Best Size for first Dutch Oven?

[Mr. Bones]

Fer most stuff I do, 5-6 qts seems to be bout th sweet spot. I have bigger ones, fer outdoor fryin, an campfire cookin, but th 5-6 qt ones git far more frequent use, on th stove, in th oven, an in my cookers.

As fer as enameled ones, I have a 6.5 qt. Tramontina that I bought on clearance, $39.99 an a 5qt. Amazon Basics that is currently $44.99...

They are both great DO's, I love em, an use em very often, always pleased with th ways they cook, even on my accursed electric rangetop...

[texastweeter]

Hey my Kitchenaid electric range is pretty sweet!

[Greygoose]

I cook with Le Creuset which as you know is porcelain enamel cast iron. My go to is my 5 quart, I use that most of the time. 8 quart, as you say, is good for a large cook but ask yourself what you're going to be using it for most of the time.

This ^

[mnavarre]

Also this. 5qt. is plenty big for 2-4 people, just not as much space when you need to sear stuff. 7qt. is great for big batches of stuff. Get bigger than that and you're into cauldron territory.

[texastweeter]

true Dutch over (concave lid with legs) or a black iron pot/roaster for on the range?

[Anton32828]

Lodge cast iron large (8 quart I think) oven with legs for true campfire cooking. Since my son aged out of Boy Scouts I have not used it unfortunately.

5 quart Lodge cast iron for use on a grill. Great for side dishes. I’m not going to use porcelain on the grill, but perhaps I could. It just doesn’t seem right.

5 quart Le Creuset as a stovetop workhorse. They are thinner and lighter than all cheaper models, which is important when you are trying to regulate heat — or wash & dry them.

8 quart Le Creuset for gumbo. Yes I have a dedicated gumbo pot and it’s worth every penny. Don’t judge.

If you have a Le Creuset outlet near you, you can save a bunch of money on those things. The "defect" that makes a Le Creuset a discounted factory second is usually something trivial like the color of the enamel. My 8 quart is "defective" because the darker color on the lid is more oval-shaped than circular. For $200 off retail I can live with it!

I got my Lodge pieces from Walmart and Bass Pro. Good luck! Cast iron is awesome — you just need to learn how to clean & take care of them.

[fzxdoc]

I have the 8 qt legless Lodge Dutch Oven. Perfect for frying chicken on the gasser (or my new Camp Chef Somerset IV outdoor gas range). I certainly wouldn't want to do it in a smaller one, since I'm careful never to let the oil reach the halfway mark when starting out.

Kathryn

[texastweeter]

How you liking that CS?

[fzxdoc]

I'm just breaking that Camp Chef Somerset IV 4 burner outdoor gas range in, texastweeter. Love the footprint and the layout. Looks pretty on my deck too.

I'll report more as I put it through its paces.

Kathryn

[FireMan]

Interesting, I just ordered the 5qt yesterday. Specifically for on the grill/grills. Looking at our other pots I think the 5 will suffice. My quandary was the camp vs. the regular, went with the reg.
I have a 6 for inside & that’s plenty big enough. If we make chili or stews we have 10 & a 12 that works on the stove. They are inside pots, not DO’s.

[dshaffes]

I use a 5 quart BGE cast iron dutch oven and it meets my needs.

[jfmorris]

Ok, I think Kathryn has me convinced to go with a 7 or 8 quart mostly for the purposes of frying on the grill - the initial reason for this adventure in cast iron anyway. I wanted something deeper than my Lodge skillet, to keep the oil from splashing out, and big enough to warrant using it instead of my electric T-Fal fryer, which holds 3 liters of oil.

I'm intrigued by the 5 quart size, especially in regards to the stuff I read about doing no-knead bread in them - the smaller size would be better for bread. I really think that 5 quart double Dutch Oven set would be the next one I would get after the 7 quart.

With the kitchen style dutch ovens, do any of you still pile charcoal on top of them, like they show doing with the flat topped camp ovens?

fzxdoc Kathryn, can you fry an entire chicken (in pieces) at once in the 8 quart? If you were frying chicken wings, any idea how many pounds you might fit at once? My T-Fal probably can fry about 1.5 pounds of wings at a time, max.

[mnavarre]

The 5 Qt. is perfect for doing a 1 lb. boule. The DD3 is great for baking since you can use it top down. Makes launching and retrieving loaves much easier.

[Anton32828]

The camp-style DO from Lodge have a lid with rim that is designed for retaining coals. It would be difficult on a "standard" Lodge. The lids have a slight dome to them. The coals would roll right off.

I can confirm that camp DO with coals under and on top makes amazing bread @ other baked goods.

[fzxdoc]

jfmorris , the reason I went with a large CI dutch oven on the gasser (or outdoor gas cooktop) over the T-Fal which I came so close to purchasing is that I can use the same amount of oil, clean the pan out and store/reuse the oil more easily, and, most importantly, with the heat mass of CI, the recovery back to acceptable frying temp range for the next batch is relatively quick.

I have only fried large (10 to 12oz ) chicken breasts in that pot; I can fit 4 to 5 of those breasts, split lengthwise, easily and have plenty of room left.

FWIW, here is an account of my first frying on the gasser with the CI Dutch Oven--sous vided chicken that was then breaded and fried: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...ser#post591934

Kathryn

[jfmorris]

Thanks Kathryn, I went and read that thread - I remembered you looking for a fryer at one point. The problem with the T-fal is with the basket, lid, body, heating element unit, etc, its somewhat of a pain to clean, not to mention all the heat and mess in the kitchen. I think frying on the grill in cast iron, and just fishing the pieces out with tongs or whatever, will result in a lot less to clean, with the mess being on the grill.

[jfmorris]

Kathryn,

I assume you removed the Grillgrates and just put the Dutch Oven on the original Weber grates on your Summit?

Have you tried frying yet on the new Camp Chef outdoor stove? I would imagine with direct heat to the Dutch Oven, it will recover and maintain temps better than it did over on the gas grill. The drawback would be dripping oil on the deck or stove when removing the chicken, versus keeping all the oil drips on the grill...

[smokin fool]

Excellent informative thread. You've all convinced me, guess I gotta get on too.
Will start out with the 5 quart for now.
No deep frying for me, the oil, and I've tried them all from canola to sunflower, sends my stomach doing back flips.
Tum ta Tum Tum TUMMM....

[jfmorris]

Interestingly, the local Academy has the same pricing as Amazon for the pieces of Lodge CI that they sell - I'm going to get over there during the weekend and take a look at the sizes they have in person, and then let the wife go pay for it, since its for Father's Day after all! Then I gotta decide if I want to fry chicken or rotisserie chicken on Father's Day, since I will be getting both the Dutch Oven and a rotisserie for the Genesis II E-410.

[fzxdoc]

Yes, jfmorris , I did remove the Grill Grates from my gasser and put the CI dutch oven directly on the Summit's SS grates.

Haven't cooked on my CC Somerset IV but am eager to. It arrived when we had 10-day houseguests who left last Sunday. I've been manhandling the laundry and performing the reconstruction of our house ever since. No time to play yet. But soon!

Yes, I'm going to have the CCSomersetIV surrounded by grill mats on the deck to catch stray spatters. I'm looking into having a 3 sided splatter guard custom made for it; but first I have to ensure that a splatter guard won't interfere with the skillets and dutch ovens I'll be using on it.

Kathryn

[Larry Grover]

We live close to a Le Creuset outlet so we have a bunch of their stuff including the #26 (5.6 quart) and #28 (7 quart.) After several years both my wife and I usually reach for the 7qt - it’s a workhorse that can do everything.

I subscribe to Cooks Illustrated and just checked to see what they had to say. Overall they recommend at least 6.5 qts and the Le Creuset 7 was their top pick. Features they liked in a DO...

1. Larger cooking surface (with lower sides.)
2. Straight sides instead of sloped
3. Light interior so you can easily see & monitor your food
4. Lighter weight & good handles
5. Enamel had easy cleanup, maintenance & no reaction to acidity

I think the large cooking surface is mainly why we like that 7qt so much. I’d rather sear on black enamel or traditional CI but the white enamel is sufficient and is nice to be able to see the food.

Here is their #2 Best Buy pick. It has a similar profile to the Le Creuset and is $80 compared to $330. The negatives they found were that it’s heavier, less durable and has smaller handles - otherwise high marks and would probably make a good beater for the grill...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018A957U...ppilot-20&th=1

Also, if you end up getting the Lodge 5 quart...the lid fits their 10.25 inch skillet so may as well get that too. 😋

[Anton32828]

It took me a while to justify paying Le Creuset prices. I really encourage folks to go directly to Le Creuset if you want enamel cast iron. It’s a noticeable improvement and your grandkids could inherit it down the line.

[Larry Grover]

Anton32828 I agree if you have the money go for Le Creuset. Not sure about longevity though, most vintage pieces I've seen have cracked or heavily discolored enamel and dont fetch top dollar.

If treated right may be a different story. Main thing is to tell others that your CI is off limits (especially foreign exchange students.)

[Anton32828]

Larry Grover Oh yeah. My wife and kids treat my Le Creuset like my guns. Strictly off limits and hands off. Though thus far I don't store my Le Creuset in a locked safe. Seriously thinking about it though.

[Polarbear777]

The 7 qt lodge. Right size for frying outdoors.

Good compromise in size if you get getting only one.

I think this is a #10 deep.

[Larry Grover]

Looks good. Most 'Cooks Illustrated' frying recipes call for 3 qts oil in a 7 qt DO.

[jfmorris]

I had seen your picture of the DO on the kettle, and just didn't know which size you were using. Glad to know that is the 7 quart, most likely what I will start with.

[klflowers]

Woot has several Cuisinart enameled CI dutch ovens on what looks like clearance prices:

https://www.woot.com/category/home/cookware-bakeware?ref=w_cnt_cdet_home_5