Enameled Dutch Oven


 
Clint

Clint

TVWBB Olympian
I ordered a couple more Lodge cast iron cookbooks last night & then I was checking out dutch ovens. I almost got a camp style dutch oven with feet, but when I go camping food is normally not exactly a priority (moto/adventure, not family/hang out very often). Then I remembered the last couple times I used my dutch oven & I stored some stuffing in it, I had rust to deal with.

So I got one of these:

(6 qt enameled lodge DO)
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I'm sure I'll get another camp style DO but not right now....

Just wondering how to clean it, precautions, & any real care..... also questioning the non-stick. I've become very familiar & comfortable with cast iron over the last few years, but enameled is new to me. Guess I'm wondering how non-stick it is etc.

I suppose I'll figure all this out, hopefully not the hard way :)
 
Thanks Angie! I had a couple visuals (mostly browning onions / searing something). I'll probably break the "don't use on an outdoor grill" since it's OK to use on a stove top, and "lift to move" was another good pointer. Other good cleaning pointers too to get me started.

edit: ah, just noticed "Our enameled cast iron is made to our strict specifications by our partner foundry in China." on the amazon page.... disappointing, since all the other Lodge stuff I have is Made in the USA. So much is made in China nowadays that it doesn't seem to matter, but I always liked that about Lodge. :(
 
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Clint said:
Thanks Angie! I had a couple visuals (mostly browning onions / searing something). I'll probably break the "don't use on an outdoor grill" since it's OK to use on a stove top, and "lift to move" was another good pointer. Other good cleaning pointers too to get me started.

edit: ah, just noticed "Our enameled cast iron is made to our strict specifications by our partner foundry in China." on the amazon page.... disappointing, since all the other Lodge stuff I have is Made in the USA. So much is made in China nowadays that it doesn't seem to matter, but I always liked that about Lodge. :(
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Clint, I think it's the enamel part that is made in China/the cast iron is US. That's why I never buy enameled stuff unless I know it's US (which it almost never is so I've found).
 
I've got that same one. Love it.

Now you need to get the Forkish book and start making some bread! :D
 
JimK said:
I've got that same one. Love it.

Now you need to get the Forkish book and start making some bread! :D
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We used our enameled Dutch oven to bake bread from Ken Forkish's book at 475* big mistake. The inside now has dark brown stains that are impossible to remove. I have the Cook it in Cast Iron book from Americas Test kitchen and they had a few ideas on how to remove the stains but nothing worked. They recommend using those only with liquid inside. It still works fine but looks ugly.
 
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JimK said:
I've got that same one. Love it.

Now you need to get the Forkish book and start making some bread! :D
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I have the book & I want to try the overnight saturday white bread first (iirc the name)...... What I've really been wanting needing to make lately is the 7 grain wheat (2 regular loaves) from ATK........ I haven't made any bread for a few months....other than a couple pizzas I guess.


I'm glad you guys are liking your DOs.... I think I'll enjoy this.



Rich Dahl said:
We used our enameled Dutch oven to bake bread from Ken Forkish's book at 475* big mistake. The inside now has dark brown stains that are impossible to remove. I have the Cook it in Cast Iron book from Americas Test kitchen and they had a few ideas on how to remove the stains but nothing worked. They recommend using those only with liquid inside. It still works fine but looks ugly.
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Did you see the link that Angie linked above? Recommended a dilution of bleach, I'm sure that'd work.
 
Rich Dahl said:
We used our enameled Dutch oven to bake bread from Ken Forkish's book at 475* big mistake. The inside now has dark brown stains that are impossible to remove. I have the Cook it in Cast Iron book from Americas Test kitchen and they had a few ideas on how to remove the stains but nothing worked. They recommend using those only with liquid inside. It still works fine but looks ugly.
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That stinks, Rich. I haven't had that problem.
 
Try Magic Eraser on those stains. It works like magic (pun intended) on stained mugs (coffee, tea). When I don't feel like doing a sustained soak/rub with lemon juice, this works like you wouldn't believe.

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Len is spot on with the Magic Eraser suggestion. They have cleaned things that I never though could come clean. Great suggestion!
Len Dennis said:
Try Magic Eraser on those stains. It works like magic (pun intended) on stained mugs (coffee, tea). When I don't feel like doing a sustained soak/rub with lemon juice, this works like you wouldn't believe.

mrClean_prod01_img_01.jpg
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Weird, We make a "no-kneed" bread that requires that you preheat the enameled dutch oven empty in the oven at 500 for 1/2 hour. It is actually hot enough to change the color on the outside of the dutch oven from Fire Engine Red to Brick red, but it always bounces back to normal when cool. The lighter interior has some browning to it, but some or that is from the soups and stews too. Pretty much as long as you don't thermal shock it too bad, or drop it, I doubt you can hurt it.
 
Nice choice! I have a bunch of Lodge stuff, but nothing enameled. However, I should probably get one as my dedicated chili pot. Tomatoes & beans (as I've heard) are tough on the seasoning of standard cast iron. One batch of chili that burned on me did take the seasoning off the bottom of my 9-quart DO, but it was easy enough to re-season it.

I'm also not crazy about the "made in China" part, but I don't think any enameled iron is made in the US any more. Most is from China but I think one or two European brands still manufacture across the pond (in France or Germany). Those cost 3 to 5 times as much as the Lodge pieces, though.
 
ChadVKealey said:
I'm also not crazy about the "made in China" part, but I don't think any enameled iron is made in the US any more. Most is from China but I think one or two European brands still manufacture across the pond (in France or Germany). Those cost 3 to 5 times as much as the Lodge pieces, though.
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I held off buying the Lodge for years for that reason, thinking I might find a screaming deal on a Le Creuset. No such luck.
 
I'm glad you guys are liking your DOs.... I think I'll enjoy this.





Did you see the link that Angie linked above? Recommended a dilution of bleach, I'm sure that'd work.[/QUOTE]

That's what ATK recommended, soaked it twice overnight even went above the recommend bleach amount...Nada
 
Round 1: Chile Con Carne - from the New England Soup Factory Cookbook..... first bought in ~2008, given as a gift >a few times,,,,even so recently as 3 weeks ago :) I take a few liberties, as usual but this worked out well. I kind of wanted to do stuffing first, and I very well may do it tomorrow (not sure what I'll put the chili in)....but the rustic sourdough loaf found good use tonight:

(yes, I know I need to clean my kitchen)
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Way to break in the new dutch oven Clint! Your chili looks delicious. One other thing as to why the pot should never be heated on high heat, it will make the enamel on the inside chip off. And as others have said here, you need to do the no knead bread, it bakes up great in that pot.
 
Round Two: Sourdough Stuffing

I polished off the chili last night with a few slices of sourdough....... The enameled DO rinsed clean with no effort.

Cooked up some sourdough stuffing for lunch:

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I think this is about 1.25# of country sausage, just a few celery stalks (thought I had more), a minced hab, a few jalapenos, 1 red & 1 yellow onion, some celery salt, Chef merito's pollo seasoning, 1/2 stick butter, zero water or liquid added. I didn't drain (wasn't anything to drain) or rinse the sausage. Browned the sausage, added the veggies & herbs & cooked for a while, added the dates - cook/stir.... tear up & add the bread & then 8oz whole pecans... covered & cooked in the oven @ 350f for ~25 minutes & presto!

I wanted to buy the next bigger size but I'm going to play with my stainless & glass (casserole dishes) to see the differences.
 
Martha made a few bucks off me about three years ago - I bought one with her name on it
Yeah, I know - it's a Chinese product too, but it has held-up really well since I've had it.

(Le Creuset and Staub were just too Expen$$ive for my taste - at least, to try it out. Now that I've decided that I LOVE using one, I may change my mind and go for the high quality)

This thing is Da' Bomb for stuff like:
-beef bourguignon
-Chili
-Red Beans
-Anything that you want to braise, particularly if the solution / brine is acidic, which could react with raw CI
 
After a while a lot of caked-on gunk can accumulate on the outside, to the point where scrubbing it off by hand would take forever. I've found that easy-off Oven Cleaner works really well to remove those kinds of stains with minimal effort. Spray it on while the pot sits upside down in the sink and let it sit for a few hours. The stuff on the outside should then wipe off really easily.
 
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