# Calling Dutch Oven Cookers!



## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

So after seeing a Dutch Oven Cooking Demo this weekend on our camping trip I'm totally wanting to buy one! What size is good for doing just standard cooking for a family of 3-6?


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Are you planning on Dutch Ovens over a fire or the ones with legs that you use with charcoal. I started off with a 12" with legs. I think that is a perfect size for a family meal. Campingnut18 got me started into Dutch Oven cooking. I have two and planning on one or two more. Send campingnut18 a PM and he will share several web sites on Dutch Oven cooking with you.

Leon


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?showforum=18

There are many spread all thru the recipe section.

New threads tho do invite new recipes







tho

John


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

Awesome thank you both.

I plan on cooking over charcoal right now to start since I've heard that's the easiest way to regulate temperatures. I saw a dutch oven demo at the campground this past weekend and it was my first time ever seeing someone actually cook with one and now I'm intrigued!


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

One of our members also has 2 links in his home page

http://www.geocities.com/ndjollymon/Camping.html


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

now were talkin,cookin with IRON.







i agree with Crawfish 12" is very good, i also have a 10" and not quite as deep as the 12" 
after the ovens good things to have are.

*charcoal chimney* - starting charcoal i use both kinds of charcoal, regular and match light. i use about 5 or 6 pieces in the bottom to start the regular charcoal

*lid lifter* - makes taking lid of much easier

*long tongs* - getting charcoal out of the chimney and moving the coals around the oven.

*patio pavers* (at home) makes good surface to cook on. on the road i sometimes use a cookie sheet. again a good surface.

*parchment paper* - used to line oven with, makes cleanup even easier.

*trivet* - for in the bottom of the oven when needed.

*gloves* - good leather

*thermomete*r - the kind with a hard probe. try to find one with a very small diameter to fit under the lid in the notch.

and if you want to learn from the pro's go to *WWW.IDOS.ORG* have fun

cookin with iron is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## gone campin (Jan 29, 2006)

When I cook a cake in the Dutch Oven, there is a line as soon as it is done because if you are not there when it comes off the coals you do not get any!

Everything just tastes better in cast iron. You will wan t to be sure to line oven with parchment liner or foil for easy clean up.

Linda


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## Dan L (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi,

We only use Dutch Ovens when we camp out with our boy scout Troop.

And I have to agree, everything seems to taste better when we use the Dutch Ovens.









Happy Camping,


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## Fanatical1 (Jan 9, 2006)

Your going to love it! I would suggest a 12" or 14" lodge camp oven with the flat lid and legs. i found one on Craigslist with a tripod!

Lodge also has outlet stores that sells seconds or blemished dutch ovens. You can find info on their website.
A good lid lifter is very helpful also.


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## campingnut18 (Mar 11, 2004)

go wally-world and get dutch oven liners.
makes clean up so easy.
campingnut18


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

campingnut18 said:


> go wally-world and get dutch oven liners.
> makes clean up so easy.
> campingnut18


If only our local wally-world was so well-stocked!







Went there looking for RV supplies and found only a few items. However, they DID have a huge cast iron skillet. I tried to pick it up.....DUH! Must have weighed 25#!!







I'll have to drive down to Canton. Want to try out this dutch oven cooking.
Darlene


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

Oh wow thank you all so much for the advice!

I was trying to figure out what the difference is between Lodge and a few others, like the Camp Chef. I do know I want the lid to be flat to place coals on top and I want legs for sure, but other than that, I haven't really seen much difference.

Guess I need to make a trip to Bass Pro Shop!

I also heard about lining the oven with aluminum foil for doing sugary cooking. What's better to use aluminum foil or parchment paper?


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## dunn4 (Feb 16, 2008)

I prefer the Lodge brand. Seems to be easier to season. Be prepared to stink up your kitchen during the essential seasoning part of making a "good" dutch oven to start with. Some folks do the seasoning on a gas grill with a cover. Both will work.

I also recommend the lid lifter tool. Makes thinks alot easier.

One good thing I have learned from camping with a veteran dutch oven cooker (chef?) is an easy way to keep the coals from catching the county on fire. I use two metal pans that I bought at a feed store (feed pans). You may also find them at the autoparts store as metal oil changing pans.

They are about 14-15 inches. Perfect for a 12 inch oven (mine has the legs). Heat your coals in the charcoal chimney, dump the coals in one pan, put the coals you need in the bottom of the second metal pan, set your dutch oven over the coals and add coals to the top of the dutch oven. Moving around the coals is where the tongs come in handy.

The metal pans protect the charcoal from the wind and conduct the heat around the dutch oven. When you need more coals, pull them from the other pan holding the extra charcoal. Also, this protects the dry grass/vegetation around the camp area. Contains the heat and sparks.

Line with foil for easy clean-up and remember when you do wash, NEVER use soap. Only wash with water. Soap permeates the iron and you will be eating soap in the next meal you cook in the oven. Plus you will have to re-season the oven. I keep some coals for after the meal for cleaning. Remove what you can from the oven and place over coals with water. As water heats up, scrub with sponge or light scrubber to remove food particles from the oven. Rinse and then dry over heat.

I love cooking in a dutch oven. Just returned from a trip to Big Bend National Park where we had baked ziti, cobblers, etc. from the dutch oven. Going out again at Easter and requests for mountainman breakfast and cobbler have already come in for the trip menu. Enjoy!


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## john7349 (Jan 13, 2008)

dunn4 said:


> I prefer the Lodge brand. Seems to be easier to season. Be prepared to stink up your kitchen during the essential seasoning part of making a "good" dutch oven to start with. Some folks do the seasoning on a gas grill with a cover. Both will work.
> 
> I also recommend the lid lifter tool. Makes thinks alot easier.
> 
> ...


I like the idea about using two metal pans. Sounds like I need to buy more stuff!


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

two brands are popular Lodge and Camp Chef. the most important thing is to have a lid that fits good. as far as a liner i only use parchment paper, and that's not to often. i use the cast iron for cooking it just tastes better. the pot will clean easily if it's seasoned properly. if you can, season on the grill, or take your smoke detector batteries out until your done for in the house seasoning. did you find the web site IDOS.COM? it's very good

hope this helps, kevin


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

swanny said:


> two brands are popular Lodge and Camp Chef. the most important thing is to have a lid that fits good. as far as a liner i only use parchment paper, and that's not to often. i use the cast iron for cooking it just tastes better. the pot will clean easily if it's seasoned properly. if you can, season on the grill, or take your smoke detector batteries out until your done for in the house seasoning. did you find the web site IDOS.COM? it's very good
> 
> hope this helps, kevin


We had bought a 12" lodge several years ago, seasoned it and never used it. I finally pulled it out last year when the DW and I went on a 5 day camp out at a little State Park not far from home. First night I cooked an apple cobbler. Made even the cows mouths water! Ended up sharing some with the only other people in the campground and sending some back with the ranger. Next night cooked a Mexican bake. Didn't have much of that left. A few months later cooked a stew that filled the pot. Did have to add some more charcoal to keep it hot and cooking. I Just pushed some of the coals together and added a couple of new brickets and let them start off the old ones. Didn't have any left overs then either. The nice thing about cooking with a dutch oven is that you can add the stuff to the pot, put the charcoal on the bottom and top and walk away if you have judge the # to use right. Come back in an hour or so, timing isn't that important, and you have diner. Have fun with it. Here's a good site for info; http://www.usscouts.org/macscouter/Cooking/DutchOven.asp


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

Oh wow, I really like the IDOS.COM website!

I got some great advice from the lady doing the dutch oven demo at the campground about how to clean the oven if you get stuff baked into it. Boil water in the oven to soften everything up and then take either Kosher Salt or Sea Salt and pour it straight into the oven and use your hand to rub it around the oven. It will help lift anything cooked on the oven but it won't scratch your seasoning.

Anyone tried that?

I got my Lodge catalog in the mail yesterday, I think I'm going to look at getting a 12inch oven with the flat lid and legs, the lid lifter and the lid stand (which can double as a stand to put the inverted lid on and use it as a griddle!)


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

it's official, YOUR HOOKED!!!!!!! when cleaning i use a soft bristled brush. works great. another thing i do is dry my pots on the stove. after they cool i rub it down with crisco. try this when your get your pot. dump in two 15oz cans of peaches into an empty pot, then cover the peaches with a white cake mix. last cut up butter squares and place them on top 8 to 10 of them and cook for about 40 min. i usually use 8 coals under and 10 on top. it's awesome

kevin


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

I use the liners from the site below:

http://www.campliner.com/

They work great and completely do away with cleanup.


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

swanny said:


> it's official, YOUR HOOKED!!!!!!! when cleaning i use a soft bristled brush. works great. another thing i do is dry my pots on the stove. after they cool i rub it down with crisco. try this when your get your pot. dump in two 15oz cans of peaches into an empty pot, then cover the peaches with a white cake mix. last cut up butter squares and place them on top 8 to 10 of them and cook for about 40 min. i usually use 8 coals under and 10 on top. it's awesome
> 
> kevin


I've heard it's bad to let your pots "air dry", that drying them in the oven or something is the best way.. is that what you mean when you say you dry your post on the stove? You heat them up? 
Thanks for the recipe! That will be the first thing I try!

Hey MJRey, do you use the liners everytime you cook or just with stuff like baked goods?


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

yes i dry them on the stove. i place the pot and the lid over a burner and let them get very hot. if you watch you can see some moisture coming out of the iron. after dry wipe with a little crisco and let cool.


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## campdoc (Feb 3, 2008)

o0jonna0o said:


> Oh wow, I really like the IDOS.COM website!
> 
> I got some great advice from the lady doing the dutch oven demo at the campground about how to clean the oven if you get stuff baked into it. Boil water in the oven to soften everything up and then take either Kosher Salt or Sea Salt and pour it straight into the oven and use your hand to rub it around the oven. It will help lift anything cooked on the oven but it won't scratch your seasoning.
> 
> ...


I used the salt method once. never again. I dried it and greased it afterward, and put it away. When I got it out on the next camping trip, it was filled with rust. Took a lot of cleaning and reseasoning.
Now I just heat water in it, scrub with a brush, and heat dry. Then I wipe with oil (don't use cooking spray). Works wonderfully.
Also, I use a claw hammer for removing the lid. Love a tool with multiple uses.

As for recipes, this is our favorite. The boys ask for it every trip. Dutch oven pot pie. Heat up the oven with coals underneath. Cook bacon chopped up until cooked, but soft. Put in cut up chicken breast, and cook, stirring occasionally. Add cream of chicken soup, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, salt and pepper, and mix it all up. Cover the top of the mixture with pilsbury grands biscuits. Put on the lid, and distribute coals to top and bottom and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning the lid about a quarter turn every 15 minutes or so. When the biscuits are nice and brown, the meal is ready.


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

campdoc we do almost the same thing but use sausage. sausage and chicken red potatoes and onion. can't beat it


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## campingnut18 (Mar 11, 2004)

try this one out.
i use my 12" big oven. get about 2 -3 lbs of boneless counrty style ribs.
take 1 12 oz can of coke a cola mix with your favorite bbq sauce mix well in a zip lock bag.
soak the ribs in the coke/bbq mix over night in the fridge.
next day pour all mix in a lined ducth oven. 
cook at 350-400 for about 1 hr over coals.

these ribs will make your tongue slap your brain .

enjoy, campingnut18


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

campingnut18 said:


> try this one out.
> i use my 12" big oven. get about 2 -3 lbs of boneless counrty style ribs.
> take 1 12 oz can of coke a cola mix with your favorite bbq sauce mix well in a zip lock bag.
> soak the ribs in the coke/bbq mix over night in the fridge.
> ...


I did this one for the fall rally pot luck. It was really good. I think this is what I will make for the spring rally in a couple of weeks.

Leon


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

campdoc thanks for the headsup on the salt! And that pot pie recipe.. that sounds right up my alley!

oh campingnut18, that sounds incredible!


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

Hubby bought me the 10 inch for my birthday! I got it on Saturday and have been wanting to try it out! I think I may try "dump cake" tonight!!


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

enjoy your DO!
I love DO cooking...and I have a few. My favorite size is 12". Cheap DO's are cheap...but I have better luck with my trusty LODGE or CAMP CHEF ovens.
I have DO table, and an outdoor CAMP CHEF double burner stove. 
I have the ULTIMATE TURKEY ROASTER as well...which is a HUGE cast iron DO that will roast a 12 lb turkey in about an hour and a half.
Camp Chef also has a lot of info on it's site, as well as a nice blog. They sometimes give away freebies on the blog, check it out.


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## o0jonna0o (Oct 29, 2008)

Hubby got me the 10" Lodge and depending on how successful I am in cooking with it, I may look at getting a 12" as well.
I have STILL yet to break my new one in, yet. The weather hasn't been very cooperative!


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