Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Signature Oval Dutch Oven, 15.5 qt., Oyster

Being from south Louisiana (Cajun country) we love to cook for family and friends. I wanted a large pot to replace my magnalite pot. I couldn’t be more pleased. I use this to make rice dressing at Christmas and Thanksgiving. It’s also perfect for our famous gumbo!! I made a huge amount of chicken stock a few weeks ago. This pot is big!! I put two chickens in it for my stock. The heat distribution is absolutely the best. One does not need to cook at high temperature. I’ve adjusted the temperature to a lower setting especially when making a rioux. Since there have been articles about magnalite cookware giving off trace amounts of metals possibly causing Alzheimer’s, I decided to replace mine. Anyone from south Louisiana is familiar with magnalite. It’s what everyone here uses. I also just ordered a Le Creuset skillet to replace my Teflon skillet because of health issues with Teflon. I’ve purchased a smaller enameled cast iron Dutch oven a couple of years ago. There is no comparison to the quality of that pot to the Le Crouset brand. Yes, Le Crouset is more expensive; however, with proper care your pots will end up in hands of your grandchildren. I know some people place them in the dishwasher. I just can’t bring myself to do this. Besides, these pots are so so easy to clean. For tough scorched on food, just a soak in warm soapy water and it cleans up with no effort whatsoever. If you enjoy cooking, treat yourself. You’ll end up replacing your pots one at a time with Le Crueset.

Let's address the elephant in the room, shall we? This 15.5-quart Dutch oven is a BEAST! I expected the large oval size, but the depth caught me totally by surprise...it's cavernous! You could feed an Army out of it. The oyster color is gorgeous. Bottom is perfectly flat, no rocking on a flat surface, same thing with the lid. A future family heirloom, no doubt. UPDATE: After owning it a month, using it 4 times for both oven and stovetop slow cooking, and hand-washing-and-drying it after each use, we found severe rusting on the unfinished underside edge of the lid. Tried every method known to modern man to remove the rust and its discoloration, but ultimately could only partially get it off. Very stubborn rust stains. Contacted Le Creuset directly and submitted a warranty claim to replace just the lid, and a dozen back-and-forth E-Mails later, they finally agreed to just replace the entire oven, but with a different color than our original oyster. We've owned Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware for years and never had anything rust. Hopefully, we will have better luck with the replacement. At least they stand behind their products and honor their warranty.

Fantastic for cooking a large meal. Perfect for braising short ribs or roasting a turkey. Easy to clean. Heats evenly and food doesn't stick to the enamel.

This would be a very great product with a 5 Star Rating but it has a chip in it. I guess it was a mistake in the manufacturing, but for this price, it should be perfect. I still give you 4 Stars because we love all of the pots we purchased from this company. This was the 1st with a problem. But I’m not going to send it back. Still a very good product in our opinion.

ok so yes.... it is expensive, but what a great great pot for family style chilly and stews! The finish is beautiful and the cast iron holds its heat extremely well for a long time. this is a pot you only have to buy once then pass it on when you - move on :)