Dutch ovens can be used for more than dump cake and the occasional stew. This week’s video discusses how to extend your Dutch oven experience.
Show Notes:
- Set of 12 Disposable Aluminum Dutch Oven Liners (Amazon)
- Parchment Paper Dutch Oven Liners (Amazon)
- Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Camp Dutch Oven (Amazon)
- Lodge Field Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking Cookbook (Amazon)
- Dutch Oven Recipes That Are Perfect for Camping (Article)
- 35 Incredibly Easy Dutch Oven Recipes For Camping (Article)
- How a Dutch oven changed my camping life (Article)
Transcript:
The traditional use for a Dutch oven is over fire with coals, and sometimes suspended on a tripod cooking a stew.
One of the reasons that a Dutch oven is so good is that it provides an even heat, transferring the heat to the entire surface. Once that surface is hot, it stays hot for a long time.
The deep basins on Dutch ovens make them useful for not just stews, but you can take them and put them on a stove top propane grill as well. Once the oven is nice and hot, you can easily use it as a fryer, with oil or to pan fry meats. It’s a nice sturdy surface that can contain the juices and splashes and make cleaning up easier.
And because it retains heat well, you can just put the cover on the top, turn off the heat, and still have a hot meal 20 minutes later.
Using this method I made a simple burrito lunch using the Dutch Oven on a stove top, but you can do this with eggs in the morning as well.
First I put the pre-sliced chicken breasts in the heated Dutch Oven basin to cook the chicken. From there I removed the chicken, covering it with aluminum foil to keep it warm.
In it’s place I put 2 cans of black beans, and a jar of salsa, warming it up. When the bean mixture started to boil I added a generous amount of cheddar cheese, and removed the dutch oven from the stove. Doing this allowed the cheese to melt to the top of the bean mixture while I prepared the tortillas.
Then I took the cover of the Dutch oven, and put it with the inside facing up, and heated the surface. I added a little cooking spray, placed a tortilla on my new cooking surface and began layering some cheese, the cooked chicken and the bean mixture, folded it over, and repeat.
Because the Dutch Oven is pre-seasoned, all I needed to do was scrape out the remainder and wipe with a damp towel to clean up.
This technique is best when you want a way to retain heat, which is why Dutch ovens are so good for stews, and chilis, but not so useful for making pasta, as you need to boil water to get to your end product, and once you are done, don’t need the heat.
The lid cooking method is also great for pizzas and grilled cheese where you are looking to melt. The lid can be used on the stove, or placed directly in the coals with the handle side down. But this is what works for us.
Take what you like and leave the rest, and as we say in Woodbadge, feedback is a gift, leave yours below in the comments, with the hope we can all learn together.
I’m Scoutmaster Dave, and this was other uses for a dutch oven.
