Off-brand Enameled Cast Iron

[phatj]

I originally posted the below in the "Understanding Stovetop Cookware Q&A" thread, but then realized it was an EGCI thread and didn't get bumped to the top of the EGCI forum, so nobody will see it. I've seen threads about Le Creuset & Staub, and I've seen other brands mentioned in various threads, but perhaps they deserve their own thread.

I've been lusting after Le Creuset's assorted enameled cast iron products for a long time, but have not been able to get the exchequer to approve one. So, last night in a HomeGoods store, I saw that they carried "Authentic Kitchen" brand enameled cast iron cookware. Has anyone heard of this brand, or had any experience with it? It's all made in China, unsurprisingly. The heft seems good (in fact, it seemed heavier to me than LC, but of course I had nothing to which to directly compare it), but the enamel quality seemed iffy in the store, borne out by experience (see below).

On a whim I bought the 7-Qt oval dutch oven for $50. Before I even got it home, I managed to chip the enamel: in transit, the lid slipped down into the pot, chipping the edge. As this is an unimportant spot, I'm going to let it slide.

I haven't had a chance to actually use the thing yet. Any suggestions for a first recipe? I'm leaning towards braised short ribs of some sort. Once I've cooked some things, I'll report on further impressions, but again, I don't really have any reference point for this kind of cookware.

[Bonnie Ruth]

I also have been lusting after an LC dutch oven and looking at less expensive brands. I hadn't heard of this one or of Staub. There is a discussion of this going on at the Fine Cooking cooks forum that says there is a brand at Target that Cooks Illustrated rated just below LC. And another sold on Amazon that I think was called Lodge; I looked at it for a long time yesterday but didn't want to pay the $14+ shipping charge. Apparenty it is also sold at Target, and I intend to look there. Someone at the FC group just dissed the Innova for having no warranty since the company is out of business, and for having enamel that flakes off in sheets. I think your experience of the thing chipping on its own lid is pretty bad.

My biggest concern about the LC or any other brand is the weight. If it weighs 19 pounds or something empty, and at 7 quarts adds another almost 16 pounds when full, how do you lift it? I recently bought an All Clad dutch oven instead for that reason, but I want the enameled cast iron for bread baking, at least.

[scubadoo97]

I bought this Innova 5 qt in the apple color.

Innova dutch oven

I get a little drip of condensed water that will trickle down the side if I'm steaming so it's not absolutely a tight seal. I guess there has to be some escape of steam, it's not a pressure cooker. I have never owned a LC dutch oven so have nothing to comare it to. So far it has been a pleasure to use. It is heavy and my wife hates it for that reason but in preparing soups I can sweat out vegetables with little worry about browning since it has such good heat retention and I can cook on a lower heat. It also cleans up very well. A little Bar Keepers Friend will get rid of most stains. I think the first thing I made in it was black beans. The BKF got rid of the black stains really quickly. Now it does have a brownish patina to the enamel that BKF will not get rid of but I have had it for at least 6 months. I have braised roast in the oven, soups, stews, fried in it and just about everything except bread in that pot. It was a deal at ~$35 shipped.

[Jensen]

A few months ago, I bought a Daniel Boulud braising pan from Amazon; apparently, they are made by Sabatier. No chips, even heat, good seal. I'm very happy with it - so much so that I spent some time yesterday trying to find a smaller roasting pan to buy!

[DerekW]

Your braised ribs sound like the right sort of idea. Maybe one of the cassoulet variations?

Ikea have 3 and 5 quart enamelled iron casseroles, made in France, with the little 'braising nubbins' under the lid, a la Staub. $60. We have the 5 quart and it seems to be of good quality. Lagostina sell a very similar item, at a considerably higher price. I found a 3 quart in our local 'end of line clearance' store for $30. The same discount store sells a range of Chinese made pots, and in many cases as you've observed, the enamelling seems easy to chip; many are damaged on the shelf.

I'm a big lad and lifting the 5 quart full of stew isn't a problem, but I did sweat a little when I saw how much the oven's wire shelf sagged It's perhaps not clear from the pictures but both the Ikea and Lagostina pots have handles that 'droop' slightly, echoing the curvature of the lid, but also really helping you retain a good grip of the pot.

[Joe Blowe]

I have an LC oval oven, and I just recently bought the ChefMate round dutch oven sold at Target.

So far, I've only used the ChefMate to make the NYT No-Knead bread recipe, and it's performing flawlessly. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to get their first enameled cast iron dutch oven -- it's working great at temps north of 450F, with no visible signs of wear. Yet.

And, as Cook's Illustrated recently pointed out, it's quite a bit cheaper than the slightly larger LC dutch oven, with not too many tradeoffs...

[phatj]

I did read about the ChefMate pots in Cook's Illustrated, but couldn't find them at my local Target. And I was leaning towards the 7-Qt pot anyway, which ChefMate doesn't seem to sell.

I hadn't thought of the oven rack sagging issue. However, I just put the thing in my oven and pushed down on the lid as hard as I could; the rack sagged somewhat, but not enough to worry about.

[gregwa]

I just got a Mario Batali 6 qt dutch oven that is made by Copco and so far, it's been great. I didn't think that the self basting spikes would really do that much, but they actually do work fairly well. I've seen the pot on Amazon for $69 when they go on sale, so it might be something worth looking out for.

[Bonnie Ruth]

I just got a Mario Batali 6 qt dutch oven that is made by Copco and so far, it's been great.  I didn't think that the self basting spikes would really do that much, but they actually do work fairly well.  I've seen the pot on Amazon for $69 when they go on sale, so it might be something worth looking out for.

←

I just ordered a Chasseur 6-quart enameled cast iron covered casserole dish (it looked just like a Dutch oven - is there a difference?) from Overstock.com for $139.99, with a$2.95 for shipping. I think this is the best deal I have found unless it is not really a Dutch oven. Any advice while I still have time to cancel?

[phatj]

Success!

I did a spicy orange-garlic short rib braise of my own invention (recipe RecipeGullet). It was really yummy. I wish I took pics, because unlike many of my creations, it actually was pretty attractive, with a lovely glossy brown sauce.

The pot did fine for the browning, and stuff didn't stick too it badly. It more or less deglazed itself when I sauteed the onions. Cleanup was easy.

I think I'll end up using this quite a bit.

Edited January 9, 2007 by phatj (log)

[matt_smith]

I purchased a Descoware 3 QT oven off ebay to use with the no-knead bread technique that's been taking the baking world by the ears, and have since found myself using it for lots of other things.

Descoware seems to make (have made? it's mostly 70's vintage) a good product, and they can be had quite reasonably if you keep an eye on ebay.

also, i like that the top and side handles are cast iron and can thus withstand higher oven temperatures... some of the cheaper enameled cast iron i've seen (and even some of the expensive) has plastic handles that can only withstand heat up to a certain point... not so handy.

[Joe Blowe]

I am patiently waiting to "inherit" a 7 qt. oval Descoware oven from my mom. Given the genetics on her side of the family, I only have to wait another 30 years or so -- at which point I'll be too old to lift it...

[Smithy]

I purchased a Descoware 3 QT oven off ebay to use with the no-knead bread technique that's been taking the baking world by the ears, and have since found myself using it for lots of other things.

Descoware seems to make (have made?  it's mostly 70's vintage) a good product, and they can be had quite reasonably if you keep an eye on ebay.

also, i like that the top and side handles are cast iron and can thus withstand higher oven temperatures... some of the cheaper enameled cast iron i've seen (and even some of the expensive) has plastic handles that can only withstand heat up to a certain point... not so handy.

←

The vintage Le Creuset pieces I first picked up from eBay also have cast handles on the lids. I don't know what I'll ever do if a handle breaks, but in the meantime I like the looks of it, and the cost was much lower than for the new stuff.

[Bonnie Ruth]

The vintage Le Creuset pieces I first picked up from eBay also have cast handles on the lids.  I don't know what I'll ever do if a handle breaks, but in the meantime I like the looks of it, and the cost was much lower than for the new stuff.

←

I should have thought of ebay. I would love vintage Le Creuset. But I'm still thinking my Chasseur at overstock.com was a good buy. (No comments on my posting; I'm surprised.) I didn't have any information about the handles, but in the picture they look like cast iron like the rest of it. It was supposed to ship right away; I can't wait to get it and try the famous no-knead bread recipe.

[Betts]

I also picked up one of those off brand oval Dutch ovens fron Homegoods and it is chipped in several spots but it turns out a really fine product and it is one of my favorite pieces.

A case of "dance 10, looks 0"

[CaliPoutine]

Amazon has a load of staub on sale this week. Staub is made in France and is comparable with Le Crueset

[paulraphael]

this month's cooks illustrated has a review of dutch ovens ... a couple of super cheap enamel cast iron ones competed well with the creuset.

if you do want a le creuset, be sure to check out ebay. when i bought my dutch oven a few years ago, there was a canadian company that sold brand new le creuset pieces for dirt cheap. my 7-1/2 qt pot cost $125 ... not much more than half what they were asking at zabars.

[Chris Amirault]

I was snooping around Macy's while my daughter was ogling ear rings at Claire's and I spied this 5.5 quart dutch oven from none other than Martha Stewart. The construction seemed solid, and it was on sale for $49 ($39 with the $10 coupon the cashier gave me at checkout), so I grabbed it to replace my 5.5 quart Le Creuset dutch oven that finally kicked the bucket a few months back.

I've used it twice now and it seems great to me. In addition to the details listed at the Macy's website -- the self-basting bumps, phenolic knob -- the oven has a smaller diameter and thus taller sides than the LC piece it replaced. I like that feature a lot, as the added depth is nice for deep frying or braising.

And, hey, if it sucks after a few years, I can console myself with the thought that I saved a couple of benjamins on LC retail.

[plk]

I don't know how it happened, but we have THREE dutch ovens. For the enameled one, I just have a LC oval (ordered from amazon, which has decent deals on LC), but I noticed that Lodge now has an enameled line. Lodge isn't exactly what I'd call off-brand, and we have two of their regular dutch ovens, but I would bet they're priced below LC.

[pax]

I bought a Lodge as a filler between two sizes of my Le Creuset about six months ago.

I use it almost daily and the thing is holding up very well.

[Chris Amirault]

One would think that cast iron would hold up pretty well, all things considering. It's worth keeping in mind when salivating over that Staub set that costs about as much as a mortgage installment.

[Bonnie Ruth]

That price is amazing. I just paid $49 at Target for a cast iron pan for my daughter-in-law that wasn't even enameled.

[phatj]

Might as well throw in my $0.02 -- the cheapo piece that I referred to when I started this thread is still going strong. No further enamel damage, even though I have not been especially gentle with it, using metal utensils at times without thinking.

It's one of my favorite pieces of cookware. The weight is the only thing that keeps me from using it more.

[andiesenji]

I bought one of the Chinese-made fairly large oval ovens (at Marshall's) to use in my barbecue and it has held up remarkably well, considering that I can get the temp much higher than in a regular oven. This one has an integral loop-type handle on the lid, similar to the old Descoware (of which I have several pieces I bought in the 60s) and the very early Prizer-ware, (sold to complement Prizer's cast-iron wood and coal stoves made in the 1930s, '40s and 50s.) Later Prizer-ware had glass handles which could actually take more heat than the metal.

Incidentally, Blue Star ranges are made by the company that was originally Prizer Stove Works.

I have a few pieces of Copco from Denmark and Dru from Holland, both are heavier (hard as it may be to believe) than either Le Creuset or Staub.

I bought a couple of Copco pots at a yard sale for 5$ each a few months ago. I like the Danish modern design.

Here's a Prizer-ware. casserole.

Edited September 17, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[Jensen]

I was snooping around Macy's while my daughter was ogling ear rings at Claire's and I spied this 5.5 quart dutch oven from none other than Martha Stewart.

←

If I hadn't read this post this afternoon, I could have saved myself some bucks!

Thanks for the heads up! I picked up one of the blue ones today.