A Dutch oven can serve as an excellent tool for your cooking needs. Ozark Trail Dutch is a type of Dutch oven and a good cast iron brand that can cook many beautiful dishes. So, let’s look into the Ozark Trail Dutch oven review.
You can make a wide range of flavorful dishes with cast iron cookware like the Ozark Trail Dutch oven. The everyday dishes you can make with this nice Dutch oven are stew, soups, chili, and more. Also, you can bake cakes, pies, and bread with this cookware, thanks to its capacity to retain and distribute heat evenly. Because this pot can get extremely hot, it is also used to tenderize meat quickly.
Continue reading to learn some great features of this great oven.
Dutch Ovens: An Overview
When we talk about a Dutch oven, we refer to a heavy-duty, wide, and relatively shallow pot with a tightly fitted lid. It is a cast-iron skillet that can stand the test of time and often become family heirlooms. The Dutch oven is also made of high-quality materials that make it durable.
So, the Ozark Trail Dutch oven is an ideal type of Dutch oven that can perform various cooking tasks. This pot needs to be thick or heavy because it needs to maintain a constant temperature when used in the oven or on a gas stove. Now, the tightly fitted lid ensures heat is trapped and remains inside the pot for a long time.
So, you can surely enjoy your meals hot because these durable pans retain high heat for some time, even after you’ve turned off the heat source. It is a non-stick pan that can make your cooking easy.
This Dutch oven is made from iron, which is excellent for home cooks and can tolerate significant wear and tear. You can use them in the oven, on the stove, or outdoors on an open fire.
Some of the best brands of Dutch ovens are Le Creuset and Staub. I’ve had a Le Creuset for years and absolutely love it! But Ozark Dutch Trail oven can still do a good job.
The good thing is that the Ozark Trail Dutch oven comes at a lower price than other Dutch oven types. So, it is one of the best options, and you can get one for around $20.
Dutch Oven Versatility
A Dutch oven is a type of cookware used for different cooking needs. Below we have listed some of the most common uses of a Dutch oven:
- Baking
You can bake different things in a Dutch oven. So, cakes, bread, pie, biscuits, and the like can be made using a Dutch oven. The ability of this sturdy cast iron oven to retain a considerable amount of heat allows it to be suitable for baking use.
- Cooking & Tenderizing Meat
If you want tough meat to get soft quickly, a Dutch oven can help you achieve that. This cast-iron pan can be a good option for braising. So, you can cook a tough cut of meat in liquid at a low temperature for a long time inside this pan.
- Roasting
A medium-sized Dutch oven can roast a whole chicken, and you can roast your turkey in this cooking tool. However, you might require some help getting the meat in and out of the oven. For instance, if the turkey is 20 pounds, you’ll need something extra large.
- Deep Frying
With this Dutch oven, you can do deep frying too. So, it can replace a deep fryer, especially when you need a large amount of oil to fry.
Unlike a thin frying pan, a Dutch oven will give you less time to get the oil hot or attain that perfect temperature. So, the pan stays hot, and you won’t need to wait extra time before dropping your food into the oil.
- Sautéing
You can use a Dutch oven to sauté onions, herbs, vegetables, and the like. You can also brown your meat with this oven.
You can put the entire Dutch oven inside the oven and cook for a long time. The lid of this pot ensures moisture is locked inside.
Extra note: The truth is that the list of cooking tasks this Dutch oven can do is practically endless. Anything you can cook in a pot can also be cooked in a Dutch oven, and you can use a regular pan almost daily.
Dutch Oven: A Campsite Cooking Tool
A Dutch oven is also great to be used for your outdoor camping needs. So, if you’re planning a camping trip and don’t want to miss out on hot camp meals, you should consider getting an Ozark Trail Dutch oven.
The cast iron skillet cookware can be used on an open fire while you’re on your camping trip. Rather than cooking over direct flames, allow the Dutch oven to do the job. Your food will be ready in no time, and even if the fire goes out, the pot can retain heat and keep your food hot for a long time.
So while camping, you can eat almost anything you like. No more cold sandwiches, hot dogs, etc. This cookware can be a great tool in your campsite cooking.
Additionally, the Ozark trail cast iron Dutch oven is one great oven that is lighter in weight. Therefore, carrying it with you on your camping journey will be relatively easy.
Ozark Dutch Trail 5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven Review
This Walmart cast iron product is excellent to be used for your kitchen needs and camping needs. The Ozark Trail oven weighs 10 pounds, and it is highly durable. The pre-seasoned pan will allow you to get that hearty flavor of food.
You get uniform cooking because the pan works to distribute heat evenly. This pan is made of iron construction that enables us to use it on a stovetop, oven, and an open fire.
The Dutch oven features a stainless steel handle, enabling easy transport.
With this pan, you can fry, bake, stew, and do many different cooking tasks. So, you can buy this Ozark trail 5-quart cast iron dutch oven and enjoy its smooth use.
Dutch Oven: How-To
Like the stock pots or saucepans, Dutch ovens can also be used similarly. But the significant difference is that you can use this pot to sear meat and finish your cooking by simmering or transferring it to the oven.
How To Properly Care For A Dutch Oven
To enjoy using a Dutch oven for a long time, you must give it special care. Here are some tips on how to properly care for your Ozark Trail skillet:
- One important rule is to never put your ‘hot’ Dutch oven in cold water. If this happens, it may crack your pot.
- Use a gentle sponge and hot soapy water to wash your Dutch oven. Avoid using a metal scrubber or steel wool to clean your pan because this can scratch the enamel.
- It’s OK to use a dishwasher to wash your Dutch oven. However, you should know that it can dull the enamel over time. Therefore, it’s advisable not to dishwasher your Dutch oven too often, and hand washing is usually the best for this cookware.
- Also, you may notice some chips on the pot’s rim and lid over time. This isn’t a big issue, and your Dutch oven can still be used, so don’t throw it away when you encounter this issue. The chip is basically a cosmetic issue. Just to minimize this chip issue, always gently handle your pot. Avoid letting the lid and the base clang against each other when handling it.
Why Should You Season Your Dutch Oven?
Always season your brand new Dutch oven or your recently acquired one to enjoy smooth use. Ideally, when you season a Dutch oven cast iron pan, it helps in two main things:
- It helps create a non-stick cooking surface which enables easier cleaning.
- It also protects the cast iron material and helps prevent corrosion and rust.
However, without giving your Dutch oven a good seasoning, the food you cook in the pot won’t taste as good as it should. Also, it can result in your pot getting rust, and when you want to clean up after using the pot, it becomes difficult to clean.
Seasoning Explained
There are basically two types of seasoning: the initial seasoning and the periodic seasoning.
Since some Dutch oven cookware comes pre-seasoned from the factory, you may not need to do the initial seasoning. But you can give it some extra seasoning.
So, to give an excellent seasoning to your Dutch oven, do the following:
Initial Seasoning
If your Dutch oven has not been pre-seasoned from the factory, you will need to do an initial seasoning for your first use. When you season your Dutch oven for the first time, you’re taking away the protective waxy coating applied at the factory.
Seasoning a new cast iron Dutch oven can take about one to two hours. So, to begin, heat your kitchen oven or grill to around 400 – 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Then wash the pan with hot soapy water and use steel wool to scrub the coating down the pan.
We recommend you reduce using soap or water for cleaning the Dutch oven after this. You can do an electrolysis bath or clean with vinegar. However, if you would still like to use soap for cleaning the pan, go for mild soap.
Use a paper towel or cotton wool to dry the Dutch oven and lid properly. To further dry it, you can put it on your grill for a few minutes and allow it to cool down.
Then use a little vegetable shortening or olive oil to rub the inside and outside of the oven metal surface and the lid. Ensure you apply or rub this oil into every nook and cranny of the pan’s metal surface. Now, use paper towels to wipe off all the oil and put the Dutch oven on the grill or oven.
The Dutch oven should be baked for 45 to 60 minutes and once you’re done, take it off the grill. Then allow the Dutch oven to cool down until you can pick it up. Now use a padded oven glove to remove the cookware from the grill or oven.
Periodic Seasoning
Once you use your Dutch oven, your food’s fat and grease oil will keep seasoning your cookware. However, some acidic food (such as beans and tomatoes) can remove some coatings.
Therefore, using the pan for frying bacon, deep frying fish, cooking fatty food, or making doughnuts will help enhance the protective layer. But cooking acidic foods can further harm the cookware.
The Ozark Trail Dutch Oven: Conclusion
Ozark Trail Dutch ovens can serve as excellent kitchen tools, and you can get this kitchen cookware for a reasonable price. There’s no limit to a Dutch oven because you can make almost any food with a Dutch oven, and it can be used for both home kitchen and camping cooking needs.
We have reviewed the Ozark Trail Dutch oven in this post, and we hope this can provide adequate information you need about this fantastic oven.