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Dutch ovens are a classic and versatile cooking tool that is used by cooks and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds. There are several companies that still make cast-iron, Lodge, Camp Chef, Stansport, and others. My review is mostly limited to the outdoor uses, but I use one in my home oven as well.
I received this Dutch Oven as part of a set that included skillet, a pot lifter, and a metal box with the same Lewis And Clark Expedition Anniversary logo. That was several years ago, and i have had no problems with it. Like many modern cast iron pieces I have had to re-season the item before I used it. It is an economy brand, so I actually had to season it more than once, but that is common with all brands and the "pre-seasoned" claim does not mean much. This model has a notch in the lid that can be twisted to line up with one on the pan to let steam out or to insert a thermometer, but I have never used that feature. It is sturdy, big and heavy. 6 quarts is the "standard" size used by Boy Scouts in our experience. It is 10 incehes diameter on the bottom, about 4 inches deep, and very heavy. The handle is strong and has not warped on the fire. It has the tripod legs and a recessed lid best suited for cooking in coals. Be aware that those legs make it harder to use in a conventional oven, you need to maneuver the legs if possible into your grill rack. Many cast-iron manufacturers make a legless version with the domed lid for a home oven, and I have used it in a fire as well. On this 3 legged model, you can use the lid as a skillet in a pinch if you need to in camp, just remove it and flip it over. You can do it all with Dutch Ovens cobblers, stews, beans, roasts, dumplings, you name it. It is the ultimate "one pot" pan.
QUALITY & Durability of cast-iron: There is a reason you can find old cast-iron pans in antique stores, it lasts forever. I have quite a few pans inherited from family members and even some garage sale finds. Most do not have any brand name on them. I have found pans rusted and abused to where they would head for the trash bin if they were made of anything else, but you can bring cast iron back with some elbow grease and a re-seasoning or two. While my modern expensive non-stick cookware seems to last no more than a few years before replacement in my kitchen, but this stuff can easily last many decades of daily use. Lodge has a life time warranty! I love to cook with cast iron even at home, it is so durable, but I can take it camping too. Easy to clean up, the only drawback being it is heavy and hard on your wrists as you get older. Cast iron takes a bit longer to heat up, but the heat transfers very evenly without hot spots and it retains its heat for a long time. It can go from stovetop to oven with ease. Do not use it at temperatures higher than 500 degrees, as it can crack. People swear certain foods just taste better in cast iron, and I believe that cast iron only improves with use and proper care instead of wearing out like other pans. My oldest pans attest to that. As for Lodge, there really is a big difference in quality, their current pans are noticeably better than the other brands.
SEASONING FINISH: Seasoning of cast iron cookery does not refer to flavor, but the finish, a kind of glaze on the pan. I love old pans because they have the best seasoning, the older the better. I have inherited many old pans. The modern version sold here is "pre-seasoned" and is supposed to be ready to cook in, but the pre-seasoning could probably use a touch up and I will tell you how to do that. It needs to stay black and shiny inside to stay seasoned. If you do lose your seasoning due to rust or an overaggressive cleaning, simply wipe it with oil inside and out and place it in a 350 degree oven for an hour, upside down. Let it cool in the oven slowly and naturally to room temperature again. You can place foil in the bottom of your oven to catch any drips. It also helps to wipe it with a paper towel of oil after every cleaning, or spray it with cooking oil and wipe. If it gets rusty, re-season it, you can get it like new again. DO NOT cook on it without re-seasoning though, as the food will stick. A note on what type of oil to use for seasoning, if you can do so use bacon grease, lard or butter, vegetable oil can sometimes get a little sticky in the pan and does not seem to get enough glaze as the animal based fats in my experience.
CLEANING: There is a debate on the cleaning of cast-iron that is as old as the pans, as to whether to use soap or not and how that affects sanitation. The Lodge company recommends cleaning without soap, but some people do so under certain circumstances. To clean without soap wash it with hot water and scrub it with a long handle brush or plastic scrubber, but never a metal scrubber as you can scratch the seasoning glaze. If you made a big mess with a cobbler and it is baked on and you just can't get it off, try this. Fill the pan half way with water, and put it to boil. Turn of the heat, then using an oven mitt to protect yourself pour the water out to about 1/4 full, then use the long handle scrubber to get the gunk out, It works for me. If you do use soap, just dip your scrubber in the dishwater but don't immerse your pan in it or pour soap into the pan. Immediately drying the pan is critical to its care either way, as soon as you clean the pan hand dry it with a paper towel and re-oil the pan immediately. For the most part, cast iron is non-stick as long as it is seasoned. If you use the pan on a fire, you can get soot on the exterior. An old Boy Scout trick to keep the exterior clean of soot if used on a campfire, is to treat the pan prior to cooking in the following manner. First wipe the pan (exterior only!) with some wet soap or a wet SOS pad, then let it dry before using it on the fire. Then when you are ready for washing, the soap has laid a protective layer over the exterior surface and the soot just wipes right off when you clean up with water.
ACCESSORIES: There are plenty of terrific Dutch oven and cast iron cook books here at Amazon.com. You can also get videos/DVD on Dutch Oven cooking like the one with Cee Dub. You can get affordable accessories too such as a Dutch oven tote bag, tongs, scrub brush, lid lifter, lid stand, and gloves. To be safe if cooking on coals or fire, use the lid lifter accessory, it will keep you from getting burned and makes it easier to lift the pan from hot coals. I highly recommend this pan, and have decades of experience behind that statement, enjoy your cobbler!
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I was very excited about this oven I wanted a 5or 6-quart camp oven with a griddle-top lid, and this oven seemed like it would be a perfect fit. But then I received it and was pretty disappointed with the build quality.There are a few large pits (two on the lid and two in the oven). The pre-seasoning also smells pretty bad. I don't know what kind of seasoning process Camp Chef uses but the result smells kind of toxic when heated. Lodge's pre-seasoning might not be the highest quality either but I never remember being worried about whether it was safe to use their products right out of the box. I can't say the same about this oven.
My lid is also of very poor quality. The outer edge has grinder patterns all over it, like it was angle-ground into a circle instead of being cast with a good-quality casting. There was no additional sanding to remove the grinder marks, and as such the edge is uneven and even sharp in a few places. It's a little ridiculous that the lid could be sharp enough to cut me, but there you have it. Because of the lid's sharp angles, it is also brittle and appears to have been chipped during shipping.
The lid also doesn't quite sit flat on my oven. The oven itself is more-or-less ok (although the edges are sharp and need sanding), but the lid has these weird raised crusty areas on its inner lip. I don't know if they're build-up from Camp Chef's seasoning process or if they're burrs from the awful grinding job on the lid edges. Either way they're sharp enough to scrape your fingers on and they also prevent the lid from quite sitting flat.
I think that the oven can be made acceptable if I re-sand the lid and the oven's outer lip and then run the whole thing through a couple of solid rounds of seasoning with an oil that doesn't smell so foul. It's definitely not a product I would buy if I could do it over again.
Best Deals for Camp Chef Deluxe 10IN Dutch Oven
The Camp Chef DO-10-Sacagawea 6 Quart Dutch OvenFirst look: Super black and double seasoned, it used to be just seasoned one time, now it is done twice to insure a full seasoning. This is now called True Seasoned Cast Iron. (the wax and film is gone!)
Quality: no milling marks and the lit fits perfect.
This series of Dutch ovens is great, I have several sizes and styles, the 6 quart is the "most used"
Next is the The Camp Chef DO-5-Mini 3/4 Quart Dutch Oven this one is great for sauces and deserts.
for the big contests and cookouts the The Camp Chef Lewis & Clark 12-Quart Dutch Oven is best.
I am a big fan of cast iron cooking and think the food just tastes way better. My favorite Pan is a Griswold early 1900's model. Much of the "New" cast iron has too much aluminum and doesn't season up well. Even some of the first Camp Chef stuff seasoned up like black camo with darker and lighter spots.
I am really happy to see this quality similar to my old Griswold, if you find good cast iron you only have to find it one time. it will outlive you!
I added 3 pictures the first is the Dutch oven on a Camp Table,
Picture # 2 is a dutch oven on the Camp Stove
Picture # 3 is from the Dutch Oven Championships and this was my vote for Winner.
That lobster is perfect!
Honest reviews on Camp Chef Deluxe 10IN Dutch Oven
I am really new to dutch oven cooking. but...wow. What fun!This particular unit is the first I've ever purchased. But it has some nice touches that some other dutch ovens don't have.
First, the general stuff.
6 quarts is...well...a lot. I was expecting this to be much smaller and am especially happy I didn't buy the 10 or 12 quart dutch ovens because that would have been out of control huge. As it is, I can make enough chilli that as a side dish, it easily serves 15. As a main dish, it serves about 6-8, though 4 big eaters could finish the pot.
Heating is a little interesting. While it definitely cooks more evenly than a thin steel pot, I found that there are some colder and hotter spots that develop, though slight adjustment of coals can fix this. This is only noticeable when baking. Stews and Chilis of course, aren't really affected. I thought maybe I was just doing something wrong, but I've read others have similar problems with a variety of dutch ovens, so I guess this is fairly typical, and the simple solution is to move some coals around if you notice anything. Still, it is waaaaay more even in cooking that any other steel "pot" I've ever used, and pretty similar in even heating to the analon copper lined pots and le creusets in our home.
On to more specifics.
This particular unit has the top that you can place coals on and also can be flipped and placed on a bed of coals to use as a skillet. Nice touch. I do have a cheap flat aluminum topper that I can use for the dutch oven while I'm using the dutch oven topper as a skillet, so this works out well in case I want to heat up something and retain heat in the pot while doing the skillet thing.
This unit also come with the lid lifter. When I was at Walmart recently, I saw another dutch oven with a topper where you could put coals on it, but that unit didn't have a lifter, so this was a nice add on from Camp Chef.
Another nice touch are the legs. Many dutch ovens have them so you can put coals underneath, many don't. So having them is great. what's more. some companies make the legs too long so heat is harder to transfer, but the Camp Check version is perfect for briquettes, so this is another well thought out design component.
All in all, when comparing the dutch ovens through various reviews, and also experiencing this one, I think it's clear that this was the right choice for me.
One other note, if you get a dutch oven table, and you happen to select the smaller one, it's worth noting that with this smaller 6 quart 10" dutch oven, you can also put a tuscan grill next to it.
Hope this helps and happy grilling!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Camp Chef Deluxe 10IN Dutch Oven
Very nice oven. Cooks well. However bought it because I thought it was american made, its not its made in china.
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