Lodge 6 Quart Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Camp Dutch Oven with Lid - Dual Handles - Use in the Oven, on the Stove, on the Grill or over the Campfire - Black

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'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.

Updated with a photo 7-15-2020. My grandmother's Martin cowboy skillet/spider skillet is on bottom, a Camp Chef No 10 in the middle, the Lodge No 8 on top. Top two have biscuits in them, bottom had a breakfast casserole. The Lodge lives up to Lodge's reputation. Very pleased with it. ***Bought from the Amazon Warehouse as an open box or perhaps returned. Arrived in a few days. Packaged in original box but it had been opened and taped shut with that scotch tape that has strings in it, so not by Amazon. It had the original box, packaging, and cookbook/owners manual with it. My 2 year old granddaughter had me read it to her over coffee yesterday - to each their own I guess*** I inherited my grandmother's 80 year old 12" spider skillet (looks like a footed dutch oven, only with a long pan handle instead of a bail) early last year. Being big on camping with my horses and friends and family and THEIR horses, I wanted to learn to cowboy cook. A few youtube videos and some reading later, I baked my first 5 layer breakfast casserole at camp last Easter in my grandmother's skillet, I was hooked on camp cooking, specifically with all the cast iron I inherited. Later last year, my dad made a tripod for me at his welding shop out of electrical conduit, complete with adjustable chain and hook. An scavenged charcoal grill grate with chains allows me to grill over the camp fire or keep the coffee warm. Back to the dutch ovens - I now own a previously owned 14" no name (base of the tower) my grandmother's 12", a Camp Chef 10" and this Lodge 8". I have not used it yet. Lid fits tight, no wobble (Unlike the camp chef) and the feet are sturdy, substantially sized (Unlike my 14", which has thin, almost spindly looking feet). I found no imperfections in it. Seasoning is good, but obviously a very light starter coat. I would say this size is good for small things, like a small pan of cornbread, a small (Or just a deeper) peach cobbler, perhaps some camp taters (Canned sliced potatoes, bacon, onion, can of cream of mushroom, cheese), a side dish, something like that. Looking forward to

I am a long time Lodge lover. The quality of the cast iron is superior. Like another reviewer said, don't buy cheap - you'll regret it. Follow the instructions, keep the pot properly seasoned, and cooking is a dream. I like the legs as it gives more versatility. I bought my first (smaller) Lodge to practice open hearth cooking. I bought this larger one so that I could actually bake a cake in it over hot coals. The legs keep the pot level and the cake bakes better. In a conventional oven, I put a cookie sheet on the oven rack and it works equally well. I have also used my Lodge dutch ovens with legs on top of the gas burner on my gas stove.... you do have to maneuver the legs around the burner grates, or if your burners are recessed, just remove them and stand the pot over the burner. One place it's tough to use these pots (due to the weight) is on a side burner on a gas grill. I was going to use the next size smaller one to make beans on the gas grill side burner, and the weight of it caused the side burner on a top of the line Charmglo grill to bend down and separate slightly from the grill - the frame holding the burner actually bent, and it made me quite nervous. In the winter, put your stew in, set it on some hot coals from your fireplace, top the cover with hot coals, and forget about it. Every couple of hours, replenish the coals. The aroma is divine. Note, you do need the proper utensils to move and lift these pots and lids when they are full as they are very heavy. Our fireplace is in the dining room and we can serve right from the hearth to the table. You can also bake an 8 inch cake or a 9 inch bundt or similar designed baking pan in this -- lift the baking pan out with 2 pairs of tongs and someone to grab it with mitts. Best advice I can give that hasn't already been mentioned is to invest in a pair of heavy duty silicon oven mitts - really thick ones. We got ours at a kitchen outlet and they were expensive, but you have good gripping and no heat transfer through them to your hands. Bottom line, top quality, worth the money, just an awesome, versatile pot.

I loved the oven. I use it a lot to cook on the wild and it cooks evenly. It is very heavy though, even much more if you have it full of food, because it is made from cast iron. The color is black. It is very versatile to use while cooking on the wild or in the back of your house with your family or friends. I'm looking for buying the stand next.

I received the 8-qt. deep camp Dutch oven today. It appears to be the usual Lodge good quality pre-seasoned cast iron, so no surprises there. It looks just like the picture shown on the product page, but it is larger than I expected. It came with the cookbook mentioned in the description along with a smaller booklet showing Lodge's products. The recipe book has lots of useful information and a couple of dozen recipes. I had also ordered another camp Dutch oven cookbook, but I think the one that came with it would have been sufficient to begin using it. Both cookbooks suggest using a lid lifter (available at amazon for about $18) and barbeque or welding gloves. After seeing this item and reading how to use it, I honestly don't see how the shallow lid (with hot coals on it) could possibly be safely lifted without using a lid lifter. Most recipes call for more coals to be placed on top of the lid than are used under the pot, and for the lid to be rotated a quarter-turn every 15 minutes to produce even cooking. The only handle on the heavy lid is the short loop in the center of the lid. With hot coals on it and without a lid lifter, that looks like a third degree burn begging to happen. The pot portion has the wire bail handle for lifting it. The bottom side of the lid is flat for use separately as a griddle, if you have a lid stand or another way to support the edges (because of the little loop handle in the center). The top of the lid has the brand Lodge in large raised letters. I bought this Dutch oven for a gift for a relative who wants one, so I haven't actually used it. I do use several other pieces of cast iron cookware, though, so I can compare this item with those. I don't doubt that it will perform as expected. Good price also, as it was surprisingly less expensive than the smaller 5-qt. version. It is nicely boxed. I've now ordered the Lodge 5A lid lifter and a pair of welding gloves for the recipient. Long handled tongs are also needed for placing the hot coals on top of the lid, but hopefully he already has some of those. Obviously, this is the camping Dutch oven with legs for using outdoors over charcoals. For home cooktop use, the flat bottomed ones without the legs would be better. Pleased with the product and the price. Did I mention the lid lifter? :-)

I bought a 12" (8 qt) "Used -- Very Good" return to save a few bucks (Cast iron never wears out, right? It can ALWAYS be cleaned and re-seasoned). It arrived in brand-new, never-used condition, but it was obvious to me why it was returned once I opened it. The inside had a horrible sand-cast finish that almost looked like mill scale buildup on hot rolled steel. I was disappointed because I have high regards for Lodge Manufacturing and the products that they turn out. I don't know what standard they use to determine when a cast product is too rough and should be scrapped, but this one needed (at the very least) to be resurfaced on the inside of the bottom. The same roughness would have been fine on the outside or even the lid, but the bottom and sides should be smooth. I was too excited to get it and didn't want to waste time returning it, so I spent about 20-30 minutes scrubbing it with emory paper (starting with 80 grit and working down to 320) and it's fine now. Truth be told, the bottom is much smoother than the outisde now. Of course it needs to be re-seasoned, but having bought a used (return) in order to save money, I was planning on re-seasoning it anyway. Lodge makes great products; please don't let me give you the wrong impression on this DO. Aside from the casting errors in this particular DO, I was highly pleased. The wall thickness is plenty stout to endure camping life, yet not overly heavy. The legs are beefy and taper into the bottom with a generous blend. The lid fits beautifully and the pre-seasoning looks great for what it was intended. Had I not needed to resurface the bottom, I would easily give it 5 stars. Now that it's smooth, I expect years and years of happy camping with it.

I wanted to try out campfire cooking so I did a little research and purchased this Lodge dutch oven. Let me first say that I have bought other Lodge cast iron products and they are the "Mercedes" of cast iron cookware. No shortcuts here, just beautiful, functional cast iron products that can be passed down to your children or grandchildren. On to the review... The pot lid is very, very heavy. The pot itself is beautifully made. The instructions are clear (I recommend you follow them, they are correct). The iron handle is robust enough to take the pot off the fire filled hot food without giving you any concern. The pot is "pre-seasoned" so all you have to do is give it a quick clean. I usually clean my cast iron products using hot water, a soft plastic brush and a little salt. Not much sticks anyway, but the salt works to give the brush a little "bite", plus I think the salt helps the seasoning a little. The next step is to make a nice fire about 2 hours ahead of your cook time. The pot is NOT placed on the fire directly, but a few hot coals are dragged away from the fire for cooking. I place the pot over about 10 hot coals on the botton, and about 20 hot coals on the lid. I turn the lid every 15 minutes or so and replace the coals with new ones about every 45 minutes. Generally this method will cook a 4-5 pound chicken with a few potatoes, carrots and onions until it "falls off the bone" in about 3 hours. It's really hard to describe how chicken tastes after being cooked over fire coals. It seems to keep the character flavor of the pot from meal to meal, and tastes ever so slightly smoky. It's very similar to cooking I've tasted in New Zealand where meat and vegetables are wrapped up on palm fronds, place over white hot stones, then buried for about four hours. It just has it's own unique flaor. I've also cooked chile, leg of lamb and a number of other dishes. They've all been great. A word of warning. Most people (including myself) can't believe that just a few coals below the pot, and double the number placed on top of the lid, can really cook the contents, but less is truly more in campfire cooking. If too many coals are used, the food will taste strangely overcooked, but not burned. So best to exercise much restraint. If you want to try campfire cooking and buy quality that can last for generations, then I say buy this quality pot and go out and cook!