# Dutch Oven Cooking



## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I tried out my fire pit today.




































I need a little more practice but it was good.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Wow!, the food looks great. The carrots look perfect.


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## glazed (Aug 19, 2006)

I wanna bite.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

That looks great! I do have a question though. Did you cook it any on/in the pit or did you use the coals to keep it cooking off to the side(2nd pic)?


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

That looks like a gourmet treat!


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

Next time try to get your wooden shoes in the pic too...


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

yum...no invite?


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Like Terri I'm curious about that second pic. Are those coals on the lid too?

Did you brown the chicken before adding the potato and carrots? What else is there? How long did you cook it?

It looks absolutely scrumptious! (so do those biscuits in the background too)


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## WolfWalksSoftly (Aug 13, 2004)

What no cobler for dessert?


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Good work.

My sister gave me a dutch oven that came in a nostalgic camper that they bought. I offered her fifteen for it and made her mad. She said "I don't want it...they are too heavy and too hard to clean...if you don't take it i'll throw it away."

I took it home and cleaned it up with a Pepsi, oiled it up and put in the oven for a while. It looks as new as the picture above.

I feel sooooo cheap.....


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

LOL I hadn't really planned to do it so the meat was partially frozen when I put it in the dutch oven. I started the fire to get some coals going. I put a shovel full of coals on the bottom then a shovel on top. I would add more as the day went on. I let it cook all day even though I really didn't have to. Later in the afternoon I let the coals go out in the fire pit. The blocks were still hot so I sat the oven in the fire pit to stay warm until we ate. I wish I had thought to put some corn on the cob in there.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

Wow. Good looking meal for sure.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

Looks great . So what will you do differently next time ?


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Well I wished I made the inside of the pit big enough to have a fire and be able to cook on the inside of it for one thing. I need to have more wood ready next time. Seems like I used a lot of wood. It also seems like I seasoned the food enough but when we ate it,it wasn't as much as I thought. I've cooked in the dutch oven one time before and had the samething happen. I need to put more liquid in the pot because it boiled out.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

How often did you have to add coals ?


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I think I added them 2 additional times.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

If you turn the oven 1/4 turn one way and the top 1/4 turn the other way, about every 30 minutes or so it helps to even out the heat some. I think the ratio is one on the bottom to two on top as far as coals are concerned, at least when using charcoal. As always with wood coals, different woods, different amt and time. It is a learn as you go process.

I have a half bro that cooks outside for family meals, I am interested, but got so much wind most of the time I'm fearful of starting a grassfire.

Ed


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

While it was cooking, did you ever clean off the lid and peek inside to see if everything was coming along fine?


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

If you did, I hope you had a good lid lifter. other wise the lid can tip and dump ashes/coals inside. A good lifter will help to balance the lid. Good time to ck is when you turn the pot/lid.

BTW, if you got an old gas cook stove, the burner grates from the stove top make really good trivets to put the lids on while checking the pot, adding ingredients, or serving time. They stay cleaner and don't burn/mar surfaces that way


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

i think you done a great job...i cant wait to cook in mine as i have never cooked in it before.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Yes I did peek in every once in awhile. And no I don't have a good lid lifter. LOL I had this piece of metal with a hook on the end I used. I made sure i moved it real slow and down wind. I'm going to get a lid lifter though.


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

Can't wait to try mine... Post pics of your next batch, please...


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

WolfWalksSoftly said:


> What no cobler for dessert?


That's another thing I need to practice on multi tasking!! I might try that next time then do both at the same time. 

I don't think I'm going to have enough wood laying around. I don't have a lot of trees. One problem I worried about was keeping the fire burning while the chicken cooked. I burnt a lot of wood while the food was cooking just so I would have some when I needed it. It seemed like a waste because a lot turned to ashes. Which I guess I could still use but I wanted coals. I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought if I had a bunch of wood laying around.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

This guy has a lot of good videos about cooking outdoors. His cabin mix is how I made my biscuits.
70TheProfessor - YouTube


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

when i hear people talking about dutch ovens i thought it was something special i have to buy but i do believe it's the same as the old iron pot with cover that i have out in the outside compartment of my motor home. been there for years because i lost the key. i must check it out. mother use to bake beans in it in the old wood stove. ~Georgia.


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

tambo said:


> This guy has a lot of good videos about cooking outdoors. His cabin mix is how I made my biscuits.
> 70TheProfessor - YouTube


Thanks Tambo. Great link. Now I've got more to watch. I will say the Bacon Potato Chowder looks good.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I love that cabin mix. I've made it twice once with crisco and this time I made it with lard. I like the lard better because the biscuits don't crumble. The only thing I have found wrong with them is they are to easy to make so I make them more often. Go to his videos and watch the one about the mix. He well send you a recipe booklet by e-mail upon request.


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## maverickxxx (Jan 25, 2011)

I've became fairly proficient at cooking on outside fires over the last month. I havnt cooked anything in a week or so been to hot an busy


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Here's a good video showing the jest of it.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TRhLLjt_Nw&feature=plcp]Dutch oven chicken - YouTube[/ame]


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

If you make a cobbler, I would get one of those big pans that fit inside the dutch oven and put it on a trivet inside the oven. That would have to be the dickens to clean out otherwise.
Ed


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

That's a great tip Whiterock. I have seen that before but forgot about it.


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## momof2 (Mar 28, 2003)

My dutch oven cooking hasn't went so well... the meat just dried up and I had tons of liquid in it. I did find that a little ash in the food goes unnoticed though... most of the time. I sat mine in the coals and shoveled some on top but my food did not look pretty like yours Tambo. My boston butt could have been used as a rock. I got some practicing to do for sure.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

I love my cooking in my dutch oven. Although I use the coals on the lid method, I bought a tripod and use it to hang the dutch oven over a fire pit. Both ways work...
Cobbler is heavenly!


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## NewGround (Dec 19, 2010)

momof2 said:


> My dutch oven cooking hasn't went so well... the meat just dried up and I had tons of liquid in it. I did find that a little ash in the food goes unnoticed though... most of the time. I sat mine in the coals and shoveled some on top but my food did not look pretty like yours Tambo. *My boston butt* could have been used as a rock. I got some practicing to do for sure.


But I thought you were from Alabama...

Sorry, just could not resist that one, welcome back...


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

We designate two dutch ovens specifically just for desserts. (Don't want cobbler tasting like BBQ!) We don't have a hard time cleaning them either, and what we are usually making has something to do with fruit. Just when we are done dishing out, we put the leftovers into another container, and then pour a kettle of hot water in the dutch oven. We use a long handled pot brush to clean it, and it is a snap.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

bajiay said:


> We designate two dutch ovens specifically just for desserts. (Don't want cobbler tasting like BBQ!)


Oh great bajiay that's all I needed was an excuse to buy some more dutch ovens! We were looking at them at Gander Mountain this past weekend. They had a 20% off sale. I told myself just step away from the cast iron because I thought I had all I needed and didn't really need amy more. Now I got to have some smaller ones for desserts!


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

I've got two campstyle DO's I've yet to use, tambo! Thanks for getting me thinking bout them again. Searched thrift/second hand/antique stores whenever I was where they're at. Never had any luck. Finally bought a chinese knockoff, and last Christmas got a Lodge. Still want a goldie oldie. What is yours?

Your meal looks delish! I feel kinda shamed that I havn't used mine yet. I've used my smoker for most everything...havn't tried a cake yet, but biscuits were good!


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## tailwagging (Jan 6, 2005)

looks good!


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

Mine is a lodge. I love it and saw a video where someone was using the griddle out side on coals. I have one of those too. I may try that for some steaks some time. Little Joe I want to try smoking next. I have never tried that. Any advice on that?


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

I took an interrest in it when I bought a wally world el cheapo combo. It was way less than satisfactory, so I decided to build my own. Did a little internet researching and came up with a small(er) reverse flow smoker. I tried to do it on the cheap, and had about $20 in it when it was finished. No paint,.. just a no frills reverse flow. If you've access to a buzzbox and a torch, I can post some pics to give you an idea of what I did, and what I wish I had done.

I wished I had some words of wisdom for you with smoking? It's a blast to play with, and you can put some smoke to most anything in your imagination, and it'll be good! The only thing I can say is, smokin' doesn't mean smoke. All you want is a very, very faint trail of blue.

Havn't tried any cold smoking yet?


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

No I haven't tried any smoking. Well I take that back I tried on time and caught everything on fire. Grill included. LOL The chips caught on fire. I really been thinking about building some kind of small smoke house. Check this blog out. I'm thinking she use to be a member of HT. 

http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2008/01/building-cold-smoker-smokehouse.html


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

Tambo I think you are correct as I have seen this posted previously when I inquired on HT . Of the cold smoking sets ups I have been studying I liked this one the best.


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

I know whoever she is she is one awesome lady.


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

I haven't been on here since school let out and this is awesome thread Tambo!!! I used to use my old dutch oven on the stove indoors for years but then got a crockpot....I need to get out the do and use it when I am home. I need to make a fire pit too....I haven't done any campfire cooking in years!  but...used to be good at it.


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

tambo said:


> No I haven't tried any smoking. Well I take that back I tried on time and caught everything on fire. Grill included. LOL The chips caught on fire. I really been thinking about building some kind of small smoke house. Check this blog out. I'm thinking she use to be a member of HT.
> 
> Cowgirl's Country Life: Building a cold smoker (smokehouse)


Holy Moly, yeah that woman could make stinkbugs and roly poly's into a meal you'd want to stab your fork into!

She used to post on HT regular, and I checked her blog once in a while. My computer crashed and I didn't have any e-mail addys, and kinda lost track. Thanks for putting this post up! Wish I had a speck of her talent cooking!


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## tambo (Mar 28, 2003)

littlejoe said:


> Wish I had a speck of her talent cooking!


Me too. Her cooking skills and welding skills.


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