To Dutch oven or not to Dutch oven?

Question

I want to thank everyone for the helpful advice given to me last week regarding new cookware for my glasstop stove! I'm still deliberating. 

I'm now considering whether or not I should also make room in the budget for a dutch oven. This would primarily be used as a soup/stew pot, replacing an 8 quart non-stick stockpot. I've never braised anything, I don't deep fry, I don't serve from the pot at the table, I rarely go from stove top to oven, and if I want to cook something "low & slow," I usually use the crockpot. 

My friends all have Lodge dutch ovens and love them but I'm unsure about ECI. I definitely can't afford LC or Staub but the reviews for the cheaper DOs on Amazon concern me. While most people seem happy with Lodge, there are TONS of photos showing terribly chipped interior and exterior enamel after minimal usage. I know Lodge has a lifetime guarantee but who wants to ship back a heavy cast iron pot every time there's a problem? 

Should I consider a clad stainless dutch oven or just get another stock pot? Is there any advantage to something that's specifically a dutch oven shape vs. a smaller stock pot? More versatile? Are they just typically shorter so that you can fit into the oven if wanted? We're a family of 3 so I'm not making an army-load of soup at a time, I'm looking for 6-8 quarts. I guess I could use it for pasta too?

I used to think I wanted ECI because PRETTY but is there any other advantage that I'm not considering?

Answer

My first Dutch oven was a Lodge freebie, got it as a reward from work. 

At the time, I thought I'd use it every so often, but now it's become the number one can't-live-without-it cooking vessel. Take my crock pot, take my cast iron skillet, but touch my Dutch oven, and the gloves (pot holders?) come off. 8)

I thought I'd use it for soups and that was about it. Now, though, I deep-fry in it, brown meats for the crock pot, braise, stew, make soups, make bread (the best bread I've ever made), and a whole lot of other things. It's my go-to pot. 

That's the cool thing about a great new tool, it'll lead you to new things, and it'll make you better. I used to never deep-fry (too much trouble, I'd say), but now, I'd put my onion rings, fish and chips, and honey fried chicken up against anybody's. 

I don't have the Lodge any more. I have a Tramotina. It's a smidge lighter than the Lodge, maybe the enamel is a little thinner, but I like the bigger bottom on it ("I like my women like I like my Dutch ovens..."). I couldn't imagine not having it.

Answer

I would say save your money, look for sales, and do whatever it takes to get an enameled cast iron. It is not even remotely in the same category as a crockpot.

Once I got my first LC one, primarily to make brisket, I found myself seeking out all sorts of ways to use it. Now I have a few but if I had to choose only 1, it would be the 5 1/2 quart round (though it would be like Sophie's Choice!). But it really is the workhorse of my kitchen.

Answer

Dutch Ovens are quite versatile and a staple in the kitchen. The only advantage to ECI Dutch Ovens is their ability to hold heat. This comes in handy mostly if you're using them as a serving vessel as well as a cooking vessel. I swear Mrs. mikie's pot-roast is better in the Staub cocotte than it was in her old SS Dutch Oven, but that's just my opinion and totally unscientific. If you rarely intend to use it in the oven, then go SS multi ply, if you are going to make boeuf bourguignon a la Julia Child, you're going to want a cocotte. ECI shows its stuff better if it starts on the stove top and ends in the oven. It will work fine for soup and stew regardless of if they are oven bound or not. SS multi ply will also work just fine for soup and stew, so take your pick.

If you decide to go ECI, Lodge is the "low water mark", that is don't spend less than Lodge and expect to have a good experience. They all cook about the same, but LC and Staub have much better reputations for resisting chipping. Of the economy brands, Lodge seems to have the best results and I know a shop owner that won't carry any of the low cost brands because they chip so easily and she doesn't want to deal with irate customers. She does however carry the Lodge.

Answer

I know heat retention was mentioned, but I just wanted to emphasize that benefit with the ECI. Once I learned I could do stuff like make cheese sauce in my DO, throw in the pasta, put the whole vessel in the oven, and carry it straight out of the oven to a party will it will easily stay hot for an hour, I stopped using bakeware altogether. Plus, it's always the prettiest thing at the pot luck. Now, I have 3 LC DOs in different sizes that do just about everything. I also have a stainless Dutch oven that I use more exclusively for soups. It's great for that, pasta, and stuff like mashed potatoes. It sounds like you already got your answer, but I would echo that the stainless sounds perfect for what you think you need, but if you get an ECI you will probably find it to be indespesible. 

While the lodge sounds pretty good for the price, my advice would be to go stainless for now and eventually get the LC or Staub when it's in the cards. You will have it for a lifetime. :D

Sincerely,

A LC enthusiast

Answer

Here are three threads on exactly this question:
http://www.chowhound.com/post/reason-buy-le-creuset-eci-clad-ss-1043527
http://www.chowhound.com/post/dutch-oven-eci-clad-1045012
http://www.chowhound.com/post/suggestions-dutch-oven-1040411

Answer

Ugh, sorry guys. I forgot the first rule of internet forum-ing: search the old threads first. *hangs head in shame*

Answer

Ive always wanted to get a Wagner Ware dutch oven. Till I find a good deal, I just use an ordinary stock pot for braising on the stove pot or corning ware baking dish with a lid in the oven. All browning is done in a cast iron skillet, bits are deglazed and transferred to a stock pot or baking dish.

Answer

You know, one thing we didn't talk about at all that is raised in the OP is the idea of slow cooker (crockpot) vs Dutch oven? If you have a slow cooker, do you need a DO?

To me, the answer is an unqualified yes. A DO actually is the original slow cooker. Slow cookers were developed to take their place. But the results of cooking in a slow cooker are virtually always inferior to a DO. The long, slow cook in a slow cooker results in an excessive blending and destruction of food'/ taste. A DO is perfect for cooking slowly--but not as slowly. As a result, tastes are not homogenized to the same degree and tastes remain vivid instead of becoming a shadow of themselves in a slow cooker. The difference is VERY noticeable and, as a result, my slow cooker has been relegated to little but making stock since I made that discovery. 

Angie

Answer

The original Dutch Oven was a cast iron pot meant for use on a camp fire. With the appropriate use of coals it could be used for baking biscuits and breads.

In modern food talk DO has come to mean Enameled cast iron, which can be quite pricey. But it can also refer to a sauce pan with loop handles. Or more generally any pot/pan with a good lid, generally wider than deep, and usable on stove top and oven.

Currently I cook for 2, and use an Instant Pot for most of my braising and stewing. That's 6qt, which is large enough to hold a 5 lb chicken. But most of the time I use it half full.

But I also make extensive use of 3qt pots. A 3qt disk bottom stainless sauce pan is my everyday pan, but I am also happy with a 3qt disk bottom stainless DO (Chantal brand). It's glass lid works on the sauce pan.

Another DO is anodized aluminum that can be used for camp baking (rimmed lid). For years my go-to braising pot was a deep enameled steel pot that was part of a hotplate style slow cooker. Eventually though that chipped too much.

Before that I used a 'chicken fryer', a deep 10" cast iron skillet with heavy glass lid. And corning ware casseroles.

Restaurants do a lot of their oven braising in hotel pans with a foil cover.

================

People talk about the heat retention of Enamel Cast Iron. Where does that matter?

If you are browning meat on the stovetop, a stainless steel pan (disk bottom or multi) will give better heat distribution and better overall browning. Actually though crowding is more of an issue than heat distribution.

In the oven, the heat retention of the pot is over rated. Modern ovens have good temperature control. You don't need a heavy pot in the oven.

I don't know what advantage EIC has for stove top braising. Heat's coming from a low burner setting. It's unclear whether the lid of such a pot should get hot or not. Some pots have bumps or ridges under the lid that are supposed to drip condensation back onto the roast. If those work that means the lid remains cold enough to condense steam. 

I've also done roasting/braining in earthen ware pots (Spanish casuels and Chinese sand pots). The one kind of pot that I've never owned is enameled cast iron. Bare cast iron yes, Enameled steel, yes.

Answer

I am a proponent of ECI rather than a crockpot for various reasons already listed. I think a decent brand short of LC or Staub, like Lodge, is great. All pans that get used show signs of use and pans that are abused shows signs of abuse. Soak and handwash and they will most likely hold up well. Dishwashers can be abusive to pretty much any pan IME.

Answer

The dutch oven I own is the All Clad 5 qt. SS. What I like is that I can sear/brown on the stovetop, finish in the oven, and serve table top. It's plenty heavy duty and braises beautifully without the the weight of cast iron. Domed lid holds in heat, and circulates the moisture essential for tender results. No enamel to chip, non-reactive surface, and easy clean up. The rounded bottom enables easy non-stick stirring. No regrets.

Answer

To each their own, but my dutch ovens are my most used post, other than a frying pan. In fact I have two going on my stove right now.

Answer

I love my Dutch ovens -- I have one bare cast iron and one enameled cast iron, and I use them both for different things. The plain cast iron is used more for slow cooking meat, and the enameled cast iron is used more for saucy and acidic foods; generally I use them both in the oven, not on the stove top. I would have gotten both enameled, but I didn't want to spend hundreds for a small ECI, so I got a small bare cast iron instead (I live alone, so I don't want them too big). Far, far better than a slow cooker - I have one of those too for when I'm leaving the house, but it's not the same. 

My enameled cast iron is a Cuisinart brand bought on sale -- I don't know how it rates compared to other brands, but I've had no chips or burns and it goes in the dishwasher every time it's used (I've had it about 7 or 8 years).

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