Dutch oven cooking

[Red Wolf]

Any other dutch oven chefs out there?

I've been cooking in dutch ovens for about 20 years now, after a friend gave me a 12" DO. I've also got a 60+ year old aluminum that my mother had given us, and a 14" shallow.

We rarely have a trip where we don't use the DO's, and I'm always on the lookout for new recipes.

[NevadaNick]

I have a dutch oven that was a wedding present for my grandparents. I am 62 so that will give you an idea of how old it could be. Love the thing.

[ercjr1101]

I am looking forward to having more time to learn the art of dutch oven cooking. The more I cook outside the happier I will be.

[UTTransplant]

I love my DOs, but it has been a challenge using them in the west with all the fire restrictions. I use a 8” cast iron, but my 10” and 12” ones are aluminum. I just can’t pick up the cast iron full of food anymore (durn arthritis!). For just the two of us we generally use the 8”, but I use the bigger ones for pot lucks.

[Red Wolf]

Originally Posted by UTTransplant

I love my DOs, but it has been a challenge using them in the west with all the fire restrictions.

We had a bad drought here in Texas years ago, with a lot of fire bans (and during the summer we still get them sporadically). A friend came across the members of the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society at a campground during that drought, still holding a cook-off...they were using the big two burner Campchef propane stoves, which heat DOs nicely. The friend and I both bought one for ourselves. :-) Drawback is you can't heat the top, so no baking. (But I also have the BBQ grill and cast iron griddle for the Campchef, so I use it for more than DO cooking)

[Red Wolf]

Originally Posted by ercjr1101

I am looking forward to having more time to learn the art of dutch oven cooking. The more I cook outside the happier I will be.

Info / Recipes

• Recipes from the International Dutch Oven Society - The site is dead, but the recipes remain.
• Lone Star Dutch Oven Society - this was a great site for info and recipes, but the site appears to be broken. (I'm still including it, in hopes they fix their site) They're active on Facebook, if you do that.
• The Seven Secrets of Dutch Oven Cooking - good overview
• Dutch Oven Temperature Chart: No more guessing how may coals to use
• Dutch Oven Dude's recipes - great collection of recipes, and good info
• Everyday Dutch Oven - doesn't appear to be maintained any longer, but the recipes remain
• Just Dutch Oven Recipes - nearly 7000 recipes? (There's got to be 30 jambalaya recipes!)

Supplies

1. Chuckwagon Supply - Dutch Oven & Camp Cooking Specialists
2. Lodge - maker of fine DO's and cast iron. Good educational info here, too, and recipes!
3. Campchef - maker of fine DO's and other outdoor cooking equipment - info and recipes, too

Going through my links, I noticed a recipe link from the University of Idaho was broken. I searched for "Dutch Oven" on the site, and found that they offer a two-part elective class on DO cooking. :-) That's very cool!

[95f5334j]

If we can have a camp fire, we'll generally use the dutch oven to cook or bake something. Two of my favorites are baked beans with salt pork and Irish soda bread!

[hamm2018]

This is funny, right now over the fire in our is 2lbs of ground beef, diced tomatoes, 3 cans of beans, chili sauce and some V-8 juice. It has been on since 7 am and cooking very nicely. I will let it simmer until close to 6 pm or maybe even 7 pm before we dig in tonight.
What we don't finish tonight will be gone by tomorrow evening, several people has already stopped by and looked inside to see if it is ready.

I fixed some one time and we took off in the golf cart to see some friends who had called. When we got back there was a couple of our friends, 4 of them, already had a bowl full eating away. Funny thing was one of them was who called and asked me to come to their camper to help. SO when we went one way they came the other way around and hit the chili.

[allenb12]

I carry 2 8" 10" & 12". I normally use charcoal on a camp chef table. Sometimes I will put it over a burner. Use the 12" to fry fish regularly.

[Red Wolf]

So Mom gave me her aluminum, legless DO while we were still tent camping. We didn't use it much, it was just a heavy pot/pan.

It wasn't til we got the 12" cast iron DO as a gift that we realized what we had! I've got folding legs (three long L-brackets riveted on one end) that I use to hold it above the coals. The aluminum one is generally used for cakes, cobblers, rolls.

I've been using mine mainly for stews, pot pies, and BBQ, and bread. Before each trip we figure out what to make, and I pull out the DO recipes I haven't tried yet.

[153stars]

Love my Lodge Dutch oven , hands down the best pot roast ever, if you love the big carrots getting roasted sweet and caramelized from the top heat. Baby carrots need not apply they just seem stringy to me. First I sear the meat on stove top or all coals under first. I made a steel table with folding windshield "think coleman stove", the legs aper threaded pipe removed rides few inches above a picnic table , plans are online. A friend gave me some dutch oven parchment liners he uses to bake with . I haven't made use of them as yet. Seen many dutch ovens on FB marketplace for a nice deals . I'm looking to get some others. I've had real ovens in my old popup and TT , only conv/micro in MH very seldom plug in so never conv. baked yet.

[Mr. T]

Mr. T’s Jambalaya - Dutch oven

Shopping list
1 stick salted butter
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts diced. (pre-dice and freeze for trip)
Garlic
Beef Kilbasse
3 celery stocks
1 white onion
1 green bell pepper
1 lemon
Spices - salt pepper cinnamon, Tony’s seasoning, turmeric, cumin, paprika. (Kit all in container)
Balsamic in container
2 bay leaves
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 pound shrimp
1 box Uncle Ben minute rice

Bread



Directions
1 stick salted butter melted
Drop 1 lb cubed chicken breast and cook until done.
3 smashed toes fresh garlic. Drop.
1 lb beef kilbasse sliced after chicken has cooked through.
While chicken is cooking, dice 3 cellary stalks, 1 white onion, 1 green bell pepper.
To those add 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon cracked pepper, 2 tablespoons balsalmic, 1 tablespoon tonys seasoning, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of tumeric, a pinch of cumin, and a pinch of paprika.
Put all that on a bag and shake.
Now chicken is cooked.
Drop beef kilbasse.
Add 2 whole bay leaves. 1 half lemon squeezed.
Open 2 cans diced tomatoes and drop.
1 can of chicken broth stock. Drop.
Bring to a boil.
Add the bag of stuff.
Boil for like 20 min.

Bring to simmer 10 min.

Add 1 lb of peeled shrimp and bring back to a boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Drop 2 cups Uncle Ben. Minute rice.

Stir in.

Cover for 7 minutes.

Lift lid ,stir again.
Hit with pepper and salt again.
Stir again.

[Red Wolf]

Originally Posted by In2flyfishing

Mr. T’s Jambalaya - Dutch oven

That just got added to my recipe system!

[Red Wolf]

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• ½ pound ham
• ½ pound Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Warm the Dutch oven on just a few coals for simmering.
2. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven over coals.
3. When the butter is melted, stir in the bread crumbs to soak up the butter.
4. Remove the bread crumbs to a cup or small bowl.
5. Cut the chicken breasts horizontally to make 6 thinner cutlets.
6. Lay the chicken in the Dutch oven, making a single layer.
7. Fry over about 375°F heat for 5 minutes.
8. Flip the chicken cutlets over.
9. Slice the ham, and place a slice on each chicken cutlet.
10. Slice the cheese, and place a slice on each piece of ham.
11. Sprinkle some bread crumbs over cheese slices.
12. Put the lid on the Dutch oven, and move heat to the lid to bake at about 350°F for about 35 minutes, until done.
13. Options: Cut the breasts across so they fit on a roll and serve as small, hot sandwiches. Use provolone, pepperjack, or American cheese. Try any sliced meat from the deli section.

Excerpt From: Paul Kautz. “The Campside Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the...97488803?mt=11