Dutch Oven originally uploaded by Ryan McLean
First to cover last week’s poll… A big congratulations go out to “Martha Washington” for her winning essay about why she loves to hate Burnsville! I want to again thank everyone who submitted essays as well as those of you that voted for a winner. MW, I will be in touch with you via the e-mail you have provided about getting the award to you.
This week’s poll is about baking in Dutch ovens. We have had two Dutch ovens for quite some time but up until this weekend had not found the time to put them to any use. Josh, Kim and I went camping in Rice County and I decided to drag the heavy contraption along. I loved cooking and baking in them as a kid in Scouts and I really want to get back into it. I know you can do some really cool shit in Dutch ovens and figure what better way to get good at it but to try it myself.
Do you or have you ever used a Dutch oven for baking? If so, what are some of your favorite recipes? I have tasted everything from peach cobbler to donuts (which we made last night) and have heard of people doing everything from pizza to fresh baked bread right in their campsites. If you have any recipes you are particularly fond of please share them below! If you haven’t used a Dutch oven, why? Is the preparation and maintenance of them too much work? Perhaps you had no idea the ovens could be so versatile?
Have You Ever Used a Dutch Oven?
- Yes (43.0%, 13 Votes)
- Only the one in my bed (30.0%, 9 Votes)
- No (27.0%, 8 Votes)
Total Voters: 30
Loading ...Whatever you have to say about baking/cooking in a Dutch oven go ahead and comment on and let us know and then be sure to check out our expired polls in the archive or read through the previous posts about polls here.
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June 14th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
1. I am jealous of your camping.
2. I am jealous of your dutch ovens.
June 14th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
dmh, to really rub it in, I’m going camping several more times this summer and I’m committed to cooking every single meal in the Dutch oven at least one of those times.
Here are some Dutch oven recipes which I thought looked particularly tasty. Google FTW.
June 14th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I just got back from camping. We made cinnamon rolls in the DO yesterday morning. I havnt tried doughnuts yet but it is on my list. A couple of my favorites:
* Lasagne – use your favorite recipe. Use the no-boil noodles, layer it up and let it set
* Mountain Man breakfast –
1lb breakfast sausage
1 bag (about 2lb) hash browns, thawed
1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
1 doz eggs
optional – 1 small onion, salsa
Brown the sausage. Add the hashbrowns to the sausage, mix and brown the hash browns in the sausage grease. Scramble the eggs, mix in about half of the cheese and pour over the sausage/hash browns. Bake for 30-45 minutes till the eggs are done. Add the rest of the cheese to the top and bake a bit longer to melt.
If you use charcoal instead of wood coals, try the “ring method” to get the temperature right. It is way easier than remembering how many briquettes to use for a given temperature and given size of DO. Link to ring method description: http://www.lsdos.com/outdoor.html
June 14th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
We used them regularly when I was in Scouts. You’re right; there’s a lot you can do with them.
Of course, I’d only use one when car camping. Way too much weight for backpacking or canoeing.
June 14th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
I made an excellent pork roast in one when camping. Slow and low is the key. Pork + veggies + seasoning. Coals around the oven and on top, but never under. cook for an hour and a half to two hours. Tasty.
I use my dutch oven at home all the time. I made pulled pork today and there is no reason you couldn’t do it camping. I make BBQ pulled chicken and BBQ beef it it too all the time. Stews and soups and chili are also good. Or you can roast a chicken in it.
I don’t bake in it though. Basically because I don’t bake. I know a lot of people who make bread in them.
June 14th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
WC: Thanks for that excellent link. I’ve been reading entirely too much about these things and I really like the ring idea. BTW, glad to see you back here and posting ;-)
Tim: I haven’t backpacked in years (although I’d love to go) and don’t even have the gear anymore. The campsite we’ve used now twice this summer is a walk-in but we still lug the crap in over several trips. Going Friday through Sunday made it much better and worth dragging the DO. Next time we do this, using the same site, it’s going to be a real bitch to drag both DOs!
Kassie: Thanks for the quick and easy instructions, my kind of recipes (seasoning, stuff, meat, cook) :-)
June 14th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
We’ve done quite a lot of dutch oven baking and cooking with the scounts. Our troop won a dutch oven cookoff a few years ago with chocolate yeast bread and irish soda bread. You pretty much just preheat the oven with the prescribed number of coals on top and bottom, then just plunk in your shaped and raised dough. A giant stainless steel bowl is useful for mixing bread while camping.
I use it at home in the oven for No Knead Bread (book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day)
A dutch oven is great for deep-frying at home – it maintains the heat of the oil better on home stoves. Tip for testing the oil temp – put in a popcorn kernal and when it pops the oil is right for frying just about anything.
June 15th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I seem to remember there being a very popular bread recipe floating around the internet recently (No-Knead Bread perhaps? It’s not the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) that is supposed to be cooked in a dutch oven.
I don’t have one, so I haven’t tried it, which makes me sad.
Since we don’t have a dutch oven, I like a cast iron skillet for camping. Mmmm, biscuits and gravy….
June 15th, 2009 at 8:19 am
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June 15th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
i, not we, i use cast iron all the time. three dutch ovens, two 6qt and one 3 qt, and four frying pans from 12″ to 8″. corn bread, soups, stews, pot pies, fish and on and on. there’s a book in the dummy series called “cast iron cooking for dummies” that has many recipes to try. so does chef paul prudhomme.
one of my fave’s is boneless ribs. you can do it in a day, but i prefer to start the night before by soaking the ribs in bbq sauce overnight. the next day i’ll season and sear them on the grill putting them back in the do making sure there’s plenty of bbq sauce otherwise they’ll dry out :( keeping the grill going, i’ll cut the temp down to around 250 for at least 4 to 6 hours. if it’s windy outside that can be tricky. some beanz, corn on the cob, tater salad equals heaven on earth! and just maybe, a beverage of an adult nature!! or two.
bb
June 15th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
I’ve got one up at the lake that we never use. Hmmmmm makes you wonder.
June 15th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Yeah, Kelly, the Arrtisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day IS the No Knead Bread – it was everywhere for a while; the Strib, NYTimes, Gourmet and Vogue Magazines, Rose Levy Berenbaum’s website, etc etc etc. The Artisan book people claim they invented it and so does some guy in NYC.
Ditto the biscuits and gravy. I committed sacrilige (spelling?) recently and put cheddar, bacon, garlic, and onions into the biscuit dough. My grandmother is probably spinning, but it was really good.
We own about a dozen iron skillets and use them almost exclusively.
June 15th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Yeah, Kelly, the Arrtisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day IS the No Knead Bread – it was everywhere for a while; the Strib, NYTimes, Gourmet and Vogue Magazines, Rose Levy Berenbaum’s website, etc etc etc. The Artisan book people claim they invented it and so does some guy in NYC.
Ditto the biscuits and gravy. I committed sacrilige (spelling?) recently and put cheddar, bacon, garlic, and onions into the biscuit dough. My grandmother is probably spinning, but it was really good.
June 15th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
hm..m..note to self: Don’t lean on the laptop.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:11 am
sandy, that’s ok for us oldsters! it takes a bit to sank in.
what’s your biscuit recipe?
bb
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 am
[...] week’s poll about using Dutch Ovens was a close one with a small majority of you saying that you have indeed used them. There were some [...]