I received my eagerly-awaited Dutch oven a couple days ago and made some chili to try it out. It works great, with excellent heat retention... good for browning beef at higher temperatures, and bubbles merrily away even at low heat. Great for anything you want to simmer long and low for the best flavor.
An added bonus the lid from this Dutch oven also fits the Logic 10-1/4" skillet if required.
To clean, I fill it with hot water, boil a bit to lift the grease, then rinse with hot water and wipe with a paper towel, using a bit of nylon mesh from an onion bag for any stubborn bits, then dry and re-oil.
A couple notes:
If you receive a Logic Dutch oven and find a couple gobs of sticky, brown, almost rust-colored stuff on the handle flange, it is likely NOT rust. Because of the shape of this pot, the pre-seasoning process sometimes leaves a bit of extra, thickened oil in this location. If this is the case, it can be easily rubbed off with a fingertip, much like rubber cement.
The pre-seasoning is very effective, but the inside of the lid, well-designed to keep moisture inside the pot, is a vulnerable spot. Depending on what you cook, the inside of the lid will likely require additional seasoning; I only oiled the cooking surfaces and the first use (no tomato, but enough water to simmer the chili) removed much of the seasoning between the self-basting points. No rust, so it was a simple matter of wiping the inside surface of the lid with peanut oil and putting it in a 450 degree (F) oven a couple times. I'd suggest doing this to the lid before use, and any time the seasoning in this location appears to be thinning. I did not lower my rating for this, as its simply the nature of the beast, not a design or manufacturing flaw.
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There are so few "cons" to this pot, it's hard to write a review that doesn't sound sappy.
I have a full set of Ultrex, a snappy modern line sold by a company that makes pans for many big names found in department stores. 55 year warranty, they work fine... But they're non-stick and I've started to worry about that.
Not long ago, a study came out that suggested eating foods cooked in Teflon pans left molecules of something or other floating around in the person's blood for FOUR YEARS. I thought twice about this and decided it was time to look into other pans. It might turn out to be benign but what if it isn't?
I was addicted to good browning, was used to it from Cuisinart pans and Ultrex. I tried Calphalon hard-anodized aluminum. One burning incident and that pan was RUINED, totally ruined, nothing would clean it.
I've cooked in this Lodge Logic pre-seasoned for a dozen meals now, meat and fish, vegetables too. I've used all types of fats olive oil, butter, corn oil. Tonight it made a gravy to die for using heavy cream and mushrooms.
You do have to get used to its different heating cycle. It heats up slower than some other materials. It cools off slower too. But it is fuel efficient and you can do a lot of cooking on Low.
My #1 demand was that it brown meat well. It does that SPLENDIDLY. Really beautiful. Heat the pan for 5 minutes on near High. Throw in two tablespoons of olive oil, throw in stew meat and it will brown in four minutes, magazine picture perfect. Stir with a wooden spoon. Throw in vegetables once the meat's browned. A few cups of water, put the lid on, turn it down to Medium for 15 minutes, Low for another 15 minutes -it will look like a magazine cover stew. Browning a roast is even easier -and you can put it into the oven after browning.
If I had to complain of anything, it would be that cast iron is heavy. I'm not sure how much of a problem this will be. This is still a small enough pot to handle for most people. You can roast a whole chicken in it so if that's the quantity you cook, buy this right NOW, you can't go wrong.
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This was one of the first pieces of Lodge cast iron that I ordered. I had to admit that the price was the first thing that lured me in, but with that also came the questioning of quality. I was expecting a lightweight dutch oven, but being that I didn't have one, I figured I'd give it a try. The weight of the box it arrived in was the first clue to its quality. The entire piece has a nice weight to it, and the handle is sturdy and comfortable to the hand. I couldn't wait to break mine out of the box and make a pot of chili. The dutch oven browns beef beautifully, yet keeps it moist since it has an even heating surface. Once I added the other ingredients I was amazed at how nothing seemed to stick to the pot. Of course the chili was out of this world, but cleaning up was what I expected to be the payment for such good taste. I couldn't have been further from the truth as it was a breeze to clean up. I simply added hot water to the pot while it was still on the stove and let it simmer for a couple of of minutes. The water must be hot so that it does not crack the iron. Then I used a sponge to wipe out the remaining debris after emptying the water. The main thing to remember is that you should NEVER use soap on a preseasoned pan. I also spray the pieces with vegetable oil after using while they are still warm. An important part to pay special attention to is the inside of the lid. This has not been seasoned and with moisture can be prone to rust. A quick spray before cooking and after cleaning will keep this piece in great condition. I've made numerous pots of chili and beef stew, and the quality of the pan has had plenty of time to prove itself. Dish after dish Lodge has shown that they know how to produce quality cast iron.
Honest reviews on Lodge Logic Black Dutch Oven
Getting in the kitchen, and cooking is very popular these days. Especially with the advent of cable, and the plethora of channels showing cooking, and food travel (i.e. Food Network, Travel Channel, PBS, etc.,) people not only want to try cooking new things, but desire having the latest greatest cooking utensils. With that said, you can not possibly consider your kitchenware complete without at least a basic cast iron dutch oven, an iron skillet, and a cast iron fryer.
I don't care how much you paid for your caphalon, all-clad, anolon, or scan pan... NOTHING DUPLICATES CAST IRONS HEAT RETENTION AND DISPERSMENT QUALITIES! Some things like browning beef for chili, frying good old fashion chicken or catfish can be done with other cookware, but not even close to the same taste or appearance.
It use to be that cast iron was too much of a pain, due to the long tedious seasoning process. Logde Logic has not only done that for you, but whatever process they use, makes it work like nonstick, and cleans up with hot water and a nylon brush.
Cheap, Free shipping, and easily the best cookware you will buy, no matter what big names you have in the kitchen.
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If I were stranded on a desert island with only one cooking utensil allowed, it would be a very hard choice between my Wusthof chefs' knife and the Lodge Dutch oven. I cannot begin to describe the versatility of this pot without sounding like an ad. Suffice it to say that it never leaves my stove top, except when I put it in the oven. Browning, braising, stewing...whatever, this is my weapon of choice more often than not (and I have a decent selection of pots and pans). Add to that the fact that abusing it on campfires only makes it better and what is left to say? As far as I'm concerned, a cast iron Dutch oven is the most utterly useful kitchen pot ever devised, and my kids aren't getting mine until I'm totally non compos mentis.
