old, my oldest 25. They age very well. I have never been particularly careful about the lining and you know that I cook a lot. It shows scratches but they're superficial - the scratches don't go deep enough to be a problem.
Further, they have a 101 year warranty that moves with the pot. If you sell the pot, the warranty transfers to the new owner. I've had to use it twice, for chips, and have had a satisfactory experience each time. The second time was a bit of a challenge in that they'd changed the pot design (added a small vent to the lid, which I loathed - I wanted my lid to seal), which I found out when I unpacked my replacement pot. They took it back - paying for shipping, talked with me about finding a suitable replacement, and gave me an inexpensive non-stick skillet for my trouble.
They also have really nice people at their customer service desk. There was one woman at the LC Outlet Store who became so invested in my search for green pots, that she'd call me when green came in or went on sale.
Yes it holds up beautifully. I've had mine for over 25 years (through raising six kids) and I still use them weekly. The interior bottoms are a bit dull are but no chips. I use whisks, stainless steel spoons, wooden spoons...whatever is needed.
I bought a QVC lookalike and it chipped before the first year was out. Just be sure to look for sales as they do cost a lot. It also helps is the pots being all the same color doesn't matter. My daughter is collecting sizes she needs when she sees a good sale in different colors.
We cook every day. We SHOULD have good pots and pans and good knives. They make cooking a pleasure. The rest is just not that essential. (Although I'd fight someone over my Kitchenaid mixer!
Absolutely.. I've had my 2 for over 25 years and the enamel is perfect. Now there is some discoloration on the inside of the bigger dutch oven since when you bake the bread it's at a high temperature. I have used bar keepers cleanser and it cleans up, but I'm just lazy and kinda like the 'used look'. The other one I only used for braising etc and still looks absolutely great. I'm even thinking of getting another one. If I recall when I bought these 2 back in the 90's , I think I still spent oer $200 so really the price has just adjusted for inflation. You will love it.
The le crueset last forever. The enamel started chipping on my fathers after decades of regular use and they replaced them for free. They no longer have that lifetime guarantee though.
We got ours at a kitchen supply outlet for a steep discount ~15 years ago. Still expensive, but the target version starts losing enamel so quickly there's no comparison.
Oy, I drool over anything Le Creuset!
We use the Sur La Table brand cast iron dutch oven, and it's a dream! This sucker is pretty heavy, but it can hold quite a lot! I love that it's cast iron, which means the food gets a good crust, too.
I went to look at mine, because I wasn't sure. I inherited it from my mother in law and it's probably close to 70 years old. The mark on the bottom says Thermic Ray by Norris. It's a heavy duty stainless steel with a thick copper bottom. It's so easy to clean and looks kind of retro. I absolutely love it and use it several times a week!
Hmmm...I've never called any pot a Dutch oven unless it's total cast iron, has 3 legs, a lid with a rim around it to hold charcoal, and can be used over a fire or with charcoal when camping. I have two, a small and a large. I always thought of a Dutch oven as an "oven". You can't bake bread in a stainless steel pot, can you? But you can bake anything in a cast iron pot. They will come in handy to cook hot meals if there is no electricity for an extended time.
"You can’t bake bread in a stainless steel pot, can you?"
Yes, but it doesn't turn out as well as with any sort of cast iron, as the thinner steel or copper sides don't hold/radiate heat as intensely. I agree with your implicit statement that calling a large pot a Dutch oven is a bit strange. FWIW, I don't insist on the legs - I can find some rocks if I need to - but a proper Dutch oven should allow you to put a heat source on the lid.
Strangely, my large All Clad pot is a better candidate for coals on the lid, then is my Le Crueset dutch oven. LC's lids aren't flat, All Clad's are. Even so, I wouldn't put coals on the relatively thin lid of the All Clad unless I really had to. I'm afraid it would warp under the intense heat.
I love my vintage cast iron dutch oven. (Not enameled) It gets used on the fire and on the stove. But- that probably is not a consideration for most people! I also love it because it was a garage sale rescue that I restored.
I recently bought aldi's enameled ci sauce pan, and the verdict is still out on that.
One can't really honestly compare a SS pot and a CI dutch oven...they're two different items with different benefits and drawbacks. Any a clad pot like AC heats more evenly than enameled CI, and it will heat faster, too. That's just the nature of the metal. And that's also why CI is superior to SS for dutch ovens. Dutch ovens purpose is long, slow cooking. CI will hold the heat energy well and retain it much longer than SS. Therefore, CI is more energy efficient and will be cheaper to operate than a SS dutch oven. SS pots are perfectly acceptable, but the range of their 'best' uses is very different.
Regarding sticking, you just need to ensure there is proper liquid/oil in the bottom of the pot.
Hear, hear. You said it better than I could. This is why I don't call my large All Clad pots "Dutch ovens."
I didn't exactly either. I just said that my All Clad pot has ended up fulfilling all the functions my Dutch oven did. 😉
I don't have any advice on Dutch ovens, but I do have a question about enameled cast iron. What are the advantages of enameled cast iron over plain, well seasoned cast iron? I like the look of the enameled, but I love my plain cast iron skillet because I can use any utensils and scrub it as much as needed without worrying about scratches. If food starts sticking, I just have to refresh the seasoning by rubbing it with oil and heating it in the oven. It just seems like the enameled would require more care and wouldn't have the longevity of the plain cast iron.
I think it's that you can cook acidic stuff in it without worrying about it taking the seasoning off. Like, if you simmered a batch of tomato sauce in your cast iron pot, it'd remove a lot of the seasoning.
Enameled doesn't need seasoning (easier); no worries about acidic food acquiring a metallic tinge (although experts are in disagreement over whether this actually happens); can be washed with soap; and because the enamel is light, it's easier to determine how your fond is coming along. Tends to be quite expensive.
Plain cast iron must be seasoned (nonstick), can be used at very high temps and literally thrust into flames, and is practically indestructible. Unless you use soap on it. Tends to be quite inexpensive.
Having owned low-quality enameled, high-quality enameled, and cast iron for many years each, I find that high-quality enamel is the easiest to care for.
We find ours much easier to clean. You can soak enamel and don't have to reseason. It works like a regular metal pan. I think you only have to be careful with cheaper versions.
I have several enameled and regular cast iron Dutch/French ovens, all of which were thrifted for less than $20. I have a Le Creuset as well as a vintage Belgian Descoware enameled oven which pretty much live on top of my stove. (Mostly because they are so heavy to lug around, but I then I do use them almost daily.) I have had times when things stuck to the bottom, but they were easily cleaned. Just stick with wooden spoons and you won't have any issues with scratching. If it is really bad, you can clean them with Easy-off. I like that they are so heavy that they retain the heat from the stove/oven and I can let things simmer on barely-there heat. I do have one of the knock-off brand enameled pieces and it seems like it is harder to get them clean; I would definitely hold out for finding a quality piece at a thrift or check ebay, where you can get a great deal on a great pan.
I have a Martha Steward cast iron Dutch oven. Originally I got one but the enamel started flaking off. Since it had a life-time warranty and I had the box and receipt, I took it back to Macy's and got a new one. They said that I would like the new one better. So far, so good. I use it for cooking on the stovetop and in the oven. I love it. You do have to be careful with it because of the enamel, but I haven't had any scratches or flaking with my new one. Soaking works for stuck on stuff.
I wouldn't consider a stainless steel pan a Dutch oven, while it is versatile in the kitchen it doesn't perform the same.
I got my Dutch oven a few years back from World Market. With whatever coupon I had at the time, I paid maybe $30 for it! Its fantastic! I use it a lot to make chilis and soups!
Like you, I have an enameled cast iron Dutch oven--Crofton brand, bought last year at Aldi, and a cheap stainless stock pot. We use the stock pot for huge batches of soup or pasta.
We received a Le Creuset dutch oven as a gift. We have had it for 10 years without any problems, but If anything burns and is stuck to the bottom of the pan, it takes quite a bit of elbow grease to get it off.
Can I ask a stupid question? What is the exact definition of a Dutch oven?
I have a deep dish cast iron pan that I inherited from my grandmother - it's 5-6 inches deep and not enameled. I use it all the time and absolutely LOVE it. I always called it a Dutch oven, but now I'm thinking maybe it's not? I also have a smaller deeper enameled cast iron pot that I think of as a small Dutch oven - I use it for anything that's more liquid or acidic (stuff that will ruin the seasoning on the other one.) But I never thought of a stock pot as a Dutch oven because they usually have thin bottoms, don't retain the heat, and can't actually go in the oven. But now I'm confused, and I'm wondering if I even know what a Dutch oven is! Can anyone enlighten me?
I'm not sure. I mean, Cook's Illustrated calls the cast iron pots Dutch ovens even though they don't have feet and such.
My All Clad stock pot can go in the oven, just like a Dutch oven can, so that can't be the defining factor either.
Basically...I dunno!
I finally had to look it up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_oven
🙂
Dutch ovens are cast iron pots that can be used on the stovetop or in the oven.
French ovens are actually a Dutch oven with a ceramic coating.
I have a Lodge enamel lined dutch oven and I love it! I think I got it for Christmas about 8 or 9 years ago and use it multiple times a week. I am not very gentle with it, using wisks and other metal utensils and so far it has held up completely. It is heavy, especially during washing or trying to pour food out of it with one hand. My pot is completely discolored inside, but it is clean and doesn't effect the taste in anyway (just shows that it is loved lol). Prior to owning the dutch oven I just used a large stainless steel pot and I definitely prefer the dutch oven.
Got very lucky a few years ago and bought a Le Creuset for $99, the catch was it was only available in black, (as if that really mattered!), and I got free shipping. It's one of the most reliable pieces of cookware I have.
Le Creuset, hands down! I bought my 7.25 qt. three years ago at an outlet store for less than $250. It is worth every penny!! I make everything in it. Last January I decided to shop for the braiser. I found one for $125 at Marshall's. I rarely use any other pans. I love these!!
I have an ancient tiny frypan that is genuine le Creuset. My children love it. I have to fight to keep it in the house. Chef son, anyone?
Other than there are fakes. I bought one in Kmart that did not last long. The rest have come from Aldi over the years and I have never had problems except for a few chips when I have dropped them. They are very heavy when filled,
The Tratomina is at Sams Club and I think less than $50 ($30?). Love it for browning and slow cooking. I also have a stainless one for pasta and such.
I have a cheaper brand enameled cast iron, I absolutely love it. I only had problems with stuff stuck on the bottom once when I forgot to turn spaghetti sauce down. I soaked for about 15 minutes and it all came off. As for whisking, OXO makes a great coated wisk that doesn't scratch.
I love my Le Creuset enameled Dutch oven, found it at Home Goods for $40 years ago. I drove home without buying it because I did not want to pay that much for a pan, after I seen how much they cost & had great reviews I drove half hour the next day to pick it up.
I also have a larger Food Network enameled dutch oven when Kohl's had them so cheap many years ago. I don't use it a lot because it is big, heavy and there are only 2 of us now that kids have moved out. It is great for making bread in.
And a Rachel Ray enameled small fry pan, perfect size for 1 grilled cheese, it has very low sides and is oval shaped. Those are both over 10 years old and have help up well.
I wanted a Le Creuset for years but couldn't afford one. A friend of mine bought me the Kirkland version from Costco for Christmas several years ago. I think it was about $40. It is a nice cheery color of red and honestly it's fine for my purposes. I don't use it a whole lot because its very heavy and because I am single so I am rarely making giant pots of food. But on the occasions I have used it, it seems to fit the bill. Plus, I still can't afford Le Creuset!