Best dutch oven UK – Dutch ovens for camping
Looking for a dutch oven to take camping with you? Read through our reviews for the one best suited to your family.
Dutch ovens make for perfect camp fire food, and in the UK they’re known as French ovens are more likely, casserole dishes.
Why do they make amazing camp fire food?
They’re made of cast iron, so they can sit directly on top of your camp fire and you can leave them over the embers for hours and hours and you’re dinner will just get better and better!
Best Dutch ovens for camping
Also see: The best portable ice makers for camping
Seasoned Cast Iron Double Dutch Oven
- THE PERFECT MUST-HAVE DUTCH OVEN - Create the best tasting meals with this combination of a cast iron cooking pot, with a lid that can be...
- SUITABLE FOR MANY COOKING APPLIANCES - This cast iron pan can be used indoors in the kitchen to make casserole dishes on gas, electric and...
This dutch oven, as well as being brilliant for camping can also be used in the oven, on the stove top or under the grill, so it’s going to be a well used piece of kitchen equipment that’ll go on for years.
You clean this oven (like most of them) by handwashing only, and after washing rubbing with an unsaturated fat such as vegetable oil or canola, and then heating until smoking hot. Doing this on a regular basis also helps create a natural non stick coating for your pan, and is the recommended way of looking after it so it goes on for years!
There’s very little you can’t do with this pan, from baking bread to a full on roast and everything in between, these tend to fast become one of your most loved kitchen items.
What we like
- Reasonable price for a high quality dutch oven
- Very easy to clean
- Use the lid as a skillet as it has it’s own handles
- Comes with accessories: handle covers and a pot scraper
What we don’t
- The pre seasoning isn’t great, but this is easy to do yourself
- Heavy
Summary
This Dutch oven is a really good buy all round. It’s big enough to feed a family with food leftovers, so if you’re batch cooking this is a good investment. The fact you can pop in in the car for a camping trip and cook over an open fire and then use the lid as a skillet for breakfast the next morning makes this pot a winner.
LODGE Dutch oven
- 4.73 litre/5 quart Dutch oven with a lid that also converts into a 26.04 cm/10.25 inch skillet
- Dutch oven is ideal for roasts, stews, casseroles and other dishes that require long, slow cooking
Another brilliant dutch oven, this time from LODGE. This one comes pre seasoned from the LODGE foundry and gives a natural non stick finish that improves over time the more you use it.
As with the previous oven, this one’s suitable for using everywhere, induction, electric and gas stove tops, in the oven and of course on an open fire when you’re camping.
What we like
- Heavy, quality oven
- Heats up quickly and evenly
- With minimal care will last a lifetime
What we don’t
- Expensive, but you won’t need to replace it anytime soon
Summary
There’s very few downsides to this oven, initial outlay being the only one we can see. Like all Dutch ovens you need to clean and oil them after use but it’s not a chore and is quick and easy to do after use. This ones a very good buy and will last for years and years of camping trips.
ProCook Cast Iron Casserole Dish
- 9.5”/5-quart round casserole.
- Cast Iron Induction Enamel Casserole & Griddle Set suitable for use with: Ovensafe up to 500 F, so you can start cooking on the stovetop and...
This dutch oven from ProCook is enamel coated cast iron inside and out, so the cast iron doesn’t need protecting in the same way the first two above do. If you’re not sure about oiling and seasoning an uncoated oven, this is a better pick for you. Cleaning is super easy, with the enamel giving a smooth non stick surface.
This oven is better suited to camp sites that don’t allow open fires, as you cannot put this directly on an open fire, but you can use it on a BBQ, and since many campsites only allow BBQs, this is ideal for those sites.
What we like
- Cleans in seconds
- Pretty colours to match your kitchen for at home use
- 25 year guarantee
- Safe to use in the dishwasher for at home use
What we don’t
- Not able to be used on an open fire
- No handles on the lid sides, so cannot be used as a skillet
Summary
If you’re a LeCreuset fan this is a really good alternative that’s a fraction of the price. It’s a smaller pot than the others we’ve featured so better for a smaller family.
femor Outdoor Dutch Oven
This oven is a whopping 8 litres so is great for very large families or groups of campers. And it looks the part for camping, with it’s removable spiral handle that’s super handy for cooking over an open fire, this oven by femor comes with ‘feet’ attached to it so there’s no need for a base to out your pot on after cooking.
There’s a space for a thermometer in the lid if you need to check your foods reached the required temperature and the lid doubles as a frying pan for breakfast, although be warned, there are no handles so take a very good heat glove with you to take it off the fire. Or eat straight from it…
What we like
- Heat proof removable handle for easy removal from the camp fire
- It’s big…it’ll feed 10 people easily
- Amazing value for money
What we don’t
- Maybe too big for home use
Summary
This is a Dutch oven for the serious camper, or those who use their gardens a lot for cooking at home outside during the summer. Batch cooking made easy, this is a great quality pot that’ll last many years if looked after.
Dutch Oven Square Pan
- WHAT IS THE DUTCH OVEN? | A heavy, traditional, cast iron pan and a lid that fits exactly with it, so you can cook, roast, braise, deep-fry,...
- CHARACTERISTICS | Capacity (total): 9.5 litres | Capacity (pot): 7 litres | Capacity (lid): 2.5 litres | External dimensions: 40 x 30.5 x 13...
This is another big oven for bigger families or groups. The square shape is unusual but works equally as well as the round versions, although for home cooking this one might not not heat up quite as evenly on the stove top as the others as most stoves have round heat elements. For a camp fire, this is perfect. The base and the lid have handles so this can be used as a frying skillet as some of the others can also.
What we like
- Large capacity
- Thick cast iron for even heat over a fire
- The lid can be used as a griddle pan
What we don’t
- The square shape doesn’t work well for at home use
Summary
This ones a lovely pot to take camping and leave buried on the embers of an open camp fire. It’s heavy enough to be well made but not to much to hinder use. This one’ll last many years if kept well oiled and looked after!
How to clean a cast iron Dutch oven
After cooking and eating your meal, you need to start cleaning your cast iron dutch oven. The idea is to not damage the seasoning of the pan, oil it well and get it ready for it’s next use, making sure it doesn’t rust in between uses. Get this right and your oven will last a lifetime.
Using a cloth or paper towels, wipe the inside of your oven clean. For burnt on food or sticky bits, you can use a damp cloth and a scraper, but never let your oven sit in water to soak it. This will cause it to rust.
What you can do is fill the oven with water and bring it to the boil, this will help loosen any tough to get off food residue. Then use your scraper and you’ll be able to clean the pan well. Then rinse and dry, again, with paper towels or a clean cloth.
After that, use some oil (vegetable works best), about a tablespoon, and rub into the cast iron all over the inside and around the edges. Make sure it has a good coating. Then…put away ready for next time. The more you do this the more of a non stick coating you’ll create.
Best oil for seasoning dutch oven
What’s the best oil for seasoning a dutch oven? We use vegetable oil, but any non saturated fat will work. These are our favourites:
Seasoning a cast iron dutch oven
Seasoning (oiling) a dutch oven is really easy. Simply rub a non saturated oil into the iron, do the same to the lid. Place your pot, lid next to the pot in a hot oven for around an hour. The oil might start to smoke: this is normal. You don’t have to do this every time you use your pan. We do this every few uses, rather than every time the pans used. However, that said, you do need to oil it every time you use it, it just doesn’t always need to be heated!
How to clean an enamel Dutch oven
Your enamel dutch oven will likely tell you it’s safe to go into the dishwasher, and it is, however, we recommend prolonging the life of your oven and hand washing it. Whilst you don’t have to season or oil an enamel pan, you do have to be a little careful when cleaning it as the enamel can chip, and hand washing it means you can be careful this doesn’t happen and your pan will last longer.
All you really need to clean these ovens is some dish soap, a gentle scrubber and maybe a silicon scraper if there is food residue that’s tough to get off. After that, simply dry it and out it away!
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