# Cast Iron Dutch Oven and Camping... anyone have one?



## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

My brother was cleaning out their house - about to put it on the market and downsize now that my nephew has moved out, moved off, and taken all his friends with him. LOL Brother found hoarded up cast iron (Castarn, my Tennessee and Mississippi guy friends call it). Among the hoard was my grandmother and grandfather's dutch ovens.

One is the type you hang from a tripod over a fire, looks like an ordinary pot with a dome shaped lid.

The other is the type with 'feet' that you sit on the ground/in the coals, and put coals on the top. It has the handle for use in lifting the lid. It. weighs. a. ton.


My dad tells me he remembers 'momma and dad' cooking with both of those pots at deer camp when he was little... which would have been in the late 50s/early 60s.

Since I'm Camping with Horses now, I cleaned them up/cooked them to burn off any gunk, and seasoned both. I plan to put them in my horse trailer for use at camp. I've looked up how many coals go under and on top of it to reach the desired temperature to bake things, like... a five layer breakfast casserole (Which is in NO WAY Keto friendly). I keep bags of charcoal in the trailer.

So.

Has anyone used either type, and if so... what on earth do you cook in them... beside canned biscuits and five layer breakfast casseroles?


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I haven't, but I always thought people made stew and chili in those things. Like cowboy food, y'know?


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

I've used them just in a fire at fish camp. Made a really good potato stew in the middle of a storm. 

Also made a less than good fried flounder.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

ACinATX said:


> I haven't, but I always thought people made stew and chili in those things. Like cowboy food, y'know?



Beans. I'm like... er. So. Do I just cook a pot of beans and ham in this or what? 



TO THE INTERNET!




lostastirrup said:


> I've used them just in a fire at fish camp. Made a really good potato stew in the middle of a storm.
> 
> Also made a less than good fried flounder.



Is it possible to mess up fresh flounder? MAN I miss the days when my dad would fish at Galveston/Bolivar Pass and bring home fresh flounder. Clean them up a tad, wrap them in tinfoil with butter, salt, pepper and a slice of lemon, bake till done.


OH. My. Goodness.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

I don't use them, but my DH does. He makes:
Sausage corn chowder
Pigs in a cornfield (pork chops, corn on cob, potatoes and gravy)
Lemon chicken and rice
beef stew
Blackberry cobbler/cake
Cherry cobbler/cake


That's all I can think of at the moment. He uses a small sheet of metal to place the readied coals, so as not to take room in the fire pit.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Walkamile said:


> I don't use them, but my DH does. He makes:
> Sausage corn chowder
> Pigs in a cornfield (pork chops, corn on cob, potatoes and gravy)
> Lemon chicken and rice
> ...



Ohhhh those sound good. I'll have to look those up!


I'm thinking... where we camp there's always the steel grills on a pole. They're always gross and I will not cook on them. However... I could use one for the dutch oven on legs... that way we're not, as you say, taking up room in the fire pit. Would also be easier to control the heat.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

On gosh, you really can cook anything in a Dutch! I've roasted chicken, baked yeast bread, biscuits, beef roasts... A couple of good cookbooks on the subject describe how to actually use them. It can become quite the enjoyable hobby!


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Don is looking at how to cook with one "layered" over the other for different courses. I am his official taster and take that role very seriously! :Angel:


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

You don't need to cook in the fire pit. As a rule of thumb take the diameter of the oven, say 10" . Subtract 2 from the diameter for the number of coals underneath the oven, and add 2 for the number of coals on top. This gives you a rough cooking temp of 325. Each additional 2 coals adds about 25 deg. When baking, take the oven off the bottom coals for the last third of cooking time. Rotate the lid on the oven and the oven on the coals occasionally to keep temp even. For long cooking times, have slightly ashy new coals burning to replace the old ones every 30-40 minutes. Keep the oven shielded from wind. And don't peek, you'll let all the best out!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Well. I'm convinced now more than ever to give mine a go. I'm going to start with this 5 Layer Breakfast Bake and see how it goes. IF the weather holds, that'll be next weekend - we have a camping trip/trail ride planned. This may end up, literally, a hot mess. LOL


And no, I can't find much that's low carb or Keto friendly, but I figure with all we do on these trips, we HAVE to be creating a calorie deficit, right? Right? (OH I hope so!)


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

Walkamile said:


> Don is looking at how to cook with one "layered" over the other for different courses. I am his official taster and take that role very seriously! :Angel:


I've done this once. Cooking in a Dutch is a hoot!


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

@AtokaGhosthorseDon also uses a "charcoal chimney" to get the brickettes going and then _pours_ them where he needs them. Easier to handle and less mess.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

dogpatch said:


> I've done this once. Cooking in a Dutch is a hoot!


I think I'd enjoy it, but don't want to take that way from Don.:Angel::rofl:


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Walkamile said:


> @*AtokaGhosthorse* Don also uses a "charcoal chimney" to get the brickettes going and then _pours_ them where he needs them. Easier to handle and less mess.



I wondered about using one. Everything I've read says: You need this. 

I thought, nah... but wait. Maybe they know what they're talking about?

So it's a definite Probably Must Have?


I better get some tongs too. I THINK I have a set of bbq tongs in the trailer, but not sure.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Yes, Don says it's a must. He's done it without, and prefers to use it. Tongs and also heavy burn proof gloves.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> Ohhhh those sound good. I'll have to look those up!
> 
> 
> I'm thinking... where we camp there's always the steel grills on a pole. They're always gross and I will not cook on them. However... I could use one for the dutch oven on legs... that way we're not, as you say, taking up room in the fire pit. Would also be easier to control the heat.


You want the oven down on the coals or it'll never get hot. Witness my woodstove, which hardly gets hot enough to boil water. Control the temp with the number of coals. After awhile it probably gets easier to use wood, though softwood isn't so great.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> I wondered about using one. Everything I've read says: You need this.
> 
> I thought, nah... but wait. Maybe they know what they're talking about?
> 
> ...


Bbq tongs for handling coals. And a lid lifter.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Have a lid lifter. It's original to the footed oven, which is the one I have the most interest in using. That one doesn't have a handle to hang from, it has a long pan handle on it... and the lifter.

The hanging type... I may not use it. IDK. I don't think the lid is original, it doesn't sit tight on it, and if you hold it by the handle, it'll get off balance easily and the lid just falls right off. That won't be helpful hanging from a tripod.


Forgot I had pictures of them before I cleaned them up - so forgive the yuck. They'd been in storage for... I think... Pa passed away 6 years ago. So. six years in storage.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

My mouth is watering in anticipation...denied!!
So, as a kid my parents cooked with the dutch oven when we were camping.
We always started with coals from charcoal, then added logs of oak usually as it burns long and steady in temp.
When a bed of hot embers and coals...the oven was placed on it and kept there with my dad tending the fire to keep it as consistent as possible...he was our thermostat.

So, mom did many kinds of meat but I remember her chicken one best.
Mom called it *Chicken California*...no idea of where the recipe came from.
So...ingredients
1/2 c oil
4 - 5 lbs chicken, cut-up
1 TBSP chopped parsley
1 large onion
2 tsp. salt
1 green pepper, chopped
2 c _uncooked_ rice
3 c water
1 chicken bullion cube
2 bay leaves
carrots- 1 bunch cut-up {optional}
Heat oil in deep skillet or dutch oven until sizzling.
Add chicken & parsley...
Brown chicken on all sides and remove from pan.
Add to the pan/oven the onion, pepper...cook until onions are straw-colored.
Add rice & cook, stirring until rice is browned.
Add 2 cups of water & bullion cube dissolved in the 3rd cup of water.
Add carrots if desired.
Simmer until rice & chicken are tender, about 1 hour stirring occasionally.
Feeds a family of 5.
This was a great dinner. Easy one pot meal.
My dad was not a great cook and he never burned this...
We also had this home, still made in the dutch oven but used the actual house stove to cook it.

Another made in the fry-pan was *Zucchini Pie*....
3 c. diced, unpeeled zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. oil
1 c. biscuit mix
4 eggs, beaten
3 - 4 TBSP parsley
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt

Grease a 9" pie plate or that fry pan.
Combine all ingredients, mixing until zucchini are just coated with batter.
Bake in a pre-heated 350* oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until lightly browned.
Serve warm or cold...
_My dad was known to enjoy the campfire many nights long after most went off to bed._
_This is when he would bank the coals, gently feed the fire so it would hold the heat for the amount of time to cook this correctly..._
_After watching this and keeping that warmth perfect he would place the cover on it and head to bed._
_In the morning it was fully cooked, warm to eat and delicious for a different morning breakfast._
_He also would do quiche for us..._
_Just make sure no raccoons are around or they may help themselves to your breakfast as happened to us when we did not use the heavy iron lid but tinfoil....:evil: was my dad ever mad all his work was enjoyed not be him:twisted: _

We also had dessert made over the fire with the covered fry-pan.
Cobblers are easy to do...
Grease the pan well, layer in your ingredients, cover and ignore it till you can't stand the delicious smells anymore.
When you open the lid the top was golden...melt in your mouth good.

And of course we made corn bread pudding and just corn bread over the fire.
The best thing about real cast iron is they are made to be put directly in/on the coals and cook evenly.
Those who have never had real cast iron pans have never experienced a treat to cook with them.
As you know the secret is good seasoning and don't scrub it inside...slowly cooking in the seasoning grease for best results.

If you ever decide to "sell" those pans, the real ones like these sound _are worth a lot of money today._
Don't be afraid to ask a handsome price cause they are worth every penny offered and then some more today.
Enjoy your families treasured memories when you use those pots... 
:runninghorse2:...


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

I have 4 Dutch ovens and love to cook in them. The charcoal chimney is a necessary item and I heat mine up for a few minutes with the charcoal before adding ingredients. I love biscuits in one and gravy with lots of sausage or bacon cooked in the DO before making the gravy and mixed in it.. The breakfast casseroles are great too with eggs, cheese, tater tots and sausage and don't forget the butter. Here is my peach, apple or cherry cobbler and the peach and apple I usually sprinkle and little cinnamon on. If you like more crust add two cake mixes. I've cooked stew, chili , biscuits and my favorite is peach cobbler. 1 stick of butter ( cut stick into 5-6 pieces), 1 cake mix (white or yellow) and 24-32 ozs (depends on how many peaches you like), of canned peaches. Take 21 charcoal briquettes, light and while they are heating prepare the DO. Put two pats of butter in it and melt , coating as much of the bottom and sides as possible. Then put in peaches and scatter the remaining butter over them, then scatter the cake mix over the top. Arrange 12 charcoal under the DO and 9 on the top. Let cook for 45 minutes. All done, now enjoy!


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Everything from breakfast (beignets are my favorite but biscuits run a close second) to chili, jambalaya or gumbo and desserts - cobblers are. The. Best.


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## avjudge (Feb 1, 2011)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> The hanging type... I may not use it. IDK. I don't think the lid is original, it doesn't sit tight on it, and if you hold it by the handle, it'll get off balance easily and the lid just falls right off. That won't be helpful hanging from a tripod.


Doesn't sound great for tripod use, but I have a 5-quart pot like that (mine has a glass lid) as a standard part of my STOVE-TOP cooking arsenal. 

In fact, I think I used it twice in the last week, for two pork stews that began with browning the meat ("Cuban-style pork and sweet potatoes" and "pork, buttercup squash and chard chili" though by the time I added the chard to that 2nd one it was overflowing the pot and had to be transferred to my 8-quart pot).

The dish for which it really shines is chicken breast (bone-in with skin). I use a recipe I got on Chowhound some years ago which starts with searing the breast skin-side down - and the only way I've succeeded in getting a good sear is with the cast iron. I could do it in a skillet, but my bone-in breasts tend to stick up higher than a skillet's sides, and the Dutch oven's sides let me rest a spatter guard above it. (It still spatters, just not quite so much.)

Mmmm


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Great recipes! I cook with one with the wire on the top, just in my regular oven. makes great baked chicken! or stews.


Years ago, when I used to go on week long kayak trips ( out in the Pacific Ocean off of Vancouver Island), we'd bring along a dutch oven. You see, sea kayaks can carry a TONNNNNNN of gear. As long as you do not need to portage your kayak, the weight is more or less irrelevant. You do, however, have to keep room in the boat for floatation. Otherwise, if you should flip the kayak, it will sink!


anyway . . . . we used to make blackberry cobblers with the wild blackberries we picked. We made clam chowder with the butter clams we raked from the gravel. We made crab bread (crab cakes all together), steamed rockfish . . the best stuff ever!! 



You pan with the lid lifter will be the best one for camping because the lip on the lid will keep the coals from falling off.


Hope it works.


oh, and by the way, you get iron from them, which is good for your health! especially if you cook something acidic like tomato sauce in it.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

You can cook anything in them you want. The one with a handle/no legs is used just like any pot you use on the stove at home. Does it hang straight without the lid? If not the lid causing it the handle could be bent and a good blacksmith could get it righted for you. You can hang it over the fire or place it on a grill top over the fire. The one with the flat lid is more for something you want to bake and need heat from both top and bottom. 

The secret for cooking in them or any other type of pan for that matter is to be willing to cook long and slow over the fire. You want to start with lots of embers and only add new fuel (in the form of wood) as needed to keep hot embers. Keto friendly would be a big pot of green beans with smoked sausage. I always add potatoes too but you need to leave them out if you're worried about your diet. Any kind of beef or pork roast with veggies tossed in. Wrap the food in foil and place in your cast iron pot and let sit on the grill over a low fire (I actually use a an enamel roasting pan for this because your pot won't be big enough if you're feeding several people). It will be quite tasty at supper time and no peaking before hand, you need to keep the steam in. Soups, stews, beef & noodles, chicken and dumplings...the possibilities are endless.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Go to TimFarmers CountryKitchen.com. He has tons of recipes!! A whole section on campfire cooking, I think. He used to be our Fish and Wildlife TV show guy, until he quit to be a TV star...lol. His show was airing on RFD Tv, (I no longer have a satellite dish) but we get it on KY PBS.


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

As I said above I love to cook with cast iron. I have a pretty good selection of cast iron skillets in the house and I do most of the cooking at our house. Doesn't make my wife mad one bit. I really like steaks cooked in a cast iron skillet in a little bacon grease. Four and a half minutes per side in a medium heat skillet and they are a perfect medium steak with a nice sear on each side. MMMM. I also have an adjustable tripod and a cast iron pot and lid for it that must be a 12 quart it is big and great for cooking over a campfire. My wife calls it a witches caldron! LOL


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## aubie (Aug 24, 2013)

I do know I have seen some sort of chart with so many coals on top/ so many degrees somewhere.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

ksbowman said:


> As I said above I love to cook with cast iron. I have a pretty good selection of cast iron skillets in the house and I do most of the cooking at our house. Doesn't make my wife mad one bit. I really like steaks cooked in a cast iron skillet in a little bacon grease. Four and a half minutes per side in a medium heat skillet and they are a perfect medium steak with a nice sear on each side. MMMM. I also have an adjustable tripod and a cast iron pot and lid for it that must be a 12 quart it is big and great for cooking over a campfire. My wife calls it a witches caldron! LOL


We grind our own hamburger...four lb Chuck to two lb sirloin. It's a little coarse. It makes the best burgers, seared in a cast iron skillet!


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

Don't know if anyone mentioned with a lid holder, you can invert the lid over the coals and use it as a skillet!!

One of the best things about Dutch oven cooking in camp is the camp wide anticipation and fun it generates when the riding is done for the day!


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## avjudge (Feb 1, 2011)

ksbowman said:


> I really like steaks cooked in a cast iron skillet in a little bacon grease.


Absolutely. I've tried to broil meat - it was a disaster, can't get it figured out, shoe leather most of the time. 

But with a cast iron skillet I seem to get it right (almost) every time, almost in spite of myself! And then there are the drippings ready for a good sauce.


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## Filou (Jan 16, 2014)

I cook just about everything in a cast iron. 
The only think I really don't prefer is tomato products. The acid in the tomato will react with the iron and create an off metallic taste. 

The last time I went camping I put a little olive oil in a small container, salt and pepper packets, and got some of those pre washed and chopped veggies and cooked that in the dutch oven. It was good, but did take longer than on a normal stove. I think we might have cooked some chicken too...

It's nice if you are camping from a car, but definitely wouldn't recommend for hiking!


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

You guys are cast iron magicians. I've enjoyed reading this thread. 

We only use it when we're doing corral work and can be nearby to make sure nothing goes wrong. I love the food, though.


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## mslady254 (May 21, 2013)

campmaid.com

I WANT one of these, even though I havent had a camper in years. LOL. I loved campfire cooking and used 2 stacked Dutch Ovens. 

As said, anything, you can cook anything in one, and the lid makes a frying surface when you turn it over. Things that I remember are :
Bacon and eggs on the inverted large lid , biscuits in the small D.O.
Canned cinnamon rolls
Pizza
Roasted (stewed) chicken with vegetables
Baked potatoes (so good--wash, coat with oil, salt and place in the oven)(or wrap in foil if you prefer)
Easy Cobbler 
Egg and meat casserole
Baked beans


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

One meal we like is to cube potatoes, onions, carrots,red peppers. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano or rosemary. Lay a package of Johnsonville brats on top. Takes about three beers to cook! Lol! The closer to the lid the better the sausages brown.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

We just call them camp ovens here. They're awesome & I wouldn't be without at least one when camping, if any chance of having a camp fire. They're great for roasts, stews, damper(camping bread)... whatever! I like the ones with the... tray shaped(for want of better words) lid that you can scoop coals onto, so you can get good all round heat. Just careful with these, to take care to scrape coals off, or lift it carefully to check your dinner - speaking from experience, a lovely roast laced with crunch bits of charcoal kinda... spoils the meal a bit!


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

loosie said:


> We just call them camp ovens here. They're awesome & I wouldn't be without at least one when camping, if any chance of having a camp fire. They're great for roasts, stews, damper(camping bread)... whatever! I like the ones with the... tray shaped(for want of better words) lid that you can scoop coals onto, so you can get good all round heat. Just careful with these, to take care to scrape coals off, or lift it carefully to check your dinner - speaking from experience, a lovely roast laced with crunch bits of charcoal kinda... spoils the meal a bit!


Yeah, go ahead and tell everyone what an Australian Dutch oven is! Lol l boy did I ever get raked over the proverbial coals when I used the term on another multi national list!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^haha! Well you're all talking about American dutch ovens aren't you?? I wasn't aware they were called 'dutch' until Aldi (a European supermarket chain here) started selling them.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

& never occurred to me to use the lid as a frying pan - thanks for that tip! My favourite fried thing while camping, esp when smokey, is bananas - yum!


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

loosie said:


> ^haha! Well you're all talking about American dutch ovens aren't you?? I wasn't aware they were called 'dutch' until Aldi (a European supermarket chain here) started selling them.


Okay, if you won't I will! Apparently some slang loving Australians use the term to describe the act of playfully holding the covers over their mate's head then letting a stinker go! Lol! 

Here in the US where Dutch oven cooking is a competitive sport, the oven is so called because Dutch immigrants are credited with introducing it to the New World.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

aubie said:


> I do know I have seen some sort of chart with so many coals on top/ so many degrees somewhere.



Haven't read through all the comments yet, but a friend of ours sent me one via FB. It is now saved to mah phone.


He also said in the county where they live now (He's a high school buddy of ours who moved away to another part of Oklahoma), his daughter's 4-H group has an annual Dutch Oven Cook Off at the local fair grounds, it coincides with the FFA livestock shows, etc.


So jealous of those kids! Would LOVE to go to one of those!


For everyone else! I'm reading through, taking notes!


This weekend... ugh. Rain. So sick of rain.

Supposed to have thunderstorms and rain Friday night, late, with more Saturday morning until the noonish hour.


We're watching the forecast closely - those trails turn to soup when it rains and the land is already struggling with the inundation it's received this winter, so the trails are nasty, sloppy, and hard going. I don't mind that, in and of itself, but camping with thunderstorms that include high wind and heavy rain sucks.


Soooo, we may bump our camping weekend out by necessity.


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## BarbandBadgerandPedro (Apr 3, 2018)

There are great campfire cooking, shows some on RFD TV. Johnny Nix or Mix. also Lodge has some great recipes, and Southern Cooking ? magazine has some just for cast iron. Just learn the PROPER way to clean and maintain the finish...dog tongues are never mentioned but do a good job of "prescrub". :smile:


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

BarbandBadgerandPedro said:


> There are great campfire cooking, shows some on RFD TV. Johnny Nix or Mix. also Lodge has some great recipes, and Southern Cooking ? magazine has some just for cast iron. Just learn the PROPER way to clean and maintain the finish...dog tongues are never mentioned but do a good job of "prescrub". :smile:



Oh man, I've never cooked on much of anything BUT cast iron. For a while I switched to 'non-stick' and I do have some nice stainless pots and pans, but nothing beats the old old cast iron I inherited from my grandparents. I have a couple of Lodge skillets I bought back in the 90s, seasoned them by cooking bacon in them repeatedly. Still use them a LOT.

Inherited a couple more from Hub's grandmother - she proudly told me they'd never been washed. Ever. 

Grease had built up to a silicone like crust on them. I accepted them gladly though, then burned them off in the fire pit and re-seasoned them.

It may be heavy, but it's hard to beat well seasoned cast iron for daily cooking.


Ahem. And er yes.


Dog tongues make great 'scrapers' for cast iron. *cough* Don't tell my mother.


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## BarbandBadgerandPedro (Apr 3, 2018)

My collection started with my Granpa's fish skillet from his lake cabin. I have no clue how many pieces I have now. Plus I think my Dad has many more; he went to auctions with our friend Mr Griswold. He had the most awesome Griswold Cast Iron collection outside of a museum. My husband thinks they are hernia-inducing when in a collection! but loves to fry on it.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I have a friend in southern Tennessee who could challenge your dad's title. LOL He and I stay in touch on Twitter these days, and anytime he tags me with #castarn, I know he's either cooking and has put pix up on Twitter, or has acquired a new Griswold piece. He thinks my very old, no name pieces that just have the number stamped on them may be old military surplus cast iron - and my grandparents and great uncles/aunts LOVED shopping military surplus in the years after the Korean war. Some of their stuff which I've inherited was so old it was WWII era stuff, so it's possible. I'll probably never know. But man can I cook a pan of cornbread in that stuff. LOL


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

dogpatch said:


> Okay, if you won't I will! Apparently some slang loving Australians use the term to describe the act of playfully holding the covers over their mate's head then letting a stinker go! Lol!
> .


Oh that's right. I forgot that... choice practice, having happily not been in situations with people that would do that!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Well. I'm lamenting the weather forecast. 



Temps will be nice for this time of year, upper 50s/lower 60s during the day, lower 40s at night - perfect sleeping weather!


But thunderstorms Friday night and Saturday morning. The trails will turn to sludge pits... again.


So this weekend, camping is out, ergo cooking with the dutch oven. We're probably going in a wildly different direction and going to go catch a hockey game in Allen, TX and have a date night instead.


I'd rather be camping with my horses and hubs though.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

Ever since this thread started, I've had this goal to master Dutch Oven Pizza! LOL! My first try had to be finished in the kitchen oven, because my planning was bad, and it was too cold and breezy to get the heat up in the Dutch.


But this is last night's accomplishment, and it was noms! I got a 10" stainless steel pizza pan, which fits perfectly in the 12" Dutch. I cheated and put the Dutch in the kitchen oven to preheat at 450 degrees (saved an extra batch of briquets). I decided to use a Lodge cast iron trivet on the bottom to help keep the crust from burning. Then I assembled the pizza and started the coals. I had estimated 34 coals to get a good hot oven, but hedged my bets and started 40. They were ready about 3/4 of the way through the first beer. LOL! We quickly took the Dutch out of the kitchen oven and plopped the tiny pizza in, put the lid on and dashed outside to the Dutch oven table, where I'd spread 15 coals to set the pot on. Oh, there was a small wad of aluminum foil on the rim of the kettle to allow for venting (a trick learned, as the pizza might otherwise get soggy from steam). Then I piled the rest of the coals on top. Ten minutes later, I turned the kettle half a spin, as well as the lid. 



Twenty minutes later, we peaked and the crust looked nearly perfect, but I decided to give it another six minutes...which is why the cheese browned.


Getting the pizza out of the kettle was a two person job, but it eventually slid nicely out of the tipped kettle (with its pan). The crust was perfection!!! And the rest of the pizza was darned good!


Take home lesson was, in mild weather, reduce those coals back to 34. 15 on the bottom was just right. If I did not use the trivet, I would use the 2/3-1/3 method, of cooking the pizza over bottom heat for 2/3 of the cooking time, then take the kettle off the bottom coals for the remaining 1/3 of the cooking time. But this worked great! Proof that you can cook almost anything in a Dutch oven!!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

WOW that is beautiful, @dogpatch!

I got to try my granma and granpa's dutch oven out this weekend. This morning as a matter of fact. Got up at daylight, got the coals going, put my 5 layer casserole together... realized my canned biscuits had exploded in the ice chest and were watery, gluey dough balls, tossed them, used left over bacon from the day before as the 5th layer... and hoped for the best.

VOILA!

Talk about fill you up and stick to your ribs! It was amazing. I think next time I'll increase the eggs - I used 14 fresh (laid three days ago) home grown, free range, adorable chickens' eggs, and they weren't very big... I'll use more eggs, less breakfast sausage next time. Everything else was perfect.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Well, I got to use it again this weekend. Made the same thing as above - didn't follow my dad's advice on how many coals to place where, and used the prescribed amount of 10 on bottom, 14 on the lid - it didn't cook as nicely as it did when my dad had me 'put a few more on top of it... and a few more under it there.... yeah. Now that looks about how momma always did it...."

It was still delicious, just a bit underdone by the time the coals started to cool, so we finished it off on the Coleman stove. Not sure if I started the coals too soon and therefore they'd burned too long before I had everything ready to go in the fire pit at camp, or if the generic briquettes really were smaller than Kingsford... they looked it but I had no Kingsford charcoal on hand to compare. Next time I'll follow my dad's advice.


In the last two weeks I've found out it's not a dutch oven... what I have is called a cowboy skillet, or a spider skillet, or even a chuckwagon skillet. Works the same way except you can't/don't hang it and it has a big long skillet handle. 

So, I've been wanting to use a tripod and cook over an actual fire, but didn't want to pay for a 40-50 dollar tripod. Never see any for sale used, so two weeks ago I googled up how to DIY one. Galvanized electrical conduit was the common denominator in every DIY plan. The way to hold them together and hang your chain for your pot varied considerably.

I called my dad, asked if he had any laying around in the scrap pile at home, said no, but he'd look at work... he sells CAT dozers and they sometimes have scrap metal laying around. Told him I'd like three 60" pieces if he could scounge it up. Explained the DIY I thought I could make work with my skill level. He said he'd bring home the pieces, if he could find some, that evening.

Two hours later he sends me the pictures below (!!!!). He found a 60" piece and a 120" piece thrown in the trash pile on the back part of the dozer shop property. He explained the guys in the shop what he was doing with them, and between him and a fellow that packs in with mules to elk hunt in Colorado, they came up with what you see below.

I have now found a new, never been out of the box Lodge 5qt Dutch Oven, and a used No 12 Dutch Oven with a good bail and nice feet under it so I can hang it or use it in the coals. The No 12 is nasty, gross, has a thick carbon build up and someone left beans it it long enough for them to mold and leave a grey mottled ring around the inside of it. It's going to have to be stripped and reseasoned.

I've been looking at recipes that will be easy to use at camp - simple and easy, not a lot of ingredients, but it's occurred to me my husband adores his fire pit in the back yard. Me? Not a fan, I prefer summer and swimming pools. 

BUT! I can practice my dutch oven cooking in the backyard. I cannot WAIT for that first cold snap to get here!

I've even been gifted a couple of Weber charcoal grill grates - the grill died but the grates were still solid. I'm going to rig them up on chains so they don't tip or go off balance and flip over, have them so I can hang them off the tripod, and then I want to try cooking steaks or chicken, pork chops, whatever, over an open fire/coals.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

AtokaGhosthorse, You are having too much fun!


It's been a GREAT summer in NW Oregon and we're having a Dutch oven cookout every week with such fine weather (until they tell us no recreational fires). Last week was "Rancher's meat pie". Under the very spicy cornbread topping, is a very spicy TexMex beef stew! It was a lengthy recipe, but it came out great! This week I've got a chicken recipe picked out.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

@dogpatch THAT looks gooooood. 



And yes, I'm having too much fun. It's kinda like a new lease on my cooking life, tbh. I'm not a fire pit person, I can only sit and stare at the fire, in the cold, at night, for so long when it's just Hubs and I. Now if we have a gaggle of friends over? That's a different story.


BUT. I think being able to have something 'to do' while sitting around the fire will change my thoughts on it.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> @dogpatch THAT looks gooooood.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


We both get totally engaged on the oven. It's such a novelty. I also am tired of cooking, but the dutch is kind of a tribal experience, like a magic caldron! Lol! What's brewing in there and did I cast the spell correctly? ☺ Funny, cooking with a cast iron pot in the kitchen is just another meal. But outdoors, with primitive fuel, kind of like learning a survival skill.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

dogpatch said:


> We both get totally engaged on the oven. It's such a novelty. I also am tired of cooking, but the dutch is kind of a tribal experience, like a magic caldron! Lol! What's brewing in there and did I cast the spell correctly? ☺ Funny, cooking with a cast iron pot in the kitchen is just another meal. But outdoors, with primitive fuel, kind of like learning a survival skill.



You gotta wonder if it appeals to some old old genetic memory... bonding with your people over food and fire?


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Fired up the old spider skillet this weekend. Tried sliced red potatoes, butter, cheese, salt, pepper, bacon (left over from breakfast) and Concorde brand tater toppings. It was tasty, but. I need to get better at regulating my heat for a longer cook than an initial set of coals can handle.


That said, one of my fellow Atoka Trail Riders was at the Oklahoma Heritage Horses trail ride at Sardis this past weekend. She sent me the picture below. Said they (not her, someone who was there as the camp cook/chuck wagon) cooked over 30 cobblers that day.


I haven't even mastered cooking in one yet, let alone stacking them, but by gollly, I do have a #14, a 12, and a 10. AM GONNAE LARN!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

So, I've learned to make peach cobbler in my dutch ovens! Started with a my Lodge dutch oven in my kitchen oven, then practiced over the weekend at camp. Didn't last long enough at camp to take pictures, so there's a picture of the first cobbler I made (last month). This weekend I used a combination of kingsford coals and coals from the campfire. I've also included a roast chicken and potatoes thing I made in the Lodge (in the house, not at camp), and some camp biscuits which are now a staple of any camping trip.

Been using my grill and tripod to cook over the wood fire and to keep the coffee warm (old picture below, but felt the need to attach it again). I gotta say... cooking over an oak wood fire really imparts a tasty smokiness you don't get from a gas grill at all, and not nearly as much of if you use charcoal.

I have come by a whole case of odds and ends of canned veggies... flour, rice, stuff we NEVER use, ever or don't use in abundance - a friend that gets Indian (Native American) commodities passed them on to me because he gets more than his family can use.

Among them - Canned potatoes. I thought... ew! NO. They've sat in the shop two years, still have a long time before they expire. So I decided to try something this weekend. I sauteed butter and onion with a little garlic powder in it, in my granmas chuck wagon skillet, over the fire. Added two cans of sliced taters, drained. Sauteed and added salt and pepper... then added a can of cream of mushroom soup and half a packet of Potato Toppings. Pulled it out of the fire, set it on top of coals, piled coals on the lid, let it bake for 45 minutes.

IDK if it was just camp food is amazing, no matter what, or what happened there, but holy cow. There wasn't a scrap left. Could have done with half the soup or more potatoes, one or the other, but it was hot, it was soupy, and it was delicious around a campfire on a cold January night. I'll be experimenting more with that one.


One of the things my friend gave me is a HUGE back of baking mix (Like super generic Bisquick) I'm going to make it all up at once and use it to make cut biscuits, freeze them on wax paper on a cookie sheet, then keep them in ziplock bags to take to camp. I'm loving this camp cooking thing.


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## mslady254 (May 21, 2013)

Lodge (I think) makes a lid holder, and you can place the hot coals under the lid holder with the lid upside down on it,,,and fry bacon or sausage on the lid ,,,or anything that doesn't need deep oil to fry...u could sauté onions,etc in a little butter. 

Apologies if this has already been mentioned,,I didn't go back and read all the posts. 

As you've probably discovered, you can make anything in a D.O. that u would cook in a regular oven. I love mine, miss camping and using them. I've stacked, but only two,,,if I ever get back to camping, I will buy a third...lol


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

@mslady254 I actually bought one of those Lodge lid holders. Super handy for more than a lid holder! Best 7.00 I've spent in a long time.


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