cast iron dutch oven

[Gray Wolf]

Lodge is not bad. When I was a Scoutmaster, the boys in my troop would volunteer to carry my dutch oven on backpacking trips because they loved the foods that we cooked in it. I advise you to make sure that the one you get has the lid with the lip for putting coals on the top, it's much more versatile. PM me if you would like the recipes for two of their favorites, Guadalupe Chili Pie, and Peach Cobbler.

[Topgumby]

How about this????

[OldSaw]

How about this????

+1, I used one just like that many times back in my Boy Scout days. Works great.

[maxpower]

Yes, Le Creuset are great but I would not take my $200+ enameled dutch oven camping lol

I think any cast iron dutch oven will be fine. I don't know anything about the pre-seasoned ones but they are easy to season if you get an un-pre-seasoned one.

It has been said before but I like the lip on the lid to keep coals on top and legs on the bottom to keep coals underneath and air can flow.

When camping, I have never had a bad meal cooked in a dutch oven.

BTW I like this site for info and recipes: http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/dutch-oven-recipes.htm

Good luck!

[redrako]

I have probably a dozen modern Lodge cast-iron pieces. They are not machine grinded like older Griswold and Wagoner pieces. They are also the only American cast iron company that stayed in business.

The rough surface that some folks complain about is due to the fact that Lodge uses an environmentally friendly sand casting system which leaves a course surface. Over time and use the rough surface smooths out perfectly fine. In my experience, all of the lodge cast iron is has been perfectly fine and is fine cookware.

Regarding those suggesting a Le Creuset or Staub enameled cast iron pan, perhaps they are not reading the original post, but the OP is asking for info about cookware to be used by boys. Enameled cast iron, although a fine pot, is much more delicate than raw cast iron and in no way suitable for boys (or clumsy adults).

Lodge offers only pre-seasoned cookware now because when they offered pre-seasoned and un-seasoned or raw cast iron, and consumers left the raw iron on the shelves while Lodge could not stock the pre-seasoned pans fast enough. The pre-seasoning is simply that, it is no substitute for a pan which has years of use. It is simply a 'starter seasoning'. There are many schools of though about seasoning cast iron, but the old school way is to use it, starting with fattier dishes such as hamburger rich dishes.

Best of Luck to you - scouting is a tremendous program for young men to go through - my hat's off to you.

[Slash McCoy]

Go with Lodge. Go cheap. Getting it ready to use could be a great learning project with practical value. Bean pot? No legs? Three rocks works quite well. No bail or insufficient bail? One can easily be made. No ring on the lid to hold coals in place? As has been pointed out, a ring of iron or steel will work and it does not have to be welded or otherwise attached to the lid to function. Trying out a few recipes using fire/coals for a heat source in a back yard environment before actually going afield with it might be a good idea and an enjoyable activity.

I like to break in a new dutch oven by deep frying catfish and hushpuppies in it. After a few deep frying sessions, it is ready for other frying chores, or baked-on oil seasoning. A fish fry would be a good introduction to the dutch oven, I am thinking. And it is guy stuff with a practical value.

The factory seasoning is good for one thing: retarding rust while sitting on the store shelves. The first thing I do with a new dutch oven or skillet is to dress up the surface with a wire wheel or sanding disk. You want to eliminate the coarse surface left by the casting process. This of course destroys the original seasoning, but no biggie. A near-mirror finish is not necessary, but apparently it is not a bad thing, either... just a waste of time. An old skillet develops a very smooth surface after many years, and this doesn't prevent it from seasoning.

[Rughi]

I'm with Slash.

I think that after you've had cast iron for a few years, it's 20% what it was in the store and 80% how you've seasoned and used it.

I wire brushed, re-seasoned, and started using a couple of rusty old Chinese pans I dug up from my parents yard. After cooking with them for a few years (a lot of frying and oily stuff), they aren't that big a step down from our vintage Wagner pans.

Roger

[_JP_]

**sigh**

All that work wire brushing, sanding, and seasoning those factory seasoned Lodge pieces. I simply started cooking with mine and have no problems. Eggs don't stick.

[_JP_]

How about this????

Instead of that, how about this? Two quarts bigger and $11 cheaper.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-8-...ef=pd_sim_k_13

[Topgumby]

Instead of that, how about this? Two quarts bigger and $11 cheaper.

Hey, I'm a sucker for Boy Scout emblems!

Really, the bigger one is probably better. I just googled "Lodge Boy Scout" since I'd seen them before. I know my stovetop (No legs, bale or flat top) seven quart is as small as I'd care to go for a family of four.

As to the factory seasoning....mine held up for about a year, then started flaking off on the sides after I did a few loaves of bread in it. The bread baking in a 500 degree oven, probably combined with using it for acidic tomato dishes was too much for it. I sanded down the sides, re-seasoned and kept using it. after about another year, the factory seasoning came off the inside bottom. I gave it the same treatment and it's good to go.

[Stevew443]

I use my grandmother's Griswold dutch oven for many things. She would be 114 now so the Dutch Oven has to be getting close to 100 years old pretty soon and it is in great shape. I use Lodge cast iron for other cooking chores and they seem to be very good. I could not imagine that Lodge dutch ovens would be any worse than their other products.

When I was Unit Commissioner I took pride in cooking "gourmet" meals while on camping trips with my units. The boys had no idea that one could cook good meals over a camp fire. In fact our District once had a Gourmet Cooking camporee and the commissioner staff had to judge the results. One has not lived until one has to eat Scout cooked squid for breakfast.

[Doc4]

**sigh**

All that work wire brushing, sanding, and seasoning those factory seasoned Lodge pieces. I simply started cooking with mine and have no problems. Eggs don't stick.

If I remember rightly, _JP_'s custom title used to be "the unsticker".

Maybe that explains his skill with eggs.

[_JP_]

If I remember rightly, _JP_'s custom title used to be "the unsticker".

Maybe that explains his skill with eggs.

Wow! That was my first custom title. Had to do with me being against so many stickies in the message listings.

My egg skills come from a lot of professional practice. And a seasoned skillet.

[Hawkeye5]

When I was a Scoutmaster the troop had several old Lodge camp ovens and they worked like a charm. Never a problem. Also they are made in the USA, Tennessee to be specific. If you check the Dutch Oven competitions you will find the vast majority of participants use Lodge. I also own three in various sizes personally.

Most troops use the #12 size camp oven. Make sure you get lid lifters for the camp ovens. Each oven does not need one, but about one lid lifter for every three camp ovens works well.

[Alacrity59]

The local Scout troupe here seems to buy in bulk and offers Lodge cast iron cookware to the public as a fund raiser. I'm not a fan of the factory seasoning but the Lodge stuff is basically very solid. I wish they would invest in the equipment to machine the bottom of their pans.

[La Mosca]

I was in the Scouts, and the cookware that I remember most--from my old camping days--was the good old enamelware stuff. It was inexpensive, virtually indestructible, and is still readily available today.

[BeeSeeDub]

Here’s my new Lodge dutch oven. It worked like champ this summer in the Adirondacks. Thanks for the inspiration!

[jbaca]

Get one that allows you to put hot charcoal on top , you don't want enamel and larger works
also footed late to this...Looks great