Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven - Aluminum??

Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven - Aluminum??

There are aluminum Dutch ovens that you can use when camping.  Lodge does sell these and some say that they’re easier to care for because they’re not seasoned, along with being a lot lighter which is making them gain popularity with camping crowds.

However, cooking in them will be different because they heat up faster and loose heat faster.

If you do decide to go with an aluminum Lodge Dutch oven for your camping trip, try and pick recipes that were written for the aluminum variety.  Also, it is easier to burn food when cooking with the aluminum Dutch oven, so be careful.

This is an important point, because it is easy to get distracted while camping and burn the food.  For this reason alone, I don’t care for aluminum Dutch ovens… because who wants to have to watch the food all the time when there’s so many other fun things to do while you‘re camping.

Nothing ruins a camping trip faster than burnt food; you most likely won't bring enough to make another meal like you could at home, so you'll wind up just have to tough it out.

One of the many benefits of using a Lodge cast iron Dutch oven is that you can set it and forget it (sorry, just had to use that line). Besides if you want to save on the cleaning part, a lot of people just line their Lodge cast iron Dutch oven with aluminum.

Then when you’re done just pull the aluminum out and throw it away. I’d have to say that’s simple enough. And, as far as the weight issue goes, to me it‘s a non-issue… most people don’t go backpacking with Dutch ovens, they are usually car camping, horse packing, or rafting.

Happy cooking,
Greg