By popular demand.
If you have a wood stove or intend to use it in the great outdoors, you're already ahead of the game. I'd keep Pyrex on the range top or in the oven as it's fragile, but it has advantages over cast iron. It's awesome at making bread, cake, and those giant 1" thick cookies!, that and You don't have to season it before you store it!
Speaking of seasoning, let's cover that first!
Wash and scour the oven, then place your oven and lid over any constant source of heat and heat it up so that if you touch it, you're burned! Now, there is some controversy about the next step. I use corn oil because it's easiest, and I don't have to melt anything, but granny swore by unsalted lard, Mother used butter, My other granny said they were stupid and used cottonseed or sunflower oil because by her logic it was light and seeped into the pores of the iron, but it smoked something horrible and made your house smell like roasted peanuts! But anyway, use a clean, unused paintbrush to paint on the seasoning of your choice, remove from heat, and let it half-cool, return it to the heat and repeat, then using an "S" hook or lid grabber and let cool. It is now ready for a winter of service!
I would be remiss if I left out Uncle Fred's method, build a hardwood fire and turn it upside down on the live coals.
Now, to the fun stuff! Your Dutch oven is your great granny's crock pot! Anything you can do in a crock pot, you can do in a Dutch oven! Now, being honest here, from October to mid-March, my Dutch oven rarely left the top of my wood stove and when I went to the woods, it seldom left the cooking rack! It was the go-to for always having a warm bite to eat! When I was home, I always had some variety of beans, black eyed peas, or soup going on the cool side of the stove. on occasion, I'd flatten a chicken, wrap it in foil on top of a piece of granite countertop to keep it from burning, and steam-roast a chicken or Cornish hen. A 6"X6" piece is plenty big, and they're free at the local counter shop! Let's check out some tools you might not have before we cook. No worries, anyone with a torch and a vice can make them. The "S" hook is pretty much what it sounds like. Using a piece of 1/2" X 12" rebar, sharpen one end like a screwdriver to get it under the bail easier and then bend it into an "S" shape. The lid hook is simpler, a 1/2" X12" piece of the same rebar with a point ground onto the end to lift the lid. DO NOT TRY TO CARRY THE OVEN USING THE LID HOOK! You'll spill dinner and probably get some 3rd degree burns, so DON'T!
A fire ring if you use it on the stove top to help reduce sticking and burning. I had mine made at a steel shop out of 8" X 2" steel pipe, but many made for Woks are just fine. A good set of cookout tools come in handy, too.
Before we get to recipes, one last thing: never, EVER pour water into or over a hot Dutch oven! We were caught in a sudden downpour once, and it rained so hard that it burst our Dutch oven! If you have to add liquid, preheat it or pour it into the middle while stirring. It might take an extra step, but it's better than looking at a century-old family heirloom with an irreparable crack and your dinner leaking into the fire! that's enough about tools and safety, I think; time to dig up my cookbook.
If you have a wood stove or intend to use it in the great outdoors, you're already ahead of the game. I'd keep Pyrex on the range top or in the oven as it's fragile, but it has advantages over cast iron. It's awesome at making bread, cake, and those giant 1" thick cookies!, that and You don't have to season it before you store it!
Speaking of seasoning, let's cover that first!
Wash and scour the oven, then place your oven and lid over any constant source of heat and heat it up so that if you touch it, you're burned! Now, there is some controversy about the next step. I use corn oil because it's easiest, and I don't have to melt anything, but granny swore by unsalted lard, Mother used butter, My other granny said they were stupid and used cottonseed or sunflower oil because by her logic it was light and seeped into the pores of the iron, but it smoked something horrible and made your house smell like roasted peanuts! But anyway, use a clean, unused paintbrush to paint on the seasoning of your choice, remove from heat, and let it half-cool, return it to the heat and repeat, then using an "S" hook or lid grabber and let cool. It is now ready for a winter of service!
I would be remiss if I left out Uncle Fred's method, build a hardwood fire and turn it upside down on the live coals.
Now, to the fun stuff! Your Dutch oven is your great granny's crock pot! Anything you can do in a crock pot, you can do in a Dutch oven! Now, being honest here, from October to mid-March, my Dutch oven rarely left the top of my wood stove and when I went to the woods, it seldom left the cooking rack! It was the go-to for always having a warm bite to eat! When I was home, I always had some variety of beans, black eyed peas, or soup going on the cool side of the stove. on occasion, I'd flatten a chicken, wrap it in foil on top of a piece of granite countertop to keep it from burning, and steam-roast a chicken or Cornish hen. A 6"X6" piece is plenty big, and they're free at the local counter shop! Let's check out some tools you might not have before we cook. No worries, anyone with a torch and a vice can make them. The "S" hook is pretty much what it sounds like. Using a piece of 1/2" X 12" rebar, sharpen one end like a screwdriver to get it under the bail easier and then bend it into an "S" shape. The lid hook is simpler, a 1/2" X12" piece of the same rebar with a point ground onto the end to lift the lid. DO NOT TRY TO CARRY THE OVEN USING THE LID HOOK! You'll spill dinner and probably get some 3rd degree burns, so DON'T!
A fire ring if you use it on the stove top to help reduce sticking and burning. I had mine made at a steel shop out of 8" X 2" steel pipe, but many made for Woks are just fine. A good set of cookout tools come in handy, too.
Before we get to recipes, one last thing: never, EVER pour water into or over a hot Dutch oven! We were caught in a sudden downpour once, and it rained so hard that it burst our Dutch oven! If you have to add liquid, preheat it or pour it into the middle while stirring. It might take an extra step, but it's better than looking at a century-old family heirloom with an irreparable crack and your dinner leaking into the fire! that's enough about tools and safety, I think; time to dig up my cookbook.
