Reddit reviews Lodge L12DCO3 Deep Camp Dutch Oven, 8 Quart

If you're into it, dutch oven cooking over a campfire or using charcoal is relaxing and you can cook everything from breakfast through dessert in there. I have an 8qt deep dutch oven from Lodge and it's a nice way to cook a group meal on a lazy day in camp.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L12DCO3-Deep-Dutch-8-Quart/dp/B00008GKDW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406222714&sr=8-1&keywords=lodge+8qt+deep+dutch+oven

Yes, lots of others would have chipped in to help, if they knew who to contact.

We walked away from the events of April 27th with a few lessons.

1. It takes about 3 days for everything in 7 foot deep freeze to thaw out if you leave the lid closed.
   
   
2. You can never have too much bottled water on hand. Gallon jugs for washing up are a necessity.
   
   
3. A grill is nice, but a turkey fryer is a godsend for boiling water.
   
   
4. There's a reason it's called a Dutch Oven for a reason, you can actually bake in these. I always used mine for beans and stew until my buddy showed me how to make biscuits, cobbler, and cake.
   
   
5. A hot shower is probably worth a lot more than you think when you haven't had one for a few days. Baby wipes warmed in the sunshine are a lot better than a washcloth with cold water.

Ahhhh... one of 'dem 'der fancy ones. I've only used ones like this outdoors with wood fire and/or charcoal. Not the kind I would imagine working well indoors.

You really have two issues: 1) keeping the coals on the lid, and 2) not smothering the coals under the Dutch oven. Camping Dutch ovens have the flanged lid that help keep the coals on top (and ash out of your food), and the feet on the bottom keep the oven just above the coals allowing air to get to the coals. You can likely find a 1" tall metal ring that matches the diameter of the lid, and you could use 1.8" stones or something similar to keep the oven above the coals, but picking up a nice Camp Chef or Lodge camping Dutch oven would be a better long term solution.

Lodge now calls these "camp ovens" for some reason. I too feel the legless kind are really not Dutch ovens, but it's a losing battle as the other type have become uncommon even among campers.

With the acid/tomato thing, I have found that once the seasoning is well established I can make chili and other acidic things without any real issues. Same with soap which I'll use after broiling fish in the pan.

I'd say that my dutch oven doesn't get as much use as my skillets, but then if I had a something like this or the oven listed in the original post, at least the lid would be used often. My current one has a self basting lid that is a pain to clean and season.

Really, the lid is a make or break for the thing. If you want to use coals on top, get one with a lip. If you like to see your stuff cook, find one with a glass top. You get the point.

I have Griswold, Wagner, Lodge, and Benjamin & Medwin pans. The Griswold was a gift from someone that doesn't cook in cast iron pans, and the others were purchased new. The Griswold is used the most, Wagner and Lodge both seem to be fine, but I like the handles and the (semi) polished surface of my Wagner pans a bit better. The Benjamin & Medwin pans were purchased new about 20 years ago and are have the worst quality control. I don't believe they are still made.

A dutch oven, a campfire, and/or charcoal briquets. You can "stack" dutch ovens on top of each other, with each oven being a size smaller than the one below it. They do make aluminum dutch ovens, intended to be used by horse or mule pack trains. They are quite a bit lighter than cast iron dutch ovens. Other items that go along with dutch oven cooking are a lid lifter and a lid "rest." You can control the temp of the oven by the number of briquets on the lid.

BTW, the type of lid with a lip all the way around, so that one's briquets don't roll off is really de rigueur. You don't want the type with a "rounded" dome lid.

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Lifter-Lifting-Carrying-Ovens/dp/B0000TPDJE/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/132-7088107-2513867?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0000TPDJE&pd_rd_r=a15db4a3-c5ec-48ae-a51c-e7e82a6be9e0&pd_rd_w=jZOKH&pd_rd_wg=dy07K&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=K9CA053T5P8AKZW5BS1A&psc=1&refRID=K9CA053T5P8AKZW5BS1A

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-A5-11-Camp-Dutch-Black/dp/B07DR5GTQD/ref=pd_bxgy_79_img_3/132-7088107-2513867?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07DR5GTQD&pd_rd_r=218eacb9-5d6c-4dad-91cf-e16da1dbf183&pd_rd_w=FCwCZ&pd_rd_wg=fzNzP&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=SCQYZACAA61WGGX4V72E&psc=1&refRID=SCQYZACAA61WGGX4V72E

https://www.amazon.com/Texsport-Cast-Dutch-Handles-Handle/dp/B00019H602

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L12DCO3-Deep-Dutch-Quart/dp/B00008GKDW/ref=pd_cp_468_3?pd_rd_w=TDeqb&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=8VGGH6PZZKBJ4R0A6D24&pd_rd_r=875f9396-8df3-4c2e-8746-b23d663c901f&pd_rd_wg=E7Hfs&pd_rd_i=B00008GKDW&psc=1&refRID=8VGGH6PZZKBJ4R0A6D24

https://www.amazon.com/Bruntmor-Legged-Pre-Seasoned-Camping-Flange/dp/B01MSDAZ16/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_468_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Z9HYH8Z0DMHWE7J87NES

lodge 12 inch, 8 qt .

The little recipe book said use about twice as many coals on the lid as on the bottom. But I was using an open fire, and found that I hardly needed any coals on the bottom at all, due to the heat built up on the bed of the fire pit, but I needed as many coals on top as I could possibly fit. It was kind of like a blazing hot shitty game of jenga to deal with, but biscuits turned out awesome!

This

Made the most killer beef stew while camping last week - dutch ovens are a ton of fun.

Also, it's great to make chili and freeze it, then pop that in your cooler to keep other things warm. Works for meat balls as well, just reheat over a camp stove with a jar of sauce (or make your own). Pesto sauce freezes nicely and can go with all sorts of things. Lastly I highly recommend pre-marinating skewers of meat to grill over a camp fire.

If you are going to do a lot of camping with it you may want to look into one that has legs and allows you to put coals on top of the oven too. like this one I have one that I got for Christmas. But I cannot remember the name of it to save my life. Something red. But I LOVE the thing! The legs mean I dont have to worry about a tripod or stand when we use it. We camp at a lot of race tracks so its a little different than camp grounds. We will either dig a hole in the ground and plus the coals and dutch oven in it or I will place it in the tailgate grill we have and use that. Both ways works perfectly!

[dutch oven] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=19R81BN7NQW1W&coliid=I251KLCUY7M5AU&psc=1)

I used to be able to do biscuits, dinner, then dessert in one pan this size. I want to do that again, so bad.

this samsung, is an all around beast of a tv, and its not to big to be worked into any situation.

I can't recommend a dutch/camping oven enough for campfire cooking. I used to go to summer camp where every meal was dutch oven cooked. A cast iron dutch oven is also a useful tool at home. This is the closest style I could find that you would want for a home/camp use. You need the lip on the lid to hold hot coals, but the legs are pretty unnecessary, especially if you want to use it on a home burner. If you have a gas stove with high grates, then the legs shouldn't get in your way.

The key with dutch oven open fire cooking is watch your food. Otherwise make whatever recipe you'd make at home, just make sure you apply enough oil/fat to the cooking surface. Oven too hot, take some coals off, keep your food moving, it's really not that difficult. If you want to get really fancy, you can bake some pretty epic breads and cobblers in your dutch oven. Just try to use coals, and not burning logs, coals have more stable temperatures, and you are less likely to get smoke and soot in your food. You can use charcoal if you want to be more precise. Each briquette equals fifteen degrees or so, so 15 briquettes on top and 15 on the bottom is 30 * 15 = 450. Enjoy!