Kitchen

[Sooner]

@Knit-Chick We have had Le Creuset for 30 years now and I love them!  

My favorite and most used for the 2 of us are the 5.5 quart round ones!  Either round (my preference) or oval.  

Lots of reviews say get the bigger size, 7.25 quart, and I do use it a lot but it is not my most used.  When you get that amount of food if it is full it is heavy and I might reach for a lighter weight All Clad then--if the pot is going to be full.

You can't go wrong with them!  My advice is call a factory outlet store and get them to help you pick one on sale at a good price. They have first quality and second, and they will pick out one for you even a second and I've never been disappointed in quality.

There is a store in Oklahoma City with some good people there, and I'm sure other cities as well!  It's sometimes very worthwhile to give them a call and see what they have. 

[chickenbutt]

Yeah, Le Creuset is absolutely the best of the bunch and I second Sooner's thought about contacting one of their factory outlet stores.  The savings are very, very good and, in my experience, you get perfect products.

If you don't have one of these stores in your area, they ship and the shipping is free, IIRC, with only a $100 minimum.  

[wagirl]

My SIL bought me a cast iron dutch oven, 6.5 qt at Macys. but dang!!! the thing is so heavy. It is a Martha Stewart brand.  use it mostly for baking bread. Not sure I could even lift it if I used it to cook in. And I think, all those cast iron things crack and craze. Had a tiny 2.5 qt one from Martha and it chipped and crazed and turned an ugly bown inside. Would never pay hundreds of $$ for a Le C. Mine was $70 on sale, I think and I never would have spent that much either, but it was a gift. 

[chickenbutt]

A couple things about the chippiing and cracking - 

1)  I've only seen cases of this with Chinese-made enameled cast iron, so this isn't something inherent to enameled cast iron.  Rather, it's about  the less than integrous manufacturing of Chinese made enameled cast iron.

2)   Le Creuset is made much better than the Chinese-made counterparts and they are fully warranted.

In this case, it really is about 'you get what you pay for'.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Knit-Chick  I've also started shopping for a new Dutch oven. I have a years old 8 qt. Lodge enameled cast iron and use it every week. It finally chipped on the inside. It would be great to get one that isn't made in China. Unfortunately, that leaves LC or Staub. And they are so expensive. The cheapest I've seen for an eight qt. is a Staub on Amazon. With the shipping, it comes to around $270. I know one thing, I can't do without a Dutch Oven. I just made PW braised short ribs over the weekend. So good!

[Free2be]

@Knit-Chick   For a little less $$ than LC, I recommend Staub for excellent quality.  I've had one for many years with no complaints.  I also recommend around 5-5.5 quart size that will hold a whole chicken or plenty of soup without being overly heavy when full.

I love mine most for roasting chicken following the "French Chicken in a Pot" recipe that is all over the web.  It was original to Cooks Illustrated and will give you the most moist chicken possible.  

[Happy2BHere]

I have a larger Le Creuset (round) and a smaller Staub (oval with a cute chicken on the lid, like this)

I love them both, but I find that I use the Staub the most.

If you're a member of Sam's Club and are interested at all in Martha Stewart's dutch ovens you might check out Sam's Club online - right now they have a 2 pack of Martha Stewart dutch ovens with both a 4 quart AND a 7 quart in 5 colors for $59.98 with free shipping 

"Martha Stewart 4-Quart and 7-Quart Enamel on Cast Iron Dutch Ovens, 2 Pack (Assorted Colors)"

[Yahooey]

My first and only cast iron is Staub 5 qt - 

take a little more effort to clean bc of the shape

I absolutley love it

[hick]

I have both - a Lodge and a set of Le Creuset.  I like them both.

I will say that my set of Le Creuset which includes the dutch oven was given to me by my husband for my first mother's day.

That was 50 years ago.

Still going strong - both me and the LeCreuset

[peachesncream]

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@LizzieInSRQ wrote:

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@Jaspersmom wrote:

I bought one from QVC many years ago that is equivalent to LeCreuset.  Made in France.  Doesn't have brand name on it.  Maybe T-Fal?  Maybe made just for QVC?  I'm not sure if they carry it anymore, but I know I bought it for an excellent price and much cheaper than LeCreuset. 

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Might have been Staub.

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Mine was also bought from QVC years ago and I remember it was the Staub brand (it doesn't have any name on the bottom  that I can read, only the number 26). 

Mine is yellow and I'm very attached to it! It cost $49 I believe. It's 5 quarts. 

I think QVC had that model made for them to sell. These days, Staub costs a lot more.

There was discussion on the message boards about that Stuab pot, and I remember we were all encouraging each other to buy it lol. I'm glad I did.