Outdoor Cooking: Dutch Oven

[97TJGUZZY]

Who here uses one? I got one for Andrea for her birthday last summer and we have had a blast making dinner at camp. Makes for some tasty hot food and is very low maintenance.

here is a recipe we have used that turned out good.

Two-Can Jambalaya
Prep
About all you can do beforehand is to cube the sausage.

Ingredients
2 cans (10-ounce each) tomatoes
2 cans (10 1/2-ounce each) condensed French onion soup
2 cans (10 1/2-ounce each) concentrated beef consomme
2 cans (about 1 pound) white rice (measure using empty soup can)
2 cans (about 1 pound) kielbasa sausage (measure using empty soup can)
1/2 cup (1 standard stick) butter, cut into cubes

Directions
Combine all ingredients in Dutch oven. Bake using 8 coals under the oven and 17 coals on the lid. Cook for about 1 hour or until rice is tender, refreshing coals as required to maintain heat.

 

[Steve97tj]

I was thinking last night about this. Glad you started a thread.

What brand is your oven? Been lookin around at a few, always wanted one.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

we have a lodge, the key is to open the box and look at the finish. You want the smoothest finish you can get. It will season well and be pretty much nonstick after a few dinners.

 

[VOLT]

I give my wife dutch oven's alot:grin: She really enjoys them:la:

 

[97TJGUZZY]

I give my wife dutch oven's alot:grin: She really enjoys them:la:

I doubt she feels the same way:

 

[WhiteRover]

I cook on cast iron at home. Got an old set of fry pans from my fiance's grandmother when she passed away. I simply love cooking on them, not sure why I would spend money on non stick coatings that will eventually scrape off. I've pretty much stopped using the other pans in the kitchen. I am looking at getting a dutch oven some day when I have the extra coin. I remember the meals you cooked on the CUOffroad Uwharre (sp?) trip, they looked and smelled amazing.

--Jusin

 

[Jeepy-chan]

ive got one and it makes some delicious apple cobblers:grin:

 

[97TJGUZZY]

I havent tried apple, but i have made some pretty awesome Peach cobbler. We'll have to make an apple at Bumpus

 

[Jeepy-chan]

sounds like a plan

 

[Steve97tj]

The few things i tasted at uwharrie were delicious and i've been looking all over for them since then and recipes. I like the lodges though. Thanks for the heads up on finish. I think they sell them at dicks sporting goods, could be mistaken.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

The few things i tasted at uwharrie were delicious and i've been looking all over for them since then and recipes. I like the lodges though. Thanks for the heads up on finish. I think they sell them at dicks sporting goods, could be mistaken.

yeah, i think they do, I think they are cheaper at sportsmans warehouse though.

 

[WhiteRover]

I've seen Lodge cast iron at some Walmarts too

 

[nosduj]

mine was my grandmothers, my favorite thing to make in it is ziplock omlets. Boil water in dutch oven, add your favorite omlet fillings and eggs into a ziplock, press all air out and mush together to mix ingrediants, drop bags inwater and boil until eggs aren't runny when you squeeze bag.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

mine was my grandmothers, my favorite thing to make in it is ziplock omlets. Boil water in dutch oven, add your favorite omlet fillings and eggs into a ziplock, press all air out and mush together to mix ingrediants, drop bags inwater and boil until eggs aren't runny when you squeeze bag.

dam, I have made those on the camp stove or jetboil before, but never thought about making them in the dutch oven

 

[LR Max]

Dutch ovens are always great for a various of things. My favorite is to make up a stew then bury it in the ground for 24 hours. REALLY nice when you come back all tired, just dig it up and boom, insta food. Of course tape the crap out of the lid. Use to do that all the time out west. Of course we have trees with roots here in the south so yeah, coals are crucial.

Just burn down your coals, throw on the oven and go. Oh, make sure you bring your folding shovel and if you have one with the pick on the other end, even better. The pick is REALLY useful for picking up the entire oven or the oven lid. A lot easier than trying to grab it with your hands. I would dig out a little around the coals, set the oven in there then put coals on the lid. Once again, your folding shovel with the pick is super handy for this.

For transporting, tape up the lid. TRUST ME on this one. The lid can and will bounce off and a 1/4" of dust sitting in the bottom isn't appetizing.

Tin foil. Not for your head, neither. Get uber heavy duty. Don't cheap out here and it will save you LOTS of time in clean up.

Also you can take the oven, put three rocks in the bottom and put a pie pan in there. Get a REALLY good pie pan, not a throw-away pie pan. Then you can make cobbler, pie or anything else like that. A good crowd pleaser is the mini pizzas. Get english muffins and split each one. Put three of em in the pie pan, cover them in spaghetti sauce (if you want real pizza sauce, get it, at the time we were dumb kids and spaghetti sauce worked), cheese, pepperoni/whatever else you want. Let them bake for about 10 minutes and they are DONE. Once again, line the pie pan with tin foil and cleanup is virtually nonexistent.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

I do enjoy a good dutch oven pizza, I havent tried the english muffins trick, but I have bought the dough in the cookie section of the grocery store and it turned out great. crisp crust and melted cheese, while out in the woods mmmmmm

Also, I have heard of the tin foil trick, but never used it. So you just coat the inside of the oven in tin foil? seems simple enough.

 

[smkymtns]

I do enjoy a good dutch oven pizza, I havent tried the english muffins trick, but I have bought the dough in the cookie section of the grocery store and it turned out great. crisp crust and melted cheese, while out in the woods mmmmmm

Also, I have heard of the tin foil trick, but never used it. So you just coat the inside of the oven in tin foil? seems simple enough.

It just seems like food comes out better in a dutch oven. We made a couple of pizzas (from the pillsbury dough tubes) while camping in the rain last weekend and they sure were good. We also used the heavy aluminum foil on the pizzas and biscuits. That was the first time I had lined the ovens and I think it is great for some dishes. I had a really wide roll of heavy duty aluminum foil and it came all the way up the walls on the 12" oven. When the pizzas were done we just picked them up by the foil sticking up and set it on the table. I have read that parchment paper works just as good as the foil and I guess you can toss that in the campfire. I picked up an 8" oven today for desserts and when you don't want to cook for an army.

Max - good to see you are still alive and kicking. :grin:

 

[250f4life]

A meal I was practicing at home : One large chicken breast marinated the night before in Italian dressing, 1 can cream of chicken, cut up potatoes, 2 pieces of sweet corn on the cob with onions and peppers. Thats my plan for a meal in Harlan in a couple weeks.

 

[WeRideNTruX]

best thing ive had out of a dutch oven this far is my grandpaws peach cobbler. i want that recipe some day.

 

[97TJGUZZY]

A meal I was practicing at home : One large chicken breast marinated the night before in Italian dressing, 1 can cream of chicken, cut up potatoes, 2 pieces of sweet corn on the cob with onions and peppers. Thats my plan for a meal in Harlan in a couple weeks.

what size dutch oven and how long are you cooking it for?