Have you spent big bucks for a cast iron dutch oven?

[Hotler]

7qt - 7.25 qt, Le Creuset and Staub can be found on sale for about $400.00. I learned a lesson long ago not to put money into cheap tools. I've been looking at garage sales for a good used one. Most used ones are chipped up.

[Bev54]

1. Check out other stores

It tends to be name brands that sell for that amount, I have bought myself 2 separate ones, different sizes on sale for $60. and also purchased as gifts. I have been using mine for years and it is excellent.

[redstatebluegirl]

2. I have and still use the one my Grandma left me.

I use it weekly! I would think it would be worth the money to get a good one if I didn't have this one.

[packman]

3. $400 is WAY overpriced

I believe I spent about 60/80$ for my Le Creuset.

[asiliveandbreathe]

4. Cast iron skillets..small, medium, large..on my stove (gas) all the time..

I thought I would look around for cast iron dutch oven and found a company in business for over 100 years...

https://www.lodgecastiron.com/shop?Material=Seasoned%20Cast%20Iron&Type=Dutch%20Ovens

You have a choice of many cast iron products..you are right..afa cooking tools go, you only get what you pay for...I still have my moms pressure cooker..I never use the cover..I saw it explode once, ..oh, and a knife I keep wrapping with electric tape..I have never had to sharpen..great workmanship (and materials used) back in the day...

Bon appétit ...

[The Polack MSgt]

5. I have a King Kooker dutch oven

and it works well in a campfire or a kitchen - Mine's a 12 qt model and they run ~$ 75-85

They have a spring steel handle/carrier that pops off if you need to work in a stove.

Lodge is cheaper, but the finish is rougher and the Lodge dutch oven seems too heavy for its size to me.

A quick google search showed that they are at Walmrt dot com Amazon and Home Depot dot com

https://www.homedepot.com/p/King-Kooker-Pre-seasoned-12-Qt-Cast-Iron-Dutch-Oven-CI12S/205105901

[CountAllVotes]

6. I do not like cooking with iron

Iron is too heavy for me.

I am still using my old Revere Ware dutch oven for cooking soups, etc.

I can lift it full. I cannot lift an iron dutch oven.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. When Mr. Dixie and I joined households over 20 years ago

We each had Revere Ware cooking pots and hand me down cast iron skillets and dutch ovens, from our respective grandparents.

Use them both, all the time.

I'm trying to figure out who would want them when we are gone. The kids won't.

[CountAllVotes]

21. There is a good market for these on ebay

I just bought a 35 year+ old copper bottom skilled (7" ) on there a couple of weeks ago. It looks like it was rarely used.

I buy all of the used Revere Ware I need on ebay.

I like it better than anything out there for cooking!

I buy the Made in the USA stuff only though!

The Korean made stuff is not very good.

[safeinOhio]

7. I just ordered a sandblaster just

For restoring Vintage CI cook ware. If not chipped, they are easy to restore. Some of the good brands were not marked, but easy to id.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. I don't recall who ended up getting my mother's dutch oven.

I took her cast-iron skillet and KitchenAid* mixer after she passed away.

Wow, that price seems outrageous.

* Mistakenly wrote Kenmore earlier. It's one of the old Hobart mixers made in Ohio.

[Golden Raisin]

9. I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven that's almost 50 years old.

It is my favorite thing in my kitchen and is still in great shape, which is more than I can say for me. Worth every bit of the initial expense. Bought one a few years ago as a gift for my niece when she renovated her kitchen.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. I paid less than $40 for my Lodge 12" Dutch oven over 30 years ago.

It's been used over many a campfire and has never disappointed. I have other Lodge cast iron cookware and have never had a problem with it. After proper seasoning and cleaning, my daughter calls It "Mom's Teflon. It is all plain cast iron, no enamel.

La Creuset is beautiful and we'll made, but spending that much on cookware is out of my budget.

[KatyaR]

13. I also bought a Lodge about 15 years ago for $40.

Mine is enameled, but it has held up well.

[LuvLoogie]

11. Got a 5.5 qt Le Creuset at Marshall's for about $70.

I didn't notice any flaws. Maybe it was the smaller size and the color, a warm, muted yellow.

Love it. I would get an all iron, made in the USA, Lodge, if I didn't run across that deal. My Mom had a 7 qt. Le C. My sister has it now.

[mitch96]

12. I get a enameled dutch oven at the discount stores. they last me 5 or so years before they chip up

Then I get another. Sometimes I find'em at garage sales.. I'm tough on cookware. Doesn't pay for me to get good stuff... YMMV.
m

[Pisces]

14. I have 2 large Dutch ovens, and I think they are well worth the money.

[dreamland]

15. This vid was good about pots and pans from a pro cook

I didn't have any interest but somehow I ended up watching this to the very end. He's got some good tidbits on seasoned cast iron pan.

[Major Nikon]

16. I have a Le Creuset and a generic cheap enameled cast iron dutch oven

The Le Creuset is certainly nice, but I can't say it does anything better than the cheaper one. If I had it to do all over again I wouldn't have bought the Le Creuset, but at the time cheaper ones just didn't exist. If anything I like the cheaper one better as if I ever chip it I'm not out much, so I certainly worry about it less.

[Warpy]

17. Yes, I have, I have two sizes, in flame, of course

I've used them a lot, the large ones for soups and stews and roasting whole chickens, the small one for no knead bread since it makes a higher loaf than the big one did. I use them a lot in winter, not so much in summer.

I had a regualr cast iron Dutch oven many years ago but could never get it seasoned enough that it didn't impart a rusty flavor to food. I suppose if I'd used it as a deep fryer, it would have been better.

ETA: Cheap enameled cast iron will certainly do the job now, but they weren't as good 30 years ago when I saved up for Le Creuset. LC has been found in the rubble after hurricanes, tornadoes, and house fires perfectly intact and like new once the crud has been hosed off. The only thing that hurts it is rough handling that chips the enamel.

[eleny]

18. I purchased a Lodge set and never looked back

I also have cast iron fry pans that were my mother's. Smooth as silk. And I have an older Le Creuset dutch oven. It's getting slightly pitted but I use it. I tried it for an artisan bread and liked the results.

But then I read a master bread baking web site where the guy uses a Lodge dutch oven with a cover that doubles as a skillet. Since the price was great I went for it and achieved the same bread results.

Important question - What will be using it for?

We use our cast iron for everything. Scrambling eggs, frying bacon and the large dutch oven part of the combo for stews and such. I want to get a glass cover if I can't find one around the house to fit it.

This is the pre seasoned set I purchased. It's very heavy with a pebbled texture.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/cast-iron-combo-cooker?sku=LCC3

[GentryDixon]

19. I bought a Le Creuset cookware set 50 years ago

at the base PX. I'm still using the Dutch oven. It's so heavy, I'm always afraid of dropping it on my tile floor. 😬

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. I have one I am not using.

If you live near Santa Fe PM me and I can arrange for you to pick it up from me.

[brokephibroke]

23. $176 on amazon

Staub 7qt

[Retrograde]

24. The best dollar I ever spent

Many, many years ago I bought a slightly rusty Lodge cast-iron Dutch oven at a flea market. I gave it a light sanding with steel wool to remove the rust, than re-seasoned it. It's served me now for about four decades - and it came with a trivet and a lid that also fit my late MiL's cast iron skillet. And all for $1!

I have a smaller, maybe 2 qt- Le Creuset that I bought at an outlet store. The sales clerk said that if I bought 3 items - no matter how cheap - they'd take an additional 25% off the entire order. The he asked, are you old? Because today is Seniors' Tuesday and you get an additional 10% off. The total for all the items ended up being about a third of the retail price!

Now I fear I've used up all my Dutch oven karma...