Quick question......

[Devonian]

I've just bought nice big Cast Iron casserole dish from Sainsbury's reduced from £45 to £20.

Now the question is, are these OK to place onto hot coals/in a fire in order to cook a meal?

Obviously the cast iron should be ok, but the outside and insides are painted or coated with an enamel (not sure which??) so would that stand up to the extra heat of the coals?

It's basically the same as those expensive orange Le Cruetset ones.

[Sunna]

no that's why dutch ovens are just plain cast iron , the paint will burn off in time.

good price though .

[Mortblanc]

Yes, you can use the enamel coated cast iron over the fire. (the better ones are enameled and not painted)

I use enameled sheet metal and enameled cast iron in my camps constantly and have for years.

It will become coated with soot and will take a good cleaning but it will not harm either pan nor food.

[Steve]

Enamel is tough, worry more about the cast iron - it cracks if you are careless with it so try to make sure it warms up evenly and never put cold water in a hot dish.

[Devonian]

Thanks guys.

Just found the product details on their website and that confirms it is enamelled rather than painted:

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/s...e-dish-52l

Good point about the cold water!

[Mortblanc]

Just as an added observation, if I paid that much for an enameled pot it would be a wet day in the Sahara before I placed it over a sooty wood fire!

There are cheaper choices for campfire work.

[Devonian]

(20 January 2015, 18:23)Mortblanc Wrote: Just as an added observation, if I paid that much for an enameled pot it would be a wet day in the Sahara before I placed it over a sooty wood fire!

There are cheaper choices for campfire work.

Don't worry I've not bought it for camping, it's unlikely it will ever be used over a fire and it's working life will most likely be limited to the gas oven, but the question was asked "in case" it is ever needed to be used over a fire in the future.......???

And they were being sold off in my local store for £20 not the £45 shown on the website which I think is good price for a "large" cast iron casserole dish, your average dutch oven would be at least twice that price.