Cooking with a Dutch Oven

Back in the days of the rugged pioneers who traveled west in covered wagons, one of the most valued pieces of survival equipment they carried was the Dutch oven. This all purpose piece of cooking equipment acts as a kettle, pot, oven, stove and frying pan all in one portable utensil. It has evolved through centuries for the sole purpose of cooking complete meals on an open fire without the need for other appliances. Today this versatile piece of cooking equipment is still considered essential by rafters, campers, and hikers.

My Grandpa used to tell us stories about his life and the types of work he used to do. And some of his stories that he would tell were about raising his family, and the hard times of finding work, in his life time he had done many different jobs, like logging, working at a sawmill, putting up fences, sheep herding were some of the ones he talked about most. One of his stories that he would tell us is when he was working as a sheepherder. Having to prepare his meals in a Dutch oven. We would be using our briquettes. He would tell us about how he would dig a hole in the ground, and build a fire in the hole the night before and keep it burning most of the night. And add more wood to it in the morning to get enough coals to prepare his dinner that day. He would put his meat or whatever he was preparing that day in his Dutch oven, and remove most of the hot coals, then set his Dutch oven down into the hole with the hot coals. Then he would put hot coals on top of his oven and bury it, then cover the dirt with remaining coals to keep the ground warm. And leave it all day. When he returned to camp he would dig up his Dutch oven and would have a hot meal to eat. He was a great cook and a great man I have learned so much from him. Through his stories and life experiences.

With a Dutch oven you can cook anything that you cook at home. There are so many ways to prepare a wonderful meal; with a Dutch oven in the great outdoors you have one of the greatest old-fashioned way to prepare your meals.

 I really enjoy cooking with my Dutch ovens; we cook, and bake in them. You can prepare anything from soups, to your favorite dessert. With a little practice with the heat and how to regulate it, once you master this you will be on your way in preparing some of the best meals that you have ever tasted.

 As a rule of thumb when cooking with briquettes, to achieve 350 Degrees taking the size of your Dutch oven and double it for the amount. For instance if you are using a #12 Dutch oven, the number of briquettes you will need is 24, and a #14 would be 28 briquettes, etc. I like using the Kingsford brand they seem to last longer and give off better heat. For most of your cooking you will use 350 degrees so if you are using a #12 Dutch oven you would use 24 briquettes, putting half of them on the bottom and the other half on the top of the Dutch Oven this will make your temperature at 350 Degrees F. I have found when you are cooking on the ground you tend to loose a good share of your bottom heat into the ground. So I usually put a piece of tin on the ground to act as a barrier to reduce the heat loss. When Baking breads, cakes, desserts in a #12 Dutch oven at 350 degrees, I only put 6 of the 24 briquettes on the bottom (note: this will keep the bottom from burning, and I put the other 18 briquettes on the top, This will still give you 350 degrees). I also like to evenly space the briquettes on the top and the bottom so that the heat is more uniform. Also when I am baking breads, cakes, etc. I like to rotate the lid clockwise 1/4 turn, every ten minutes this will give you a more uniform baking on the top of your breads and cakes.

 Here is a Briquette guide: This guide is a great way to let you know how many Briquettes you will need to reach a desired temperature.

Guide

This Briquette Guide was provided by: Phil Haws

 Technology has brought us many new products. Through this process it makes it allot easier for us to prepare a meal in a Dutch oven. Some of the new products are Camp Chefs, and Volcano outdoor cook stoves, and many other products.

 "How to Season your new Dutch Oven"

 After acquiring your new Dutch oven you need to season it! So it will be ready to prepare some of them great meals. The manufactures of Dutch ovens put a protective coating on the inside of the Dutch ovens. You need to remove this before cooking in them.

To remove this protective coating, place the Dutch oven over heat until it becomes quite warm. Then wipe the bottom and the sides briskly with a paper towel until the towels come out clean. After this protective coating is removed, pour a small quantity of vegetable oil in the pan. Wipe the sides and bottom again with paper towels, spreading the oil completely over the whole surface. Don't leave much oil in the pan, just a very light coating of oil will do. If you leave too much the oven will have a tendency to become rancid. Wipe the lid too. Also coat the top of the lid, and the outsides of the Dutch oven with a light coat of oil. This helps the oven to be able to fight against rust. Now place your Dutch oven on the top rack of your oven upside down, and on the bottom rack place the lid upside down. Bake your new Dutch oven at 200 degree F. for 2 hours. After the 2 hours, turn off the oven and let it cool inside the oven. This works great in the evening when you don't need the oven. Then you can remove your Dutch oven, its ready to go!

How to clean your Dutch oven

I always try to get my Dutch ovens cleaned as soon as we are through eating the meal prepared in it. There is usually enough heat left at this time to reheat the oven for cleaning. And the heat is an important factor in the cleaning of your Dutch oven. Another good reason I like to clean it at this time is that I know it is ready for the next meal.

Place the Dutch oven over the heat and warm it up a little and add 1/2 cup of water to help clean the oven (never use dish soap! It will remove your seasoning and then you will have to re-season your Dutch oven).  I like to scrap my oven with a small putty knife until the sides and bottoms are as clean as possible. Then, with a paper towel and a spatula lift out the loose particles. Continue to scrape and wipe until it is as clean as you can get it. Now wipe out your Dutch oven with some paper towels to finish cleaning your oven. This will also dry it. Pour about a Tablespoon of oil into the bottom of the Dutch oven and lightly coat it and the bottom of the lid. Now that it is cleaned and oiled, it is ready to cook again. If you are not planning on using it for a few day or weeks I like to tear off one section of the paper towel and place it in the bottom. This helps if you happen to get a little water inside of your Dutch oven, the paper towel will absorb the moisture and help prevent rust.

 What to do if the inside of your Dutch oven rusts!

 If you happen to get rust inside your Dutch oven it is not a lost cause, just clean in up with some steal wool fine 00 and re-season! Then it's ready to use again.

 Tip: Tired of your flame blowing out on your

Camp Chef Stove!

 Here is a link to I live outdoors June 2003 issue: Just follow the instructions to cut out your cans. I have found in order to get the flame protectors in you will need to remove both burners out the bottom of the stove. You can do this by removing the two screws on the bottom the manifold and removing the manifold from the two valves. Now you will need to remove both valves, springs, and air controls. Now remove the two screws on the bottom of each burner and tin tray. Now remove each burner carefully. I found that if you take a notch out on both sides of the your cans, about 1/2 inch larger than the brace that holds the burner in the stove it is easier to get your cans in. Next insert the each burner in each can, and carefully slide burn and can back into place. And install bottom tins and screws. Install both air controls, springs, and valves in the same manner they came off. Install the manifold and screws. Now your ready to go again. Now on those windy days you should not have to keep light your flame. I hope you find this helpful. Me and my dad have added this to our camp chef stoves. They work great.

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