Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker - PFAS-Free 2-in-1 3.2 Quart Deep Pot and 10.25 Inch Skillet Set - Dutch Oven with Skillet Lid for Sourdough, Frying, and Camping - Made in the USA

It's hard to believe that people bother with expensive non-stick cookware and stainless steel pots and pans when there are cheap and well made cast iron products like the Lodge Combo Cooker. Not only are they solid, they heat evenly, can go on any cooking surface (induction, ceramic, hotplate, gas, a camp fire) and their non-stick characteristics improve as they age provided they are used correctly. So...what is correct use you say? To me it is using sufficient cooking fat and no more heat than necessary - you can't replace cooking time with more heat, although it is tempting given the rat race many of us now live in. I suspect many have become dependant on non-stick cookware because of the modern worlds fear of fat. Cooking without enough healthy fat - whether that be olive oil, butter from a happy pasture fed cow, cold pressed coconut oil, goose fat - is a one way express lane to a flavourless meal that you have to scrape off the bottom of the pan. Not just a cast iron pan either, but every other type of cookware but those with non-stick coatings like teflon. Even then some of your food will stick. Because your meal lacks fat that carries flavour, you'll be more likely to over season it with large amounts of salty and sugary sauces. Anyway, back to the review before I start ranting about fat. The combo cooker is well made, versatile, and really cheap. You can even bake delicious bread in it: [...] [...] [...] It'll also encourage good cooking technique. You'll start to understand the integral relationship of fats in food for flavour and cooking, and gain a better appreciation of heat. Cast iron heats and cools slowly, cooking with it has taught me to think about what I want to achieve with the heat I am applying. If you are considering cast iron for cooking, this should be your first purchase. For all of you Americans, it is even American made. How brilliant is it that you can purchase such a good, cheap product made in your own country? I wish we had a cast iron cookware manufacturer here in Australia. This is not about the Chinese, it's about buying local and keeping money circulating in your own economy wherever possible. If you're in China, that means buying Chinese, if you're in the USA, buy US made, if you're in Australia...well I'd say buy Australian, but in this case, I'd be making my own or going without. Buy local people. It makes sense! If you want to read more about fats in food, I recommend the following books: Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health Nutrition and Physical Degeneration Also, I hear that Chad Robertson in Tartine Bread recommends the Lodge Combo Cooker for home baked no-knead bread. Looking at the results of others baking his Tartine Country Bread, this combination seems to work a treat.

This is the greatest cast iron pan I have ever seen and at a great price. It is a perfect size for the home stove; I can cook a whole cut up chicken at one time. It is heavy duty and very thick and will last many lifetimes. It can bake enough cornbread to feed a large family. It is a large cast iron pan with a top or two cooking pans all in one.

Lodge is an institutional standard. IT's been around, and worthy of it's NAME and LOYALTY. These pans are heavy like "grandma's". I mean they are super heavy, two hands only. Do not leave on the edge of anything, or near small children. Honestly if one of these falls on their heads- it could and probably would cause permanent damage or dare I say it- YES, THAT REALLY COULD HAPPEN. These are weapon heavy. Now on to the fun stuff. I got my LODGE DUTCH OVEN, as a price saver, instead of buying the 3 qt and fry pan alone, this combo saves $15 bucks. and it's the same two pots. So that's reason one to buy. Amazon price ( and the benefit of Amazon Prime), is among the best. Target carries in some stores, and is a tad cheaper. But with shipping and convenience, go with Amazon. This pan set is pre-seasoned, however, a gentle wash and re-season with Vegetable and peanut oil combo, would take this to another level. Gently wash, and dry COMPLETELY. Then take your oil blend, and add with paper towel on both sides of the pan. Coating the pans, and drain off the excess. place on cookie sheets ( both pans face down) in 300 degree oven( using a gas range electric- lower to 275)for 24 hours. Let cool, and dry with towel again. THESE PANS ARE NOW SEASONED FOR SEVERAL YEARS. Cast Iron, never truly rusts, it just hates water, so keep that in mind, when owning cast iron pans. So if there is rust, you have not been taking care of them- properly. and will need to be re-seasoned, as described in previous paragraph. This may sound like a process, but honestly. LODGE PANS, will last for several generations. YES, generations, not just your lifetime. So keep that in mind. As you use it will be become less tempermental, and the surface will be better than any NON STICK, on earth. Cast Iron pans, love heat! So before you add anything, get your pans screaming hot,then add your oils, liquids, meats, veggies, etc. Including for baking, preheat, then add bread dough. As far as frying, there is nothing invented better, for fried chicken or fish. This is the essential tool, for golden, crispy, done on the inside chicken. ( hint- large pieces like breast or big thighs, take a small knife, and make 1/4 inch cuts in the flesh- about 3 -4, then liquid dredge, and dry coat, and fry), to ensure they are done. Fill 3qt, with 1 and half quarts of Vegetable oil. I think corn oil, makes fried foods too dark. I am a southern home chef, trust me, i know what I am talking about. The quart pans, also makes the world's best backed mac and cheese, fill up with cheese and sauce ( home made of course), leaving about 2 inches from top, and dust top with bread crumbs, let bake on 375 for 75 minutes then cool. Here is my 4th generation recipe: LOLITA'S MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE- Yes it is famous!!! 1 1 POUND-BOX CAPATAVI, ( BOIL AND COOK FOR 7 MINUTES- do not cook fully) 1 POUND OF SHREDDED EXTRA SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella 1 cup of Colby jack. 3 cups of butter milk 1 1/2 cups of whole milk ( no exceptions) 1 stick of butter 2 tsp of each: garlic powder,black pepper, lawry's seasoned salt, onion powder, table salt, sugar 1 tbs of corn starch. 3 tbs of ALL PURPOSE FLOUR. Drain pasta and set aside. In 3 qt pot,( on a medium flame) combine all ingredients, melt butter in bottom first, dry ingredients ( it will be a seasoned roux) add the milk- mix,then add cheeses and make your cheese sauce. Add pasta, combine, and then bake, dust with seasoned bread crumbs. and VOILA, the world's best mac and cheese. The Fry pan is egg's and bacon's best friends. You will feel like a real cook, when you are using these pans. Also great for camping. so this is a must to tote on day trips. Which is why I LOVE this set, when I am having a back yard or back mountain BBQ, I can grab these from the kitchen, and take my cast IRON GRIDDLE ( another must have, the smooth one, not the ridge, unless you know you are doing steaks). And I have all the tools, we are going to need for survival. Again, this LODGE set is paramount, to any kitchen, camper, or person that cooks their food. since it will last forever. Again this a forever buy, there are few things on earth, that will outlive you, that you will buy. and honestly, this is one of them. *remember gently wash, never use a scouring pad, and dry completely each and every use. This set will become apart of your legacy, to your children and grandchildren, when they think of all the amazing meals, turned out in these pans. seriously. My mom kept her small fry pan, over 50 years ( given from her mother). This will be one of those heirlooms, that will be super sentimental to your family. * the mac and cheese, is very high in fat and calories, and should only be eaten 3 times a year. Or your cardiologist will love you.

I just got this set of pans. I love cooking with Cast Iron, yes it can be a little tempermental if you do not understand how to cook with these types of pans, but there is no subsitute for cooking with Iron. the pans come Pre - seasoned, but my advice is to go ahead and season them yourself before you do any serious cooking with these pans. there are two methods to seasoning ( well there are more than two but bear with me for a second) the first way is to wipe a pan down with vegatable oil and heat it in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour. it works, but I prefer the Country / Cowboy method. it is a simple method. cook something fatty and greasy it these pan! Bacon is best, fry up some bacon in the pan. heat up the pan slightly on low heat for a few minutes, but before the pan get cooking hot. lay a few slices of bacon in the pan and turn up the heat. fry the bacon. use a metal spatula or pancake turner and scrape any bacon bits free from the bottom of the pan and pour off most of the grease into a grease can or coffee MUG and let the grease cool - be careful its hot. then let the pan cool off a bit. use a paper towel (WHEN THE GREASE IS WARM BUT NOT HOT. HOT GREASE BURNS!!) and wipe down the inside of the pan well and put the pan it the oven or a dry place. after cooking in the pan a few times you will build up a film of carbon that is practacally non stick. this is what you want. Iron heats evenly and cooks loke a dream once you have built up this non stick coating. Iron is (duh) IRON it will last 3 lifetimes if you take care of it and 2 lifetimes if you treat it like crap. rust scrubs off and you can re season a pan if you mess the coating up. Iron is the absoulute best when it comes to frying and Baking (yes baking) cornbread is what most people know about, but cowboys and Country folks use to bake white bread and even Pies over a campfire with Iron pots and pans. I am VERY HAPPY with this purchase. this combo cooks pork chops wonderfully, and you can use the other pan as a lid to cut down on spatters if you need to. for the price I paid, this is WELL worth the price! I have seen this exact same set at over 40 dollars and Amazon sells this for much less. if you are looking for Cast Iron pans for your kitchen, this combo is the best bang for your buck, hands down.

I purchased this combo cooker together with the Chad Robertson's Tartine Bread book. So far, I have made two very pretty loaves of bread in this dutch oven. I have also used the shallower pan to scramble eggs, and the larger pan to reheat roasted vegetables (actually, I put the smaller pan on top while reheating the larger pan on the stove top. I did season them by heating them to 450 degrees and then wiping a thin coat of Crisco on them and baking for an hour at 400 degrees for an hour and letting them cool overnight in the oven. This was, no doubt, unnecessary. But I did it anyway. So far when I scramble eggs, some I get some burned egg on the pan that requires heating some water in the pan and scraping/scrubbing out the burned eggs. That has been a lot more work than cooking on a non-stick pan, and I hope that with use, I will eventually get a better nonstick surface. That said, I really love cooking in cast iron and even if I always had to scrub a bit harder to get the burned on bits to release, I would do so. The pans are very heavy. The Tartine book suggests baking with the shallow pan on bottom because it is easier to score the loaf without burning yourself. I followed his suggestion twice. The first time I forgot to score the loaf. The second time, I used a paring knife to do so. However, using a knife, I don't see how I would ever burn myself even with the deeper pan being used as the base. Especially since I am wearing long cuffed oven gloves when wielding my trusty blade. I will try reversing the pans on the next loaf, and here is why: When inverting the bowl to put the proofed and shaped bread into the hot pan, I feel as though having deeper sides will make it much harder to "miss" the pan. For my second loaf, I wound up with some of the bread stuck along the side of the smaller pan instead of centered in the middle. If I was a little more off, I would have wound up spilling over the side of the pan. At least with the deeper pan on the bottom, if my dough is placed 'onto the side', the deeper sides will keep it in the pan better. Also, I believe it will be easier to put the deeper pan on bottom -- this way, the bread won't be above the sides when the deeper lid is put on top of it, so it will be easier to put the lid on because I won't have to worry about the dough at that point, plus the smaller lid is obviously lighter. I will be making deep dish pizza in these as well. Eta: I have not had success making deep dish pizza as the dough did not cook thoroughly the one time I tried it. The combo cooker lid makes a great omelet, and scrambled eggs don't stick to it any more. I use a dab of coconut oil, grill some chopped onions, add some chopped kale, and then pour the eggs over the onion and kale. The omelet cooks and I use a metal spatula/pie server to flip the omelet and it comes off easily. The eggs brown very nicely. I don't know if I can keep them from browning by using lower heat, but I love how they come out cooked over medium heat. Still, the primary purpose of the pan is to make a country loaf and they come out amazing.

The pans are iron, so I rated them according to what they are, not by comparison to other kinds of pans. That said, I'm not done seasoning them, but I think they're just what I always wanted: pans that will last a lo-o-ong time, so I'll never purchase another. That said, the instructions ARE SO POOR that it took me twenty+ years to get brave enough to try owning them again (fourth time purchasing cast iron). You tube has lots of instructional videos but all are a little different. I combined their knowledge with the store's online customer service, and PRESTO! I'm a cast iron pan expert. Customer service told to let the pan warm 5 min on lowest heat setting with oil already in it, then gradually increase heat one increment per minute. Using your preferred tool (I use a silicone brush), swab the oil all over the inside of the pan, up the sides and on the edges. Don't go above medium (the pan is HOT already), and don't stop slicking the oil all over. If you need to clean, use a wire brush till the oil is like sludge (if the pan's that dirty/rusty), and wipe clean with paper towel (held with chopsticks or whatever -- pan's HOT) Repeat till paper towel stays clean, only turning the color of the oil in use: VOILA! New or new-used pan!

Love this! Can be used separately multiple ways. It works great for baking bread. Obviously it’s heavy but cast iron is.

Price, durability, quality, versatility. Easy to clean. Great for beginning chefs. You need to buy this. Right now, add it to your cart. Done? Good, now let me tell you about this "combo cooker" while you wait for it to arrive. As a minimalist, I love my cast iron pan. It drives me crazy when people have a different apparatus for every process, no matter how similar the processes are. The great thing about the this specific item is it will do 80% of any stove and oven cooking you need. The lid is good for the obvious. Bacon, burgers, seafood are no-brainers. But it also handles cornbread and grilled onions like a champ. When you finally work up a good seasoned pan after a few loving uses, you'll be able to use this for fried eggs and crab cakes without anything sticking to the pan. The perfect replacement for nonstick, chemical-laden pans that chip and wear way too soon. The pot itself is perfect for deep frying. Why spend more money and take up more counter space with a deep fryer when this will do the job fine? I also use it for quick stir-fry. But, just like Captain Planet, this really shines when their individual powers are combined. The geniuses over there at lodge said "Hey, man, why don't we stick on pan onto one pot and call it a combo cooker." And they did it. And it's glorious. Roasts, slow-cooked meals, and even a shepherds pie is painless with this thing. Cast iron isn't for everyone. It's heavy, it's bulky, and most important it's tough to get people to realize they have to work up a decent seasoning and that it should never be washed in soapy water if you want to keep it that way. But having one is essential for a chef at any level.