Review of Download Lodge Mfg L10dol3 Cast Iron Dutch Oven, 7 Qt Review

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I wanted a nice dutch oven for my budding cooking skills.

And Lodge comes through again!

Perfect for roasts!

Do pay attention to using good cuts of meat in yours. My first run turned out tough and too much marjoram herb.

But that was my fault.

With this I got a 12" skillet and the lid interchanges perfectly!

This is the one you want for home oven use.

Now, the wife. She has weak hands, so she doesn't like the weight of it. But I bought it for me, not her.

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Got this item from Amazon in perfect condition. A friend told me once that slow cookers were fine, but anything cooked in a slow cooker could not compare to the flavor of food cooked in a cast iron dutch oven; she was right. I cooked a pork roast first thing in this dutch oven and was overwhelmed by the depth of flavor the roast had.

One design feature I love about this oven is there are little fat spikes on the underside of the lid. This allows any liquid (au jus/flavor) to drip back onto the contents of the oven. This keeps the food self-basted and moist.

And yes, you'll need to season your pan. I've never bought pre-seasoned cast iron that I didn't need to season additionally myself. Unfortunately, a truly well-seasoned pot/pan requires TIME, and this just wouldn't be cost effective for any company. So I oiled my dutch oven with vegetable oil and put it in the oven at 250 degrees for about 4 hours. It was worth it. An aunt who got some of that first dutch oven pork roast called me and wanted to know what I had done differently from the last roast to that one. "Did you season it differently?" she asked. "Not the roast," I answered, "the pot."

By the time my nephew inherits this dutch oven, it'll be seasoned to perfection.

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I just received my 7qt Lodge cast iron dutch oven this morning, and it is big and beautiful. I haven't cooked anything in it yet, but I can't wait to try it out. It is heavier than I thought so once I put in a roast, potatoes, carrots, etc. I'm sure I'll need a crane to left it...LOL. I ordered this based on the reviews, and once again the reviews have not let me down. I live alone, so that's why I ordered the 7qt so I can make large quantities of everything, and I know my brother and sister-in-law will want to borrow it. The quality is excellent; you can tell that just by looking at it. I plan on using this also as a slow cooker, and I hear your meals are done in half the time. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in cooking with cast iron.

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I ordered this kettle because my friend's husband made such a good roast in his. I've used it for roasts and soup. I like being able to turn the heat down and forget it, kind of like a crock pot. Food always tastes good and there's easy clean up. The only disadvantage is the kettle is so heavy I have to store it on a shelf at waist height, can't bend to lift it. Now I'm thinking I need a frying pan to fit the same lid.

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There are many reviews about this Dutch Oven, so I'll cut to the chase. I struggled with the seasoning for about a year. I kept getting peeling, no matter how many times I tried to re-season over the factory seasoning. Whatever they use just doesn't adhere well, and anything put on top if it will peel, too.

I finally solved the problem by putting it in the oven on a clean cycle, which removes everything, and seasoning from scratch. For seasoning, follow Lodge's instructions, with a few modifications. I was told to use olive oil, and it worked great. Your oven should be hotter, 500-550F. The oil should be THIN. Wipe on, and wipe it off. Do 3-4 coats for an hour or more each. It will smoke and smell awful. It will take 4-5 hours. But when you're done, the seasoning will be bulletproof.

The only other complaint is how rough the casting is. Before doing the clean cycle, I took a random orbital sander to the inside. I didn't sand it all the way down to smooth, but it's a lot better. I recommend it.

Now that it's smoother and has a good finish, it's terrific. If it came like this, I'd easily give it 5 stars. Since I had to do so much work to make it usable, it gets 4.