12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

This is an amazing buy for the money, problems withstanding. If you price other Dutch ovens this size by other makers, you will see it is about 1/3 as much as some of the "better" ones. This one is heavy, but expect that from any cast iron pot this size! The lid fits well on mine; I did inspect before buying.

On seasoning, it took several attempts and I did notice a disturbing amount of brown, muddy stuff oozing out of the iron pores on the first couple attempts. I suspect this is packing grease; it eventually went away. I DID boil and scrub it first, but still got a lot of this strange ooze. I do think it is safe to use after repeat seasoning. For the price, I am willing to put forth more effort.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

Obviously by the other reviews there are some quality control issues. Both me and my brother have one of these and ours seem to be tip top. I've had it for at least a few years and have never had an issue with it. Cooks great, the lid sits well, it all seems to be uniform thickness. My advice is go to the store, pop open the box and examine it before purchase to make sure it is a good one. I picked it up on sale and would have had to pay several times as much for the same thing from another brand.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

very good quality, heave cast iron uniform thickness ... cook nice and even ... easy to season and clean... i highly recommend if you are looking for good cast iron to last a life time

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

Check online for various forums where folks share recipes specifically for the covered dutch oven. Brilliant for group camp cooking.
Don't forget to season it before using, as with any ironware! Then it'll last to pass down to your great-grandkids.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

I bought this oven a few years ago for camping with the scouts. It's never given me any problems. It's not the same quality as the Lodge ovens, but the price more than makes up for it.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

Check the lid carefully to ensure good fit to the pot. It doesn't have to be perfectly, a little gap is okay. Burn the wax off in the grill by placing upside down on the rack at high temp for an hour. It will smoke like crazy as the wax coating burns off. Let it cool then coat inside and out with shortening and cook for another hour on the grill at high temp. Again, it will smoke like crazy. That's pretty much it. Once that's done it's ready to go.

We used ours on a recent camp trip and it performed flawlessly. Food was delicious and clean up was a quick rinse and wipe down. You don't scrub these pots ever. The repeated cooking makes them non stick. You just get the food particles out and you're done. Similar Dutch ovens were 3 times the price elsewhere.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

I boiled the packing grease out followed by a scrub and cooking on my gas grill, Wiped it inside and out with cooking oil and reheated, repeating a couple of times. After that it was good to go. Lid seals and it cooks fine. Not bad for the price.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

I bought mine 10 years ago when my Girl Scout troop wanted to camp and we had very little money thinking it would get us through. Ten years later and many Girl Scout, Boy Scout and family camping trips it is still going strong. :o)

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

We don't shop Harbor Freight for top of the line merchandise. We shop there for reasonable quality at a very good price.





My dutch ovens, yes I've bought several of these, are adequate for the task. We use them primarily for Scouting activities and they get the job done. None of mine have problems with the lids sealing. They hold up well to cooking over open fires or on charcoal.





It takes a while to burn off the paraffin coating so you can season the iron. That's a one-time aggravation. Other than that I can't really find fault with them.

Comments about 12" Cast Iron Dutch Oven:

No it isn't a Lodge, and being from Tennessee (where Lodge is) that bothers me, but I have Lodge stuff too. This is a fantastic bargain for someone starting out camping or learning to cook with a dutch oven. You have to season it very well however (again, it is not a Lodge). Scrap as much of the grease as you can off, and burn off the rest by hanging it over a fire (can use indoor oven, but it may smoke quite a bit; be sure to have a drip pan underneath it if you do). Then grease it very very well with Crisco, and hang it over the fire again (I used a tripod). Let it cook for a while and grease again on all the outside and edges and lid for good measure. After that, you should be ready to go.


Lastly, as far as quality goes, open the box up and look it over before you purchase. It's pretty easy to spot a lid that doesn't seat well ;)