Anybody cook outdoors in a dutch oven? UPDATE!

[Collector]

Great tip Lvvchap great tip. I have always wondered how to figure out how much heat to use, and where to put it. Hoodat the glass top range I am not a fan of at all. We also have a cast iron griddle that fits over two burners that works great if it is heated properly. Of course you cannot use it with the glass top. I havnt figured out what makes them better than the conventional range top yet .

 

[hoodat]

Great tip Lvvchap great tip. I have always wondered how to figure out how much heat to use, and where to put it. Hoodat the glass top range I am not a fan of at all. We also have a cast iron griddle that fits over two burners that works great if it is heated properly. Of course you cannot use it with the glass top. I havnt figured out what makes them better than the conventional range top yet .

The only advantages I see is that they are easier to clean and have a more attractive look but I never saw a stove as a decorative item myself.

 

[sheaviance1]

I have two dutch ovens that go on every camping trip that we take during the year. I absolutely love mine! Basically, cook anything in it that you would bake or roast in your oven at home. I have a chart (for charcoal) that makes a good guideline for how much heat you are building inside, but I use wood coals from the campfire. Trial and error has taught me that you want twice as many coals on the lid as you have under it. I refresh the coals about every 15-20 minutes to keep an even temperature inside the oven. I have baked pineapple upside down cake, roasted a deer roast with potatoes, onions, carrots, baked a chicken and several other meals in mine. I haven't used it for beans yet, but plan to when we go on our big 10 day trip this summer. You would be amazed at how wonderful a pineapple upside down cake smells when you pull the lid off while camping! I've had people on boats come up to shore to ask me what's for dinner

 

[thistlebloom]

Hey, thanks sheaviance! I'm really looking forward to using mine, but it needs to be seasoned so I'm waiting for warmer weather so I can open the house windows and blow the smoke outside. Pineapple upside down cake sounds spectacular!

 

[wsmoak]

I used to use one in Oklahoma when we were burning big brush piles. After they burned down into coals I would pour cornbread batter into a dutch oven and completely bury it in the coals. In 20 minutes the cornbread was done to perfection.

We are always burning brush and trees we've cleared (the nasty stuff that can't be used for firewood like swamp elm and sweet gum) and I've often wanted to toss some baked potatoes in there. Such a waste of thermal energy!

-Wendy

 

[Smiles Jr.]

When I was growing up (a million years ago) my sister, brother, and I were responsible, among a gazillion other things, for raking the leaves in the fall. We also had to pick up ALL of the sticks and twigs in the yard. My father would set out our old beat-up rocket stove and mom would make what she called Mulligan Stew in her big Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Us kids would feed the little sticks and twigs into the rocket stove all day long and just before nightfall we would sit down to a wonderful meal.

Mom used that gigantic Dutch Oven many times when there were guests over for dinner. I don't think I could even lift the thing until I was 10 years old.

We also used the rocket stove for processing the maple sap at this time of year. In fact, I think that's what Dad built it for.

 

[thistlebloom]

What's a rocket stove smiles?

 

[HunkieDorie23]

Alton Brown, on Good Eats, had a show with dutch ovens at least once. You could go to www.foodnetwork.com and look some of them up. I remember when the boys were in Scouts they would make cherry cobbler in a dutch oven on camp outs but no idea how they did it.

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks hunkie I'll do that!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

What's a rocket stove smiles?

A rocket stove is a cooking or heating device which is usually home made out of some type of fireproof pipe. My dad built ours many years ago (1946???) out of clay pipe and an asbestos mud. It was built into the ground along side our barn. He had some kind of cast iron grate on top to place cooking utensils upon.

I have a home made one that my grandson and I built several years ago and it works very well. They burn small sticks and require lots of "feeding" the firebox. It takes a while to learn how to control the flame intensity by the amount of sticks you put into the burner opening. I would highly recommend that everyone try to build one as it is very easy.

There are many websites that show how to make them and also many videos on youtube. Some of the stoves are built to be mass heaters that heat homes. Try GOOGLE.

You can look at one design here . . . http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...a=X&ei=DptlTd6WDc6jtgec2PnTBg&ved=0CEAQ9QEwAQ