Lodge Cast Iron Camp Dutch Oven - 8-Quart

Love this dutch oven! Great size, very versatile - We've made pizzas, nachos, desserts, ground beef & pasta sauce, etc. in this and its a great size for 2-8 people. Could serve more if you do your meal in batches

I've debated if I would ever buy a Lodge Camp Dutch Oven. I already own a couple of indoor dutch ovens. My wife asked what I wanted for Father's Day, and I told her your going to think I'm crazy. She said I already think your crazy, so what is it? I said a Lodge Camp Dutch Oven. We are in our 50's, and our camping days have long since passed us by. But I've am intrigued by Camp Dutch Ovens, the history of them, how they work, and I wanted to learn how to cook with one. So I got my Lodge 8qt Deep 12 inch dutch oven from Amazon.com for this year's Father's Day. I read a lot about them on the internet. I found out that the rimmed edge on the lid was invented by Paul Revere, who was mostly know as a silversmith. I also learned the Lewis and Clark expedition had two items that they would not barter, or trade to the Indians. Their guns and their dutch ovens. That kind of tells you of the importance of their dutch ovens to them. The Lodge company has been in business since the 1800's. I have a Great-Grandfather who went from Missouri to California and back in wagon trains in the mid 1800's, and I'm sure he probably used a dutch oven along the way. This was a chance to own and use a piece of history in your hands. I tried the dutch oven out today for the first time. I cooked BBQ country pork ribs out on my patio and they turn out terrific! On Father's Day we invited the In-Laws over and I will be making Red Neck Kielbasa Stew. I'm impressed how the dutch oven works. I use briquettes on the top and bottom. I've always been impressed with the quality of Lodge products, made in the USA, they last forever, I would not by any other brand. They are worth the price if you are buying for the long run, don't skimp and get an inferior chinese product. I also realized that this item could be very useful if a disaster ever hit and we lost power. I could cook outdoors if I had to. It's so versitile you can, fry, bake, roast, stew, etc. I am so looking forward to trying out many new recipies, such as peach cobbler, pizza, mountain man breakfast to name a few. I like U.S. History, I like to cook, and I like to eat. I'm lucky to have an understanding wife of 29 years that let me indulge in my hobbies. I going to be having a very good Father's Day, this year and for years to come.

If they have been in business for such a long time, the quality cannot be argued, as well as durability! This is the perfect cast iron while camping in 3/4 people. It is definitely heavy but, this is iron and still have some of my grandmother cast iron pans, they are build to last, and ideally, survive wars (she would say!).

Used this at our last camping / hunting trip and it was a big hit. We cooked a nice sized rooster in it with room to spare! We prepped the ingredients, put it over the fire and went hunting. After a long, slow cook over the fire, we returned to a falling-off-the-bone chicken stew (taters, onions, celery, carrots, salt & pepper) that was about the best camp meal you could ask for!If you're going to use it at a primitive campsite, I recommend picking up (or making) a tripod system where you can hang it by a chain over the fire. We cooked all our meals that way and it worked perfectly. The lipped lid is great too - you can take some coals from the fire and put them on top to help speed the process.Do yourself a favor and get yourself a lid lifter, a good pair of fire gloves, a plastic scrub brush and a whisk broom for brushing the lid off (you don't want ashes spoiling your hard earned dinner!). Also, read the manual that comes with it so you understand how to take care of, and use, your oven. I also recommend joining the Dutch Oven Cooking group on yahoo. You'll get great information on how to spin the lids for a tight fit, cook in them, hook up with other like-minded Dutch Oven folks in your area, etc.Now for the negative: I did have to send the first one back as the lid rocked quite a bit (about 1/8"). A bit too much for a Dutch Oven, and a bit disappointing based on what I read about Lodge's reputation. You want the lid to fit pretty good so that you can build up a bit of pressure inside the pot and, more importantly, not lose your cooking heat. In the outdoors, efficiency is important!All-in-all, though, you can't beat Lodge for overall quality, and you can't beat Amazon for customer service. The return process was pretty effortless and the second oven had a lid that fit with very good tolerance (like 1/16" or less). Read carefully: A little bit of lid rocking is okay!!!Following the trip, a scrub down with water and a brush, followed by drying and applying a light coat of olive oil, made it look brand new - even after it had been exposed to open flames and hot coals directly on the lid.So, aside from having to do a what I think was a little quality control for Lodge, I'm very happy with my purchase and recommend this product. I'm giving it 5 stars because, in the end, I got great customer service and an affordable (dare I say beautiful? Yeah, I love it!) oven that will last *literally* for generations!

I recently took this dutch oven on a camping trip and cooked an apple cobbler in it. The cooking time took around 35 minutes and the cobbler was a golden brown and tasted delicious, cooking in the great outdoors makes food taste so good. This dutch oven is big enough to cook a meal for several people and it is nice to have a functioning oven out in the wild to cook baked goods. The dutch oven is made of very good quality and as long as you clean and season it after each use it will not rust if stored properly in a dry place.