Dutch Oven Cooking

[Danoinark]

I just bought my first Dutch Oven and now have it seasoned, but have not cooked anything yet. I do have another older "bean pot" dutch oven (no place for coals on the lid) and have used that for fish fries, beans, etc. Now I want to start using both of them... And I'm sure I'll add more to the collection as I go.

So, any of you "obsessed" with dutch oven cooking? Anyone know of any DOGs coming up? Anyone a member of IDOC? Anyone want to get together and have a cookout? Any tips? Any recipes?

Sure man, fire that thing up and I will hurry on up to taste the fruits of your labor....

[Danoinark]

I've had one for years but all I ever do is cobbler and biscuits.

Wrench, I'll show you how to do some biscuits on Saturday. It's super easy.

I'll take a few of them biscuits myself there Ronnie....

[ness]

Yeah, it's all about the heat regulation. When you're just starting out, it's easy to overdo it. The oven is a large store of heat, so once it's up to temp you don't need to keep adding more and more heat.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Done it for decades and I think I have 5 CI and 2 AL from 5" to a deep 12". They aren't complicated unless you make them so. Start with the old standard briquette count and adjust accordingly if needed.

The key to biscuits for me is actually treating the DO like an oven. If you cook the biscuits off the bottom in a biscuit pan and at the right temp, they aren't hard to make.

Terry I would avoid chili or anything with tomatoes in it until its heavily seasoned. The easiest way to speed up the seasoning is to set the oiled oven in a time bake oven for 1 hour at 375. Do this overnight so that the smell isn't noticable and the oven can do a long cool down. I do this 8-10 times even while I'm using the oven. You can't have too much seasoning. NEVER wash it with anything but hot water, and a plastic scour pad if needed. A dish brush is more than enough most of the time.

[Wheatenheimer]

NEVER wash it with anything but hot water, and a plastic scour pad if needed. A dish brush is more than enough most of the time.

I reserve the right for my own hippie self!

Well seasoned, I am!

[Njardar]

Here's a link you might find interesting: http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/

[Wayne SW/MO]

I reserve the right for my own hippie self!

Well seasoned, I am!

So I've heard.:lol:

[Gilly]

Here's a link you might find interesting: http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/

My wife and I have been involved with Scouting for a lot of years, both of our sons are Eagle Scouts. I was a scoutmaster for years, my wife and I still are committee members. Some of the best cooking experiences we had and still have are Dutch oven. Even at home I'll fire up the grill and put the Dutch oven in it...... just because.

I use to challenge the scouts and we'd have a cooking campout, Dutch ovens and cardboard box cooking were the only allowed 'appliances'. Some of those meals were darn good.

(Another way to clean an oven when you need to be a bit more aggressive is with salt.)

[Gavin]

Thinking of adding a reflector oven...3-4lbs v 20lbs...but heres the link to Byron's Dutch Oven Page...good stuff here.

http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/

[ness]

Thinking of adding a reflector oven...3-4lbs v 20lbs...but heres the link to Byron's Dutch Oven Page...good stuff here.

http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/

Yeah -- those are pretty cool. Camped with a guy that had one that was about 30 years old. Great weight savings, simple design, worked like a charm. Have you got a lead on them?

Biggest downside with a DO is the weight (but, the biggest benefit to cooking).