Which Ovens Do You Own?

I have the following;

Oven 1: Wenzel 12-inch deep. This is the first dutch oven that I owned and I seasoned it myself. (Boy did it stink up the whole house.) Its legs are a little longer than my other ovens and I didn't know much about caring for a seasoning when I was first using it, so the seasoning has been hurting for some time. I used it on Wednesday for the first time in a year or more and most of the seasoning is disappearing. It's time to re-season this one.

Oven 2: Lodge Logic 12-inch.

Oven 3: Lodge Logic 12-inch.

I love Lodge Logic ovens. They're uniform. They're great quality. They just work and work well. They come seasoned and the seasoning is very good in my opinion.

What do you own? What do you cook with most?

Here's my gear:

Oven 1-2: Lumping these together, as they were my first two purchased together - two 12 inch Camp Chef. I have a soft place in my heart (and a loft in my garage) for these two. Solid, even, and they are WONDERFUL.

Oven 3: 12 inch Lodge, with the Boy Scout logo on the lid. I won this at a work dutch-oven cookoff!

Oven 4: 14 inch Camp Chef. It's my big one - and again, solid, even, and works like a charm.

Oven 5: 10 inch Lodge, won at a different work cookoff.

I have used the camp chef 12's the most, but that's probably because I have had them the longest. One of them is still in great shape, the other needs to be re-re-seasoned. The patina was ruined once by burning some STICKY rolls, and when I re-seasoned it, I only did one coat - it smoked up the house, and I was out of gas for my grill outside. Time to re-do it.

I love the Lodge as well - I agree, well made and wonderful - but for me, I have found identical quality and results with the Camp Chef, so I'm sticking with those two brands. To me, you can't really go wrong with either.

I also have the larger of the two Camp Chef tables, which is handy.

I personally prefer to season my own ovens so that I know how they are done. I like the Lodge brand oven best. It seems to have a better grain structure and fewer defects. They say that it is made in a pressure cast rather that just a pour casting. I have used ovens from the 5 inch Lodge to the 17 inch Maca. I think the Lodge 12 inch is the most useful for general use. If I am cooking rolls then I prefer using the 14 inch oven. The big ovens are great for big roasts, large groups, or turkeys. The 16 inch Lodge oven is the equivalent of two 12 inch ovens. It is heavy but sometimes it is easier to have everything in one pot. The little ovens (10 inch and smaller) usually are specific to certain recipes but not as useful for the general cook.

On Friday, I stopped by a local IFA Country Store and before I could get out the door, I acquired:

• 10-inch Lodge Logic
• 12-inch deep Lodge Logic
• 14-inch Lodge Logic

IFA has pretty decent prices for their ovens! I also bought another lid trivet and a couple of other little things and still got out the door for under $200, tax included.

So now I have doubled the number of dutch ovens I own!

Really, I'm jealous of the 12 inch deep, especially.

I need to work on getting accessories for a two-burner stove. I wonder why?

Um...because DeShawn might need to borrow it, of course!

-darren