Cooking on a Fire

[ppine]

Tom,
Indoor Dutch Ovens have no legs and a domed lid. They designed to be used on a stove.
Outdoor Dutch Ovens have legs and flat lid with a ridge around it. They are designed to be used on the ground next to a fire. Don't put a Dutch Oven in or on a fire. Aussieguy has it right. Too much heat.

Allow your cooking fire to burn down somewhat to create some coals. They do not have be glowing red. Put some on the ground and place your DO on it but not next to the fire. Add some coals on top of the lid.

Learn some patience. It is not like frying. A lot dishes can be cooked in 30 to 60 minutes. A pot roast or buffalo roast is best with low heat, some moisture and longer cooking times.

Some people like charcoal. I like wood because I never run out and don't have count anything. No need for tripods, grills, gloves, charcoal starters, trivets or a lot of other extraneous crap. You need a shovel, a DO and something to lift the lid and pot with. Water pump pliers work fine, a hay hook. I like a pot lifter but it is not necessary.

Butch Welch used to say "If you can't smell it, then it is not done. If you can smell it, then it is done. If it smells burnt, you over cooked it." At first people use too much heat and incinerate things.

Start with an easy dish you have made before, like chili or stew. Get out there git to cookin.
What's for dinner?

 

[TomfromtheSoo]

“Start with an easy dish you have made before, like chili or stew. Get out there git to cookin.”

PPine,

Thanks. I think I’ll start with something like charro beans. I want to reconfigure our fire pit out at hunting camp so will do that as soon as the snow is gone. We have a gathering there the first weekend in May so I’ll plan some fit pit cooking then.

Tom

 

[ppine]

Great Tom. Sometimes a fire pit makes it harder to access your DO. They work fine if one side is open. I often remove rocks from campfires on one side to get access to the fire.

 

[ppine]

What's your recipe for charro beans?

 

[TomfromtheSoo]

PPine,

For this I would use canned beans until I get a feel for the fire temp and temp control.

This is a recipe from website Mexican Please:

Easy Charro Beans Recipe

Charro Beans! You won't find a heartier, more delicious batch of beans anywhere in Mexico. Feel free to add in some chorizo if you have it.

www.mexicanplease.com

When I go to dried beans instead of canned I would probably use pinquito beans and add some onion, lard, and jalapenos.

Tom

 

[ppine]

Yes. Bag of dried pinto beans. Some people seem to forget that a DO acts like a pressure cooker. The heavy iron lid holds heat and steam. Charro beans is the perfect dish to make. Tell us about it.

 

[ppine]

I had so much fun last week making beef stew I have invited a new crew for this week. One of my horseback riding students is graduating and we are making lasagna in a Dutch Oven on a fire in the backyard fopr her family. Garlic bread heated on the comal and a salad. My student a girl of 12 year old will be receiving the golden mule shoe award for outstanding performance.

I will take this opportunity around the campfire to introduce some cowboy poetry and storytelling.

 

[ppine]

TomfromtheSoo.
More important than the 3 legs are the rim around the flat lid on an outdoor over.
You can set the oven on 3 rocks, but it is hard to put coals on top of an oven made for cooking indoors on a stove.

For some things like stew or chili an indoor oven will work next to a fire. Iron holds the heat. The heavy lid holds some steam like a pressure cooker. For baking bread and certain other dishes you need to be able to put coals on the lid.

 

[TomfromtheSoo]

ppine,

We did make it out to camp the first weekend of this month. We re-configured our fire pit and added a couple large concrete pavers and pulled some stones out to create an opening for access to the fire.

For now we will mostly use indoor cast iron skillets and dutch oven for some basic cooking but it also turns out my nephew has a three-legged outdoor dutch oven and lid lifter that he is not using. He will likely donate it to camp but it might be fall before he gets there.

First photo is fire pit.

Second photo is some of the crew and nephew has a piece of pork shoulder in a DO. Everyone has their smiley faces on so you can tell they are happy.

Third photo is our breakfast on the last day. Not cooked on fire but still very good.

 

[D W]

In another month, we'll be in fire season, and with that comes burn bans No charcoal, No campfires and no open flames. So, we're stuck with grilling with propane.

 

[reidfo]

ppine,

We did make it out to camp the first weekend of this month. We re-configured our fire pit and added a couple large concrete pavers and pulled some stones out to create an opening for access to the fire.

For now we will mostly use indoor cast iron skillets and dutch oven for some basic cooking but it also turns out my nephew has a three-legged outdoor dutch oven and lid lifter that he is not using. He will likely donate it to camp but it might be fall before he gets there.

First photo is fire pit.

Second photo is some of the crew and nephew has a piece of pork shoulder in a DO. Everyone has their smiley faces on so you can tell they are happy.

Third photo is our breakfast on the last day. Not cooked on fire but still very good.

Great setup, and the food looks delicious.

 

[ppine]

When fire danger stops campfires, I use an aluminum Dutch Oven on a propane of Coleman stove.

 

[Aussieguy]

When fire danger stops campfires, I use an aluminum Dutch Oven on a propane of Coleman stove.

We could make a fortune…..

Design the propane burner to have fake logs and make one that also fits on top of the lid

Then give them some some metal skewers for marshmallows


Wait there’s more…. A set of matching aluminum cups and plates