Hey Guys-

I was going to post this on the Food & Spirits as well, but the OB is always super helpful...

I'm a program director at a summer camp in Central Texas and would like to add an Outdoor Cooking Class this coming summer. Activities are typically limited to an hour, so most of our recipes will be limited on time, but we could use Pie Irons and Quick Dutch Oven recipes with prep done beforehand.

Where's a good place to start? Any favorite books that you'd recommend that I could educate myself with? I've considered driving over to Inks Lake SP for TPWD's Dutch Oven Basics & History. TIA!

I've tried using my roommates cast iron before. If you don't know what you're doing you end up burning everything. Should probably just stick to a fire and a stick of you're camping.

Lodge has a cast iron cookbook with lots of information in it. Just make sure you establish and maintain a good seasoning and you'll essentially have a non-stick pan (you must cook with fat, though). Flax seed oil FTW.

1. Use Dutch oven liners for items like cobbler, etc.
2. Use a trivet or some large hex nuts to keep your baking pans from making direct contact with the the bottom of baking pans. I use cheap foil pie pans to bake biscuits
2. The biggest single thing I found to control the cooking (prevent scorching of baked goods) is to use 8-10 charcoal briquettes on the bottom and cover the top. Don't just place the oven in the coals of a fire. Put more heat on the top and less on bottom

Anything you can cook at home in the oven, you can cook in a Dutch oven. Like mentioned above, experiment with how many coals you put on top and bottom. Start with something really easy like a dump cake/cobbler.

There are a lot of decent cookbooks on the subject, and I would definitely recommend getting one that also teaches you how to care for the ovens too. There isn't a lot of maintenance at all, but you do need to know a few things about them.

We like the set-and-forget recipes. Most will need 5 or 6 coals underneath, and 15 or so coals on the lid. We use a plastic storage bin for our cooking supplies, and we also keep a 12' square concrete paver in it as well. Makes a great and level base to cook on when the campsite fire ring is not suitable. Also get a lid-lifter, and a lid stand. Also, one of those Weber aluminum charcoal starters that use newspaper is really handy for getting the coals ready.

hth,
C

I was given this book for Xmas a while ago. It has some neat ideas.

Cooking with a Stick

I have a Boy Scout dutch oven cookbook I use. Great, easy meals.

I'm not an expert but someone told me when I started 2/3s of the coals on top 1/3 on bottom. 35 degrees for every coal you put on. That's a starting point till you get good.

The cookbook that came with my Lodge dutch oven has simple, short ingredient list recipes. I used foil to line mine until I discovered the Lodge liners. Beware....many of the cookbooks are for the serious cooks...long ingredient lists. Most of which no camper would carry with them. When we asked the grandkids what they wanted us to cook for Thanksgiving, they listed peach cobbler, mountain man breakfast and triple chocolate cake....all of which I have made in my dutch oven. One of my granddaughters said she has dreams about the peach cobbler. My favorite is the pineapple upside down cake, which to my surprise, comes out very well.

I also cook things other than sweets, but those are everyone's favorites.

It is a great hobby. Start reading and cooking now. We frequently camp, but also cook on the back porch at home a lot. If you burn stuff in the dutch, you're not following the directions. We very seldom did, even when we were rookies. Eat one dewbwerry or peach cobbler from a dutch and you will be sold. As said earlier, anything you cook in the oven, can be done in a dutch.

I use both coals from the fire and charcoal from a chimney starter, depending if I am home or camping. I also use a dutch oven table from Cabela's. I made some trivets from horseshoes- very handy, along with a lifter and long tongs for the charcoal. I don't lift the lid while cooking. My nose tells me when its done. And a timer. Canned cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning has become a regular event. Cheap and easy. I almost never do conbread inside anymore. I'll put on roast on before hunting and it will be ready when I get back. I'm making myself hungry.

I made a portable Dutch Oven table that collapses down to nothing. the shelf pops in and out, the dish snaps on and off, and the walker folds shut. cost almost nothing to build.

Very clever, Yellow Pot!

Just got my first cast iron skillet. Excited to get started.

quote:

---

Just got my first cast iron skillet. Excited to get started.

---

It's surprisingly awesome and fun to use.

I recommend using flax seed oil to season it, although just about any oil will do. It might also be good to sand/grind down your skillet if it's really rough, but again, not critical for most skillets.
Here's a link about how to do it with flax seed oil: http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

Here's the only site you'll ever need. The calculator for charcoal heat settings is awesome.

http://www.dutchovendude.com/campfire-cooking.shtml

Thanks guys!