Curious. Have you ever encountered a recipe that requires an 8 quart Dutch Oven?

I have a new cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo's "Ready or Not" and was a bit blown away that a recipe required it. I see it as a "nice to have" item, not something to expect home cooks to own.

rldougherty
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5 Comments

E
E August 7, 2017
Hmm that's interesting. What is the recipe if you don't mind sharing? Maybe it is a bulk recipe? My parents actually own two of those 8 or 9 quart dutch ovens BUT they only ever use it when entertaining like 20+ people - In South Asian culture, there are some dishes that can be made in huge portions like the fancy event staple Biriyani or like large amounts of curries etc. But no, I personally have never seen a recipe that required an 8 quart dutch oven unless it was some bulk situation.
 
rldougherty
rldougherty August 7, 2017
It is a bulk recipe. Sunday gravy--country ribs, beef, and Italian sausage cooked in tomatoes. Still, an 8 quart Dutch oven is a tall order and I wish the recipe had been written for a 4-6 quart with a recommendation to double it. It was also a pain to halve, because I can only get San Marzano tomatoes in 28 ounce cans and it calls for three.

And I have been thinking about it I want an 8 quart, and I think I would rather have two 5.5 quarts. They store better.
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx August 7, 2017
My friends Italian born mom always uses thing ginormous stockpot when making sunday sauce (sounds similar to yours) for her big family. Unless you cook recipes like that often, I wouldn't spend the money on one.
 
HalfPint
HalfPint August 7, 2017
Not sure about "required", but I've seen plenty of recipes that call for a dutch oven (or something close to it). I have one. It's a Lodge cast iron and I got it for braises and no knead bread.
 
rldougherty
rldougherty August 7, 2017
I ended up using two of them--I have a 5.5 quart and a 2 quart. It worked okay, but I am lucky I got that little 2 quart as a gift as I would never buy it myself.
 
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