Dutch Oven - Lodge vs. Le Creuset

adajmk · December 2012

Looking to invest in a dutch oven and had a few questions.

First, what is the best size to get for my LBGE. I am a new egg owner so haven't tried to cook with the Dutch oven on the egg, but I would get the dutch oven to cook chili and my wife also loves soups.

Second, is the Le Creuset worth the additional $? I have already busted the budget on the egg itself and a number of accessories and am wondering if I should invest in a Lodge now or save up for a Le Creuset. I found a new 6.75 qt Le Creuset on craigslist for 1/2 off but it is still way more than a Lodge cast iron would cost me.

Mighty_Quinn · December 2012

i have both....Le Creuset 7 1/4 qt and lodge 5 1/2 qt. use both on my LBGE...they both cook and cleanup the same. Those sizes work well on the large, but i know you can go bigger, just not sure the max size that sill fits.

Mighty_Quinn · December 2012

just so we're on the same page and comparing apples to apples, I'm referring to the Lodge enameled cast iron, not the seasoned stuff.

adajmk · December 2012

Thanks. I was actually thinking of the Lodge seasoned cast iron not the enameled. I have an old lodge seasoned skillet but my previous stove top was glass and I was told not to use cast iron on a glass stovetop. So that skillet has been in the closet for years and I haven't cooked with CI in awhile and am not familiar with the differences in between enamel and seasoned.

What is the benefit of enameled vs. the plain old seasoned lodge?

Mighty_Quinn · December 2012

some would say that the benefit is in the plain old seasoned cast iron. you definitely won't get that certain taste you get from the iron of you use enameled, but the enameled is easier to clean and maintain. preference i guess.

tactical_66 · December 2012

Lodge CI that is plain not enameled. Made in America.

jeroldharter · December 2012

Lodge. You could buy every size for the price of one Le Creuset. I re-season mine with oil after each use.

double · December 2012

Been using a lodge cast iron skillet on my glass stove for a few years with no problem. It's so nicely seasoned right now. I did some baked beans in the egg the other day and for a week afterwards you could taste smoke in the fried eggs every morning. The best damned eggs EVER!

Eggcelsior · December 2012

tactical_66 said:
Lodge CI that is plain not enameled. Made in America.

+1
Enameled cast iron has certain advantages that non-enameled don't and vice versa. There are health advantages to regular CI, as iron leaches into the food, providing dietary iron and flavor. Enameled is more versatile as you can use it for cold storage since CI is so insulative. Since it is coated, it won't react with acid foods like regular CI does. This won't happen during cooking if the pan is well-seasoned, but can happen if you try to store the pan overnight to reheat the next day(as some do with chili since it improves flavors). Also, you can stick the enameled pot in the dishwasher, not so with regular CI because it will strip the seasoning.

For what it's worth, lodge enameled is Hecho'ed en Chine. Their regular stuff is Hecho'ed en e-stahd-oz oo-need-oz. Le creuset, France. If you are leaning toward enameled, you might want to check out Costco's offering, which looks like a staub and is now made in France as opposed to Thailand. I have 4 le creuset pieces, but I would probably get the lodge regular CI for the egg. Black hides dirt really well.

R2Egg2Q · December 2012

I don't know much about the Le Creuset other than they're expensive & my wife would likely banish me from the house if I put hers on the Egg. I know they would be fine but I like sleeping indoors.

I have a few Lodge Camp Dutch ovens for usage on the Eggs. For the Large, I think a 6 QT or 8 QT (Deep model) Camp DO at 12" diameter are good sizes. For the non-camp models, a 5 QT or 7 QT should be fine.

nolaegghead · December 2012

wise move, R2Egg2Q. You'd be banished to the death star, at least I would.

Eggcelsior · December 2012

(R2Egg2Q to dog) Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.

Good-guy dog moves over so R2 can fit in the dog house.

MikeG · December 2012

I have 3 enameled cast iron DO's. An off brand (bella) 3 qt, a Costco oval 6 qt and a big lodge 8 qt. I love them all for winter cooking of comfort foods over our gas burner. It takes very little heat to simmer in them - just a trickle on the gas burner so I'm kind of puzzling at egging with them.

We have a plain CI Lodge 12" DO but I never use it and never will.

A local grocery store ran a 50% off sale today + an addt'l 10% off all Bella and Lodge enameled DO's. Broke my heart I couldn't go over and grab one so cheap but I'm all set on them.

fishlessman · December 2012

the lecrueset shines on an expensive simmer plate on a fancy stove, better tolerences and just better made, it does not cook better on an egg than the cheap knockoff enamelled cast iron pans or the lodge on the egg, get the lodge. if you do alot of cooking with tomatoes i would go enamelled because i dont like the flavor of tomatoes cooked in a seasoned pan, but a big potroast in a seasoned cast iron is hard to beat, if i had just one it would be an enamelled cast iron

yumdinger · December 2012

tactical_66 said:

Lodge CI that is plain not enameled. Made in America.

Hmmm the one I had in my hands said Made in China. Recently I purchased an inexpensive Enamelled CI only to get it hiome cook once and notice the enamel was chipped unde the lid where the Handle is screwed. Additionally the lid sat on the pot a bit odd, it had gaps.
I returned it and purchased a Le Creuset Oval 7 qt from an outlet store in Minnesota. It was 50% less than regular price, closed out custom color from a major retailer. I could nto be happier.
My mom has an entire set of Le Creuset and it si all in very good shape. It is approximately 20 years old if not older.

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