Dutch ovens

[Trapper]

If you dont have a dutch oven in your cooking arsenal you are missing out. You cancook everything in a dutch oven you would in your house oven. With a dutch oven you can use charcoal briquettes to to set your oven to 350 for baking.

Lets say you have a 12 inch dutch oven. You would use 24 briquettes, double the number of charcoal to what ever size pot you have. put 16 charcoals on top and 8 on bottom. This will bake anything in the DO at 350 for 45 minutes.

I have cooked all kinds of meals this way. Making cakes come out great. There are some small details that you may want to research before starting but encourage everyone to try it. Camp fires work good too but using charcoal is the easiest way to get started.

 

[old_anorak]

I love my dutch ovens. The disposable pie tins and round foil cake tins work great in the dutch ovens when you're baking a pie or whatnot. Flip it over and bake cookies in the dutch oven as well.

 

[realisticdude]

Wife loves her dutch oven , and i love what comes out of it ,esp a whole baked chicken with carrots and new red taters.

 

[Overlord]

In the provinces, they use something similar to a dutch oven when cooking "bibingka" which is a rice cake with butter, cheese, and salted egg.

The have a claypot at the bottom with holes which will handle the charcoal, then a container placed on top which will hold the food. On top of this, a piece of GI Sheet shaped like a container to hold the top layer of charcoal and this is placed on top of the food container.

A little improvement on the design would make the oven more efficient.

 

[Dani]

Looks interesting. I know my Dutch Oven weighs quit a bit so I only want to take one along if I drove or had a pack animal in the event of having to go to another location. That looks a bit bulker with the clay pot base added, but wonder how it weighs in comparison?

 

[Overlord]

The one in the picture actually uses a cement oven. An alternative is to have a small barbecue grill (metal).

 

[Deadly dave]

They are so versatile all preppers and campers should have one I reckon

 

[Overlord]

You can actually build a dutch oven on the ground. All you'll need are 2 steel/aluminum basins or cooking trays, a flat sheet of metal slightly smaller than the wire grill, a wire grill that can cover the lower basin. Dig a hole in the ground so that the larger lower basin is recessed. This is needed to protect the charcoal from the moist soil. By also putting it in the ground, most of the heat is directed upwards.

Put the lighted charcoal in it. Put the wiregrill on top then the flat sheet metal where you would put your food. Then cover this with the smaller cooking tray.

If you are using cooking trays, you can also put hot charcoal on top. This will give you warmth and at the same time, cook your food.

I did this at the farm (my BOL) one time when I wanted to bake some chicken for the family. We didn't have an oven there.

Hope you like it. Forgive the crude drawing

 

[Evolon73]

You can actually build a dutch oven on the ground. All you'll need are 2 steel/aluminum basins or cooking trays, a flat sheet of metal slightly smaller than the wire grill, a wire grill that can cover the lower basin. Dig a hole in the ground so that the larger lower basin is recessed. This is needed to protect the charcoal from the moist soil. By also putting it in the ground, most of the heat is directed upwards.

Put the lighted charcoal in it. Put the wiregrill on top then the flat sheet metal where you would put your food. Then cover this with the smaller cooking tray.

If you are using cooking trays, you can also put hot charcoal on top. This will give you warmth and at the same time, cook your food.

I did this at the farm (my BOL) one time when I wanted to bake some chicken for the family. We didn't have an oven there.

Hope you like it. Forgive the crude drawing
View attachment 1217

LOVE this! Thanks

 

[DrHenley]

LOL! and I wondered why it was called a Dutch OVEN. We used ours as a cast iron stock pot for big batches of chili and Brunswick stew, and as a deep fryer.

Nice to know it can really be used as an oven. Now I have to try to bake something in it!

 

[Dani]

LOL! and I wondered why it was called a Dutch OVEN. We used ours as a cast iron stock pot for big batches of chili and Brunswick stew, and as a deep fryer.

Nice to know it can really be used as an oven. Now I have to try to bake something in it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_oven

interesting question, so I need to check

During the late 17th century, the Dutch system of producing these cast metal cooking vessels was more advanced than the English system. The Dutch used dry sand to make their molds, giving their pots a smoother surface. Consequently, metal cooking vessels produced in the Netherlands were imported into Britain. In 1704, an Englishman named Abraham Darby decided to go to the Netherlands to observe the Dutch system for making these cooking vessels. Four years later, back in England, Darby patented a casting procedure similar to the Dutch process and began to produce cast-metal cooking vessels for Britain and her new American colonies. Thus the term “Dutch oven” has endured for over 300 years, since at least 1710.

I love my Dutch oven and often take it camping with us since you can practically cook everything in it, including cakes.

 

[sharkbait]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_oven

interesting question, so I need to check

During the late 17th century, the Dutch system of producing these cast metal cooking vessels was more advanced than the English system. The Dutch used dry sand to make their molds, giving their pots a smoother surface. Consequently, metal cooking vessels produced in the Netherlands were imported into Britain. In 1704, an Englishman named Abraham Darby decided to go to the Netherlands to observe the Dutch system for making these cooking vessels. Four years later, back in England, Darby patented a casting procedure similar to the Dutch process and began to produce cast-metal cooking vessels for Britain and her new American colonies. Thus the term “Dutch oven” has endured for over 300 years, since at least 1710.

I love my Dutch oven and often take it camping with us since you can practically cook everything in it, including cakes.

LOL,I had no idea either,we have one,but it's really only ever been used like DrHenley described,great for big batches of chili,soups,stews etc.Good info Trapper and Danil54grl.You both taught this old dog a some new tricks to try.

 

[Kenprep1979]

If you dont have a dutch oven in your cooking arsenal you are missing out. You cancook everything in a dutch oven you would in your house oven. With a dutch oven you can use charcoal briquettes to to set your oven to 350 for baking.

Lets say you have a 12 inch dutch oven. You would use 24 briquettes, double the number of charcoal to what ever size pot you have. put 16 charcoals on top and 8 on bottom. This will bake anything in the DO at 350 for 45 minutes.

I have cooked all kinds of meals this way. Making cakes come out great. There are some small details that you may want to research before starting but encourage everyone to try it. Camp fires work good too but using charcoal is the easiest way to get started.

dutch oven might be a little more weight then i want in my BOB or GHB but yea if your planning to pack heavy and rough it for a long period of time a dutch oven would be awsome.

 

[Evolon73]

dutch oven might be a little more weight then i want in my BOB or GHB but yea if your planning to pack heavy and rough it for a long period of time a dutch oven would be awsome.

I agree. Definitely too much for BOB or GHB. But stashed at a Bug-out location. Or handy at a bug-in during a grid down event! Right up there with solar cooking imo.

 

[Clyde]

If you dont have a dutch oven in your cooking arsenal you are missing out. You can cook everything in a dutch oven you would in your house oven. With a dutch oven you can use charcoal briquettes to to set your oven to 350 for baking.

Lets say you have a 12 inch dutch oven. You would use 24 briquettes, double the number of charcoal to what ever size pot you have. put 16 charcoals on top and 8 on bottom. This will bake anything in the DO at 350 for 45 minutes.

I have cooked all kinds of meals this way. Making cakes come out great. There are some small details that you may want to research before starting but encourage everyone to try it. Camp fires work good too but using charcoal is the easiest way to get started.

Yes, lugging one is not practical, but I would make sure I have for where ever I will find myself on a more permanent basis. I had no clue you could use charcoal briquettes in one!

 

[Hippophibia]

Yeah, cooking with wood is a necessity when the grid goes down. Dutch oven can be built just with some clay and sticks, very popular with early settlers in South Africa. There are some you-tube videos on this.
Where is the doomsday pizzzzza!

 

[Evolon73]

Yeah, cooking with wood is a necessity when the grid goes down. Dutch oven can be built just with some clay and sticks, very popular with early settlers in South Africa. There are some you-tube videos on this.
Where is the doomsday pizzzzza!

Mmm..... Doomsday pizzaaaah....Doh!

 

[Cavemanjoe]

We're still looking for a Dutch Oven, E-bay or Amazon will not ship to the Philippines??
any suggestions anyone, new or used, anything ?? Joe

 

[Trapper]

If possible try to get an older Wagner (pre 1990), Griswold or Lodge. Anything else is made in China and is of questionable metal content.
Being in the Philippines I believe finding an older DO would be next to impossible.
Perhaps you know someone in the US that can ship you one...

 

[Overlord]

CavemanJoe, you are from the Philippines too. I am from Makati. Dutch ovens are not that common in the Philippines. we can actually have these made.