Reddit reviews Lodge 5 Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Pre Seasoned Cast Iron Pot and Lid with Wire Bail for Camp Cooking

This is the most BIFL quality and with a small cable lock, would lock securely.

I have regular cast iron one, no enamel or colors here. I like it better, actually, since I'm used to cast iron and seasoning it and stuff. I got the big 9-quart one even though I live alone. I just make really big batches of soup then pour the left overs into zip top bags and put them flat on a baking sheet in the freezer (it works like a heat sink and helps them freeze faster). After they're frozen flat, they stack easy. Later, when I'm hungry and too lazy to make a meal from scratch, I just thaw out a bag and warm it up.

And while this won't help most people, the Lodge factory is on my drive from where I live to where my parents live (South Pittsburgh, TN). They have a factory outlet store there and they have an entire section of "Seconds" which are just as good as their normal stuff, it just might have a ding or scratch in it, but they're a good bit cheaper than the normal stuff. Lodge isn't really expensive, but if you're ever in that part of TN, it's a good idea to stop by and stock up on all your cast iron needs.

Try using a bench scraper when shaping instead of hands, and use a little more flour esp on the sides of the boule to prevent sticking. Here is a YouTube video for instructions.

I use a Dutch oven like this one and get consistent results.

This is literally in my amazon wish list

Lodge is considered one of the best cast iron cookware companies. You can buy a 5qt for under $40. For a couple more dollars you can get a double dutch oven which includes a skillet lid so it's actually a dutch oven and a skillet. I got it for Christmas last year and use it more than anything, highly recommended for under $50.

I was trying to find out what you meant by dutch oven. Is this kind of what you meant?

Ok, here are a few easy suggestions:

Most veggies can be oven roasted for extra flavour. I often toss a bunch of "about to go bad" veggies into a cast iron oven like this tossed with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add anything you can think of - sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, whole cloves of garlic are awesome - the more colours the better. Let it all sit in the oven for ~1h at 350 and you have an amazing pot full of nutritional goodness. I'll often have just these veggies with a piece of meat I've cooked separately, or sometimes I add meat to the pot (peameal bacon, chopped steak).

It's a very easy way to get a lot of great vegetables into you :)

Another one of my favourite recipes for using a ton of veggies is stuffed peppers. I posted it here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/fitmeals/comments/ilp7p/stuffed_peppers/

I've cooked roasted pieces of chicken, like breasts and thighs, but obviously not a whole chicken. It cooks significantly faster. I usually just stick a thermometer in my roast chicken and walk away... As far as quality of the meat afterwards, it isn't really any different... Still nice and juicy.

We use it a lot for salmon because you can do baked salmon in little under 15 minutes. It's also great for frozen food, like it'll shave about 5 minutes off of the oven cook time for frozen foods (I have a soft spot for dinosaur chicken nuggets).

I have this guy https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0097D2T7S/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I paid 35.99 (Looked up my order history on Amazon) for it. So it looks like it's currently overpriced

Order Summary
Item(s) Subtotal: $35.99
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Total before tax: $35.99
Estimated tax to be collected: $2.16
Grand Total: $38.15


As an aside, for whole roast chicken I think this is the best way hands down. https://smile.amazon.com/Lodge-L8DO3-Pre-Seasoned-Dutch-5-Quart/dp/B00006JSUF/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1474895325&sr=8-11&keywords=lodge+dutch+oven

If there's an extra $30 in your budget, I just got this one

I haven't used it yet, but I hope to use it for baking and/while camping.