This may be slightly off the track of the ETS forum, but I seem to remember a thread a while back about cooking in Dutch ovens.

For those who are experts, can you recommend what size I need to get to cook a few cobblers for about 6 adults? I'm leaning towards an 8 quart Lodge. TIA for your advice!

A large Dutch Oven can always cook smaller portions. If you are only going to buy only one, get the big #14. That is the standard advice. My advice is to get a smaller one to learn on. I started with a #10. I now have it, a #12, two #14s and a rare and HUGE #16 ( these cook differently than the others.)

Chris, are the numbers a quart size (#14 = 14 quarts) or a model number? I haven't seen one of these ovens in a store yet, so I'm not familiar with the numbers.

Thanks -
MB

mamabear,

By no means am I an expert...that said, I believe that the # reflects the quart size. Recently, we saw some of the Lodge products in both Walmart and Bass Pro Shops. Their stock seems to vary by location, in south FL they seem to have smaller selections, we noticed that in north GA Walmarts, that they had a much bigger selection.

HTH
Comanche7

I believe that he's referring to the diameter in inches, which is how Lodge sizes theirs. There are normal and "deep" in some diameters. A 12" is a handy size for what you want, and the normal one is fine - no need for a deep for cobbler. A 14" is rather large. See the Lodge site for capacities in quarts. We have both capacities of 12" (family of 6); my brother has a 14" and it is huge to my eyes. As our kids grow up, I can see a 10" better serving us...

HTH,

Tom

Thanks Tom! Dutch Ovens are a valid urban piece of emergency gear. Some people use natural cider vinegar as a antibacterial wash between use. Another trick to prevent burning cakes,cornbreads etc. is to place 2 large tortillas in the bottom. The lower one will scorch and the second act as a moisture barrier. Recipes calling for eggs in cakes should substitute extra water/oil . The eggs will raise the cake to high and burn the top. Dutch Ovens were actually imported from English foundries. Paul Revere, who was a better coppersmith ( he fabricated the fittings for the U.S.S. Constitution and her sisters) than a horseman, improved the design with the tripod legs and rimmed lid for coals. The substantial ' Pennsylvania Dutch' population gave it the ethnic moniker.

Thank you for steering us in the correct direction. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

...I have seen the Lodge frying pans and griddles at our local Wally-World, but never their Dutch ovens. I think I'll have to go to Galyan's for it. Maybe it's a good time to grab some extra Esbit tabs! <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for your post.

...the info. I can hardly wait to start playing around with these things. Glad I started a weightlifting program a few months ago, though! That 16-incher on the Lodge site is heavy!

Mamabear,

I should clarify an earlier remark: the 14" that my brother has is the deep one. I agree with Chris that the standard depth 14" is an exceptionally useful size - that's the most common size that our Scout Troop uses (to feed ~ 8 - 10 per DO).

IMHO, there are three items that make using DO's much easier:

Heavy leather gloves like "wood burner's gloves" or "welder's gloves". Lodge sells these - but you can get the equivalent gloves for less. These are NOT essential, but it makes things simple when adding/moving/subtracting coals. Of course, there are an infinite number of ways to do this - a metal backpacker's trowel, large pliers, tongs, leather work gloves (don't tarry), bare handed (really don't tarry!), "chopsticks" (often amusing to watch), etc.

A lid lifter . We have an earlier model without the carrying cross handle ("T bar") - this is flat out the BEST way to handle the lid! But again, there are other ways - pliers, leather gloves, a hook of 11 - 9 gauge wire, etc. FWIW, a Vise-Grip pliers with a pair of leather gloves (radiant heat from lid coals can be significant) is pretty good, too. Narrow jaw pliers like a WAVE are barely useable. The Troop has a really fancy one from Cabellas or Gander Mountain and frankly I don't like it as much - the style Lodge sells is the cat's PJs.

A lid trivet . OK, this is not at all essential, but it's small (folds flat) and really does the job well. Where are ya gonna put that heavy ol' lid when you're stirring the stew - or serving it up, for that matter? A couple of scraps of clean (non-treated) wood work fine, too, but this is a really useful gadget. The particular model that Lodge sells will hold the lid facing up or down and the lid is fairly self-centering on it. I'd actually like it a tad larger for 12" and 14" ovens, but... it's niiice.

Don't pay MSRP for these - they are usually available at a decent discount if you shop around. And Lodge sells DOs in two boxes - plain, and pretty pictures. The plain box costs less - same product.

Oh - from a practical standpoint, some sort of tote is awfully handy to have.

Good eating and HTH

Tom