Suggestions on 1st Camp Dutch Oven?

[46Kit]

Well, DF, even though your new Dutch Oven is "factory seasoned" I'd suggest that you give it a good wash and season it again yourself before cooking in it. The factory seasoning is a good pre-sale rust inhibitor and not a PITA to clean off like the wax coating they used to use for new cast iron, but as far as a cooking surface it seems a little light to me. Wash it, oil it, bake it and you'll be glad for the extra layer of carbon on your first cook!

Regards-HW

[DragonFire]

I'm looking for something fairly foolproof... I have some blackberries so maybe I'll try a cobbler. Just looking for something easy and cheap so if I burn it or it doesn't cook right it's not terrible if I have to throw it out!!

I read that I should season my preseasoned lodge DO. What did you all do? I'll be doing CI seasoning tomorrow.

[bobhenry]

My very first meal in my brand new dutch oven was an english roast seared and then slow cooked with carrots potatoes and onions. I added canned beef broth and beef mushroom gravy. It was a big hit.



If you plan on baking in a brand new lodge I would suggest you locate some foil dutch oven liners. ( Kind of a giant muffin paper ).

The new lodges are a bit rough and it may invite sticking and clean up is oh, so much easier with a toss away liner.

My thoughts would lead me to a pork roast and perhaps a small beef round cooked together with a bit of water in the pan. Slow cook it to falling apart and shred both and add your favorite BBQ sauce for pulled pork/beef BBQ. (In my opinion pork bbq is too greasy and beef bbq is too dry but the combination is wonderful)


I have found that pork and bacon have a way with helping to further season the cast iron

[DragonFire]

I was looking at the Camp DO Cooking 101 book included with my DO and saw a recipe for DO potatoes. You line the bottom of the DO with bacon, cook til half cooked add yellow onions, sliced, and sliced potatoes. Cook as directed for 45 min with salt and pepper. Melt cheese over top.

Can I do this with the DO lined with foil until I can have liners shipped? Or just cook it straight and clean the mess? I will season the DO first, so maybe it will be a little easier?

The cheesy potato wedges sounded good too, but no bacon. I could always do the bacon like the first recipe then add the other things, using the bacon fat rather than butter as lube.

Suggestions??

[46Kit]

The liner suggestion was if you were going to bake bread or pastry straight away in your new DO, savory dishes = no liner.

The seasoning is basically built up layers of carbonized fat (animal or plant) that makes a natural non-stick surface. On an old and well used piece of cast iron you can cook anything and it will have little effect on the seasoning, but in my experience younger/newer cast iron seasoning does not stand up so well to highly acidic recipes. So I would avoid dishes with a lot of tomatoes or other tangy fruits, at least initially.

I think it's also very important to clean and oil your cast iron ASAP after cooking. My wife was fond of frying something up in my stove top DO and waiting until the next morning (or the one after that...) to clean it up. I found out the hard way that a coat of cooking residue (even pork fat!) will loosen up and remove your nice seasoning if you leave it sit too long... Now she's not allowed to use MY cast iron unsupervised!!

I think you ought to break in your new camp DO with some savoury roasted dishes. Stuff that's going to put animal or plant fat in contact with your cast iron in a dryer environment. Wait until you get a bit of a layer built up before braising or stewing as the young seasoning doesn't seem to like a lot of moisture, either.

I'm sure there are a bunch of folks here with way more cast iron cooking experience than me, but these are some to the things I've noticed over the years...

Regards-HW

[DragonFire]

This may be a silly question but how about pork chops as a first dish? Any suggestions on that? I have some thick boneless chops (probably pork loin) I could put in there if it's ok...

[hazelc]

I am a onsie when it comes to DO. That is I'm by myself. So. what size should I get for my camp site?

Hazel

[honeask]

Hazel, welcome first of all. We have 5 DOs and it is two of us. Seems for a main dish we always go with the 12" but we use the 10" and 8" more and more. I am still a novice but as a woman thinking about cooking I would at least buy the 10" DO. It's not as heavy and gives you some room in it. Just my opinion.

[campmaster-k]

Anything you can bake in the oven at home you can throw in one of those black pots, and its perfect. We like to butterfly open a pork tenderloin and pound it out real flat. fill it with a line of cornbread stuffing and right next to it a line of dried apricots chopped up with walnuts. Roll it up real tight. Greeez it with bacon or ovoo and loads of garlic and salt. 6 bricks on bottom 12 on top. 40 - 45 min pure heaven. Serve with a little Yoshida Sauce. Ok alot of Yoshida - hey were camping right! No diet food.

For extra effect take out the roll and cut rounds the colors are awesome. Then just go ahead and put a big pat of butter on each round. Oh yea!

Liners for camp dutch oven are for sissies.

[Maureenm]

Yum! Think I'll try that one!

[DragonFire]

I just checked the DO and......I did it!! I cooked chicken, rice, mushroom soup, chicken broth, white wine, greek yogurt, spices!! It's just finishing up now...I just turned and stirred...and tasted fantastic!!!! Wow!! I cooked in a DO!!!!

I can't believe it turned out like this! Amazing!!! And when I stirred it didn't seem like I would have a huge mess, either!!


This group is so fun...now I just need *someone* to be convinced I'm the right person for his Grasshopper....please think good thoughts for my "new" teardrop-type trailer......

[campmaster-k]

To really get the feel of the Camp Dutch Oven ( ones with Legs), you need to get yourself to a Dutch Oven Cookoff. Many teams cook all different kinds of dishes. Then they sell tasting tickets. You can try 30 or 40 dishes for around 5 bucks. Once you see all of the artistry being cooked in the black pots you will be hooked. Buy all the Dutch Oven Cook Books you can afford. There are also many you tube vids on DO s.

[DragonFire]

Thanks for the tip! I'll google the cookoffs...

And I'll start looking for more books. I still can't believe how good the chicken was! I'm thinking of adapting some of my regular recipes for the DO. I cook pork chops on the stove..dredge them in shake n bake, brown them, and put water in the pan and cover...and simmer for at least an hour. Then make gravy from what's left in the pan. Makes the chops nice and tender..and moist. The DO did that with the chicken, so I'm thinking of doing the same with chops tomorrow! I have some marinating now that I was going to grill, but maybe I'll do rice and white beans and more BBQ sauce and chops with plenty of water..some spices...onion...beer?...hmmm...

[DragonFire]

Look what I found!!! Right in my own backyard (well, almost!!)

http://ccdoa.webs.com/eventscalendar.htm

I'm going to check these guys out!!!

Thanks again for the tips...T&TTT is such a great board! Full of wonderful people!!

[DragonFire]

at it again...rice, blacked eyed peas in a can, 2 marinated pork loin chops in BBQ sauce. I'll add onion, beer, maybe some chipotle adobo sauce, and cook away!!

I've got the coals heating now!!!

FYI...I did see a made in China DO at Winco this afternoon....probably a 10"..didn't measure it...for $30.

They don't sell parchment paper there FYI.

I would still go with the Amazon.com Preseasoned Lodge 12" DO for $50 and free shipping. I'm trying to get all my friends hooked on the DO!!