Dutch Oven advice

[wmtire]

I have been wanting to learn how to use a dutch oven while camping. I have read with interest, the recipes, and other dutch oven topics I can find here on the forums.

For a newbie (myself) just starting out, can the Dutch Oven sages offer me advice....like brand, size, tips, etc?

Thanks

 

[Wavery]

I have been wanting to learn how to use a dutch oven while camping. I have read with interest, the recipes, and other dutch oven topics I can find here on the forums.

For a newbie (myself) just starting out, can the Dutch Oven sages offer me advice....like brand, size, tips, etc?

Thanks

Here's everything you need to know:
http://www.northfieldscouts.indianhead.org/troop344/forms/02/QT344-02004-DutchinForDummies.pdf

We love DO cooking and do it on every camp-out. Some of the best meals we've ever had have come from a DO. It's simple and cheap.

We actually bought 2 of our DO from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44705

BTW..........read up on "Seasoning your DO"....it's very important. You can't just buy a DO and use it. Kinda like putting tires on your car and not filling them with air...

 

[g87615]

Hi There,

I have been dutch oven cooking for a number of years. We very seldom go camping without it and at least one meal is done in the dutch oven. I have a couple but use my 12 inch Lodge the most. I have made everything from lasagna to blueberry cobbler.....I like to use it because you can put something in it and go for a hike and when you get back dinner is ready depending on the recipe. For recipes that are acidic (tomato based) I usually use a 9 square inch foil pan. Makes cleanup a lot easier and does not affect the seasoning of the oven. I bought a small cooling rack to set the pan on inside the oven to reduce "hot spots".

I am always looking for recipes and tips when a couple years ago I ran across this site on the web http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/dutch-oven-recipes.htm

There are lots of recipes but also discusses controlling temperature with the coals. That is probably the most difficult thing to learn. Enjoy

 

[countrygirl32082]

We also use Dutch Ovens and love them. We have not used them as much over the past year but hope to use them more soon. We make roasts. stews, soup, cobbler, roast chicken etc in them. We have mostly the Lodge brand dutch ovens but also have the one with the cone inside it called the Ultimate Dutch Oven. It cooks even faster in a sort of convection method. I have the smaller version and you can actually slide a raw chicken in the cone and then roast it. With the larger version you can roast a 10 pound turkey.

 

[countrygirl32082]

For dutch oven cooking outdoors using charcoal you want the type with the legs. The Lodge company does make a cast iron leg accessory for the pots with no legs...sort of a folding trivet. I have one and use it to rest the lid on. The thing is though that the dutch ovens with legs have a lid with a rim...so that you can place charcoal on top. The meal is cooked from the top and the bottom which makes it cook much faster. The rim is important because you don't want the ashe from the charcoal to fall into the dish you are preparing. The coolest thing about dutch ovens is that you can feed a crowd by cooking in a small space. You can stack dutch ovens on top of each other. Put you stew etc. in the bottom pot, a vegtable or a casserole in the next smaller one, your dessert (a cobbler) in the next pot, your biscuits, corn bread or yeast rolls in the last pot. The coals on the lids also heat and cook the food from the bottom of the next pot.

Tom built me a metal stand for cooking and put a 12 in X 12 in stone on top that I put my first set of charcoal on. I do have friends that have tables they bought expecially for their dutch ovens though. I also have friends that use one pot with a gas cooker and their food is also good.

I use long non flamable gloves when I cook...not to is risking getting branded! I also use a lid lifter. It is NOT hard to condition them and some come preconditioned but when I looked at them I think they were waxy and I think I read you had to burn the wax off anyway...so you might as well recondition them. If I remember correctly you can do so in a 400 degree oven (I think it was 400)...or in your grill. We use the grill for this.

Downside...they can be heavy if you are getting a lil older. They usually clean up easily with water and a brush...if you ever have to use soap...you pretty much have to recondition them or they will rust. It is better to bake off any thing then to use soap.

 

[wmtire]

After reading everyone's advice and recommendations here, I went out and bought a Lodge camping oven, with the legs and lid for the charcoal. It appears I will still need some more accessories, but should be able to get started out with what I got so far. I have been reading all the links everyone provided, and will "season" it this weekend.

I really appreciate the advice and tips. Hopefully, it won't be too long, and I can start making the DO recipes, over in that forum. Thanks a bunch.

 

[countrygirl32082]

Cool! Vice grips will work as a lid lifter in a pinch.

 

[Doug W.]

I am sure you will love your new DO. I think just about anything can be made in them. I can camp without the TM, a tent or even a sleeping bag, but I can not camp without my DO. Camping without a DO is truly roughing it.