★★★★★ 5
Amazing Dutch!
I've been on a cast iron craze recently. I think back to college when I'd watch Yan Can Cook, and Chef Martin Yan would lean over into the pan and say, "It's got to be hot hot!" I finally realize what he means after all these years of cooking. Heat makes for awesome cooking. It gives wok hei. It makes the difference between a juicy, seared steak vs a dry, tough one. When I discovered this secret, I was like a kid in a candy store, picking this cast iron, that cast iron, another cast iron, please.
When I bought the 5 quart Amazon Basics dutch oven, I figured that at the low price, if it came with issues, it wouldn't be an expensive loss. I was impressed with the packaging. Amazon did not want this pot to break, so it had form fitted Styrofoam everywhere, pot and cover nicely separated. There was a nice Amazon Basics logo on the bottom of the pot. Upon close inspection, I thought I found a hairline crack on the cover. It seems when they casted it, part of the iron folded over on itself and formed the line. Someone then took a sander and sanded part of it slightly. What I thought was the hairline crack was actually the edge of the polished surface. The next day, I cooked bacon in it. I fired up the Camp Chef Explorer stove and cooked two pieces of bacon in the pot. I also flipped the cover upside down and cooked two pieces of bacon in it. The cover makes a very nice ad-hoc skillet. After it cooled, I inspected the cover again, and it is not a hairline crack. The bacon seasoning started covering up both the polished and unpolished surface into a nice, uniform seasoning.
The following day, I made chicken stew in it. While carmelizing the onions and carrots, I made another nice discovery. The flat bottom lends itself nicely to efficient stir frying. Sometimes, in a wok, I come across the problem of the bamboo spatula not being able to get under the food, so I end up chasing the food up the sides of the wok unable to flip it. The part of this dutch oven where the bottom meets the sides creates a nice angle that pushes the food onto my bamboo spatula for easy flipping.
Yesterday, I took it to my parents' house and made artisan bread in it. Everyone was impressed with the crispiness of the bread crust. Everyone came back for seconds. Needless to say, I no longer have the dutch oven. My mom liked it so much I gave it to her. It's almost Mother's Day, and who would say no to their mom? *ahem* Amazon...another cast iron, please! LOL
PS: The lid fits a 10 inch skillet but not a 10.25 inch skillet. It falls into a 10.25 skillet.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2019
