A dutch oven is just the first step on this journey you've begun into the land of outdoors cooking. You've now got Birthday and Christmas presents lined up for the next few years if you don't get in too much of a hurry. There are a few tools you really should have for safety and basic cooking, but the rest can be acquired over time.

Replacement Parts

Replacement lids for GSI Outdoors .
Contact MACA Ovens directly about replacement parts.

Prioritized Cooking Tools

• Gloves - thick, lined, leather gloves are an important safety tool. These are red Lodge gloves. I have a pair of grey fireplace gloves that work well.
  You can get by with a simple pair of work gloves, but the security and safety of a good pair of barbeque gloves makes it a lot more fun. Without gloves, you should make sure you've got plenty of cold water, bandaids, and extra food for when you drop the whole pot when you get burned.
• Lid Lifter - handling the lid without dropping ash in the food or losing coals or getting it dirty is probably the part of dutch oven cooking that requires the most finesse. I started out using pliers to grab the wire bail and lift the oven and then grab the lid handle and lift it. That's hard work and your hands are pretty close to the coals. A lid lifter moves your hands away from the heat, gives you more control, and is a strong, sure hold on the bail or lid. It lifts from underneath rather than using a grip squeeze so there's much less chance of dropping the lid.
  Make sure to get one with a three-toed foot similar to the picture. This gives you a firm lift when picking up the lid and reduces swaying. And, remember when you're buying your dutch oven that you get one with a loop handle rather than a solid handle so there is a place for the lid lifter to stick through.
• Shovel or Tongs - I use a small shovel like a garden trowel to scoop coals from the fire to the dutch oven. A nice stainless steel pair of tongs like these work very nicely and keep your hands away from the heat. Some sort of scoop or tongs is very important to a successful cookout.
• Scoop and Fork - once the food is done, how are you going to serve it? A long-handled ladle for stews, a long-handled fork for chun...