I am going to buy a dutch oven, I can only buy one and it will be the only one I will be using...

Many dutch oven cobblers. You want them to be steamed to some extent, but not dripped on. If you aren't going to use a lid, why not use a larger casserole dish and cook in half the time? More surface area would be better if you don't need a closed vessel. Plus you'll have more room for whatever you're using for a topper to the dish, giving an overall better texture.

>never use high heat on electric with cast iron
not OP, but can you elaborate on this?

over time, cast iron pans that are larger than the burner will concave if used over high heat. Probably not a concern for a dutch oven that will see a lot of oven time. And really, cast Iron pans are so cheap it's not worth worrying about.

Cast iron doesn't distribute heat across the pan fast enough when used on electric coils, this will cause warping if you try to heat an empty pan.
it's not over time, it can happen in minutes.

just save yourself some money and get an lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven.

amazon.com/dp/B000N4WN08/ref=twister_B004QM8SMA?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

personally I have a love hate relationship with dutch ovens. A crock pot will give you the same results for a fraction of the cost and is a lot easier to handle/clean/store food.

>just save yourself some money and get an lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven.
They're made in CHINA, no thanks.

seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html

Slow cookers do not give the same results, they give worse results.

OP oval is more useful than round. More often than not, your roast or whatever will be more oval than round.

depends OP

if you want to use it in the oven, go cast iron enamel

if you are using electric or induction heating, these can seriously damage cast iron

never used steel myself
can't see a dutch over being different from a pot if it's steel

Thanks for all the replies

To get this straight, I /can/ use cast iron on electric but need to watch the fuck out?

I'm learning along with you user.

From what I've gathered, cast iron needs to be brought to high temperature gradually since it doesn't transfer heat fast enough, I guess that property also makes it retain it.

I use induction so I'm real thankful for the replies and you for asking.

You guys are worried about nothing. there's absolutely nothing wrong with using cast iron on on any kind of electric or induction cooktop.

A coil or flat-top electric range can be used with any cookware.

An induction cooktop can be used with any ferrous metal, which cast iron is.

The only concern about cast iron on flat-top or induction stoves is that the fairly rough cast iron might scratch the cooktop, but that's purely cosmetic.

And we're done here.
/thread

not really.

Le Crueset has been big on making their products thinner and lighter over time. That's counterproductive for a dutch oven. Like that posted said, you want CI for its heat retention. That favors thicker cast iron.

A generic brand would be superior to Le Crueset because not only would it be much cheaper, but it would be thicker as well. A win-win situation.

if it's an enameled/coated dutch oven then setting it on an electric range set very far above medium will burn the bottom and can cause the enamel to crack due to uneven direct heating

if it's bare cast iron you can do whatever the fuck you want to it

The only thing you should be aware of with an electric is when cast iron gets hot it stays hot, and if your range is an ancient POS like mine the pot can and will run away on you; I always have to monitor my temp carefully

electric coils can create "spinners"
youtube.com/watch?v=lOYfAMVJWg4

>I'm learning along with you user.
Ah right, thanks then! What you said makes sense though and yeah I get that, I read about a lot of shit as well just for the off chance the knowledge will come in handy.

>The only concern about cast iron on flat-top or induction stoves is that the fairly rough cast iron might scratch the cooktop, but that's purely cosmetic.
Good, that will teach that piece of shit stove a lesson.

>A generic brand would be superior to Le Crueset because not only would it be much cheaper, but it would be thicker as well. A win-win situation.
I can get a Creuset cheap as fuck right now, compared to other prices. Ill try and feel the thickness.

Noted both, thanks.

Yeah I had this happen to an el cheapo pan I bought last year, I chucked that away. Became useless.

One more question if anyones still reading, would it be fine to gradually heat a cast iron pan to above medium range or should you just stick to medium? And with regards to the enamel mentioned above?

you will not need to raise the temperature very far above medium, an enameled cast iron will hold and transfer heat far better than any of your other pans, if you let it actually get to temperature it will do anything you need to except boil water, and while it's technically safe to boil water in them it just makes more sense to boil water in a different pot

This guy has it right, scour your local garage sales and good wills for a few days and then if you can't find one check ebay, if no luck get a new one.

Look for scratches in the enamel and make sure that sucker is heavy.

from le creuset's faq (care and use) page

>would it be fine to gradually heat a cast iron pan to above medium range...

Of course. Cast iron is nearly indestructible. You don't have to limit yourself to "medium", you can put that fucker on full blast and you won't hurt it.

Pic very related. Here's a photo from me making blackened catfish. This is a 16" cast iron skillet on a 240,000 btu propane wok burner. That's about fifteen times more powerful than a home range.

Looks even better with no flash.

You don't need to baby cast iron. You can't hurt it. I've been using this same skillet on that burner for more than 10 years now.

Your killing that fish

Nope. It's only on the heat for about 40 seconds a side. Comes out perfectly tender and flaky. The pan is so hot that the fish never actually touches it; it floats across the surface due to the Liedenfrost effect. Paul Prudhomme was a genius when he came up with this dish.

Dank, I want to try it

hijack question; I happen to own one of these, I believe it's cast iron. hard to tell because it feels like it is but the color is more of a light grey.

what can I do with this exactly? I'm a terrible, terrible cook.

Yes. Enameled cast iron is the only way. Cast iron holds heat great, but in a regular cast iron pot, you can't make really acidic stuff like with tomatoes or wines, which means a lot of stews and chilis are a big no go. Enameling protects the cast iron, so everything is game. And you don't have to keep that bitch seasoned. Super easy to clean too.

I've made some killer chili in mine, and a big pot of beans too - just 1lb dried great northern beans soaked overnight, chicken stock, some onion, 1 can of rotel (tomatoes and green chili peppers), plenty of diced hog jowl, some salt, pepper. It was the bomb with some jalapeno cornbread. Shit, I'm going to have to make some again soon.

Anyway, yes, enameled cast iron is the only way to go for dutch ovens.

Facts.
I have a slow cooker, and they have their place. But you will NOT get the same results from a slow cooker as you will with an enameled cast iron dutch oven. A lot of beans or chilis I've made in the slow cooker ended up much more soggy and with less texture, despite trying different temps and times. Dutch oven, it's less overall cooking time AND much better texture. The slow cooker has its place but for a lot of things, an enameled cast iron dutch oven will simply yield better results.

>Get a Le Creuset and never have to worry about getting another.

Do people realize that Lodge makes enameled cast iron ware that are no different from le crueset, but costs 1/3 of the price?

I own pans from Lodge, le crueset, and Staub... honestly, there is no difference in cooking performance.

I agree. I live in a shitty apartment with an electric stove that is probably at least 15 years old. Once it gets to the right temp and I'm ready to put the lid on and let it simmer, I have to move the dial down to half way between low and medium. Then check on it every so often, and usually adjust it down a little lower, closer to low. If it's too hot, the food will absolutely stick, and when it cools, it will releases and you'll stir up a zillion burnt bits up into your stew or whatever. I did this with a big pot of beans. I spent like 20 minutes trying to fish out the biggest burned bits, but it was useless. Beans were still great, but would have been even better if I'd watched my temp more closely. On these cheap, older electric coil cook tops, when you're ready to simmer with lid on, you do NOT need it on medium heat. It holds heat way better than I imagined. Medium will burn your shit and potentially mess up your cast iron.

>CHINA

A tip is the two burner technique. Have one burner on a pre-heat medium/medium high and then have your second coil on low. When your beans are at the temp you want you move the pot over to the low temp coil.

I've had several brands and I agree. Shit, I even got an enameled cast iron dutch oven from Sam's Club for $29.99 on sale and it looks, and works, just like my Le Creuset. I've not really ever bought any cast iron products and felt like it was lesser quality or a "dud".
The good thing about cast iron stuff is it will last for fucking ever with proper care. Enameled cast iron may not last as long if you don't heed care instructions and scratch the enamel all up by using metal mixing utensils in it for too long (which, frankly, I still do sometimes and I've never had issues, but I'm careful to not scrape it with metal).
But, everyone, if you're new to cast iron...look up proper care instructions for the non-enameled especially. Rule #1 is never, ever, no matter what, put cast iron in the dishwasher. I don't even put my enameled cast iron dutch oven in the dishwasher because it has an un-enameled strip around the top where the lid comes in contact (because it would just get damaged) and so does the lid, around the edges. Hand wash enameled, it's easy and only takes seconds, shit doesn't stick to it. Dry un-enameled bits well, and occasionally rub a paper towel with some oil on it around the un-enameled bits to prevent rust. I don't do it every time, but maybe 1 in ever 3. But I DO make sure it's dry.
Rust is the enemy with cast iron. But even that can be fixed with some oven cleaner, a metal scouring pad, and some muscle. You just have to re-season it like 3 times.
Don't use dish soap or metal scrubbies on cast iron unless you're ready to re-season it (which involves rubbing it down with oil or lard and putting in the oven at a low temp for a while, google it). Enameled cast iron, ffs, never use a metal scrubbing pad ever, nothing but a soft dish rag or you'll mess up the enamel. Learn to care for your cast iron and you'll more than get your monies worth out of them. These aren't some $20 teflon frying pan from walmart that will be ruined in 6 months.

so that's how I ruined all those frying pans

>what is a search engine

>The pan is so hot that the fish never actually touches it; it floats across the surface due to the Liedenfrost effect.
Fuck. I gotta try this.

Thanks!

We dont really have garage sales and our online market is notoriously shit. But thanks for the suggestions.

Make a mean stew.

Yeah it looks awesome.

Guess all my questions are answered, how about we turn this into a recipes thread? Ones that work good in cast irons.

>hurr don't dicuss things on a discussion board
in any case, human interaction is always better than the kind of clickbait buzzfeed shit that makes it to the top of google search results