Dutch Ovens - pre seasoned ?

Charcoal Mike

Hi all -[p]I am looking at buying a Lodge Dutch Oven. I'm looking at their site, and they have 5, 7, and 9 quart sizes. I am looking at the 7 quart, just because I can't think of any reason I need over 2 gallons of anything.[p]I am also looking at a 12" skillet with cover and assist handle. [p]It appears Lodge now offers some that are PRE-SEASONED. I realize that I can season my own, but I am not sure I will ever use it enough to get the look and feel of one like my grandfathers, that was used for years and years. I do have a cheap cast iron skillet that I somehow procured in college, but it sticks and burns and is generally useless (which I am sure is why someone gave it to me).[p]Anyway, any recommendation on the size of the Dutch Oven (for use inside and out), or whether I should bother with the pre-seasoned? Anyone ever tried one? A brand other than Lodge? I hate to end up with another paperweight.[p]Thanks for the valuable insight as always.[p]Cheers -[p]Mike[p]
Here's the link:[p]

[ul][li]Lodge Manufacturing[/ul]

Unknown

Charcoal Mike,
If you have fond memories of your cast iron skillet but its sticking, try cleaning it and reseasoning it. You can easily get it clean by putting it in your self cleaning oven and and letting it runs its cycle, you'll be amazed at how it takes everything off your old skillet.

bigmikej

Charcoal Mike,
I've got one of the Lodge Logic (pre-seasoned) 7qt dutch ovens. I have used it twice (jambalaya & baked beans) and have been happy with the results. Worth the investment if you don't want to go through the trouble of seasoning it.

Unknown

Charcoal Mike,
I havent seen any of the Lodge preseasoned stuff, but I have gotten great results doing cast iron in the Egg.
Soap and water, Brilo pad, coat with lard and let her rip wide open for a while.
There is a Lodge factory outlet nearby and my Mom is a great beleiver in the original non stick pan.
"That teflon stuff in your food may not kill you but Im not gonna be the one that finds out for sure".

fishlessman

Charcoal Mike,if you season the dutch oven in the egg with bacon greese and add some hickory wood to the fire , it will look like your grandfathers well seasoned pans and will hold up as well.

Charcoal Mike

Driftpin,[p]Thanks for the reply![p]I don't think its teflon - here is a quote from their site where they explain the process:[p]"We coat the entire surface of the cookware with a proprietary vegetable oil formula, and bake the oil onto the utensil in very hot industrial ovens. The high temperature allows the oil to penetrate deeply into the cast iron surface creating that prized heirloom finish."[p]I dunno about "prized heirloom", but I'm not sure if they can do a better job than I can.....it seems to price out at about $10-15 difference per piece....[p]Cheers to ya -[p]Mike[p][p]

Unknown

Charcoal Mike,
I wasnt implying it was teflon on the cast iron cookware, thats just my Moms view of any pot or pan that doesnt involve a foundry.
The quickest way to get smacked with a spatula when I was growing up was to even pretend to use the 60yr old cornbread skillet with the broken handle and the black barnacles on the bottom for anything but cornbread.

tn slagamater

Charcoal Mike, Lodge has two "outlet" stores with their full line of products at considerable discounts.They are in South Pittsburg, near Chattanooga, and Sevierville, near Knoxville,Tennessee. Lodge makes a heavy, thicker product than competitors. It is better quality, IMHO.

Big Jim

Driftpin,I try not to use soap on cast iron, if you do it may remain in the pours of cast iron and the relesed when heated while cooking. The boiling meathed is what i use

Unknown

Big Jim,
I only use soap on the initial cleaning prior ro seasoning.
After that its rinse with water and scrub with course salt if anything, oil and hang back on the rack.

Bordello

<p />Charcoal Mike,
Yes, get the 7qt. (not that hard to season if you want to save a bit)
I have a 5qt. and wish I had the 7qt. for making my bean stew, by the time my neighbors get their fix I'm lucky to get any. LOL[p]cheers,
New Bob

Zip

Charcoal Mike,[p]
I gave a pre-seasoned griddle as a gift a few weeks ago and it seemed to be a decent layer of protection. It wasn't the same as what I would do myself, but it is a good foundation coat. If you have a Fred's Discount Store in your area it may be worth checking to see if they have any DO's. They have the Lodge five quart with a CI lid down in Crystal River,FL for less than 15 bucks. [p]You have been given some good advice about the skillet you have. I wouldn't burn off the old seasoning, but just reseason it like it was new. I like bacon grease and use the egg with a temp of 375º for the first hour. The next hour or two I like to bring up the temp to about 450º, then shut down the egg with the CI in there and let cool down. When you open it, you should have a very nice black piece of CI that within a couple of cooks will have a nearly nonstick coating. The first few cooks I like to cook bacon or sausage for the fat.[p]HTH
Ashley

Mr. Hyde

Charcoal Mike,[p]We were wondering the same thing (about preseasoned) when we bought ours last year. We went for the non-seasoned, and did it ourselves per Lodge's instuctions. We bought a dutch oven and lid, but we rarely use the lid. The lid is still about the same bronse color that it was when we bought it, but the bottom section is now the beautiful black color that my mother's always had. [p]Bottom line...it will season very well in the egg!
[/b]

Unknown

Wil,
The dishwasher will do the same thing. Just puul it out as soon as the rinse cycle is over. You'll get a light rust if you leave it through the drying.

Unknown

Yep, yep, yep!