Welcome to this month’s camping follow-up topic, Dutch ovens. Although, alas, I cannot count myself among them, many of my friends and fellow Co-op members fit the necessary user profile: people who want a really nice meal and are willing to pay attention to details.

Though I seem to remember being in the vicinity of a Dutch oven as a Girl Scout, I hadn’t thought about them much until last month’s article on camping food, when Dutch oven enthusiasts began pouring out of the woodwork.

Dutch ovens are usually cast-iron (or sometimes stainless steel or aluminum) pots with tight-fitting flat lids with rims. Since cooking with a Dutch oven involves putting hot coals or briquettes both on top and beneath the Dutch oven, the ones most convenient for camping have three short legs on the bottom.

Bryan, who has a Dutch oven with a flat base, puts his on top of three flat rocks and heats briquettes using a “briquette starter,” an empty coffee can with a handle that one can buy or make oneself.

To use a briquette starter, he says, put crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the can, allowing for plenty of oxygen underneath, then put briquettes on top, and light the newspaper. Once the newspaper is burning and the briquettes are hot, he says, you can pick out the briquettes one at a time with tongs and put them underneath and on top of the Dutch oven.

Others, like my friend Kate (orchardfarmsoap.etsy.com), make a really hot fire (usually in the fire pit at a campsite), then wait till the fire burns down to coals and heap the coals on top and around the outside of the Dutch oven.

I personally plan to delay my own Dutch oven use until we take Kate up on her invitation for Dutch oven night. Bryan’s father-in-law, Dwight, concurs: “The main thing is experience, knowing your Dutch oven, knowing how many briquettes to use and how long to do it so you don’t burn the food.”   Dwight remembers a T.V. show on Dutch oven cooking hosted by Butch Welch from Grangeville: “He would stack Dutch ovens four, five, six, up to ten high, in three or four stacks, and cook for 20-30 people, but I’ll only stack two.”

Dwight likes to cook a main dinner such as chicken in the bottom in a 12-inch oven and a side dish such as biscuits in a smaller 8-inch oven on top. He says, “I don’t do anything fancy, but you can do anything in a Dutch oven you can do in a regular oven.” Though Dutch ovens are heavy, they’re “interesting and fun, especially on raft trips.” He particularly recommends Welch’s cookbook, Cee Dub’s Dutch Oven and Other Camp Cookin’.  He uses about six briquettes on the bottom and 10-12 on top, though he emphasizes that it takes a lot of experience to know how many to use (too many briquettes on the bottom will burn the food.) “Let the briquettes turn white and get good and hot before you start cooking, so that they get smaller and smaller, maybe about half the original size by the time you’re done.” If you need to add more during cooking, he says, just add them black and they’ll heat up. He also suggests having a gizmo with a long handle for lifting up the lid.

The care of the Dutch oven itself is also really important, according to Dwight. It needs to be cured before using it the first time (coat with vegetable oil, heat in 150-200 degree oven till it gets hot). After using, it should be cleaned with hot water, wiped dry, and oiled again. (Never use cold water when the Dutch oven is hot, because this can cause it to crack.) If soap is used, it will need to be cured again. Also, it needs to be put away “very dry” to avoid rust. (Briquette dust will also absorb moisture which can lead to rust spots.) The oil can get rancid if left on too long, so Dwight recommends taking out the Dutch oven every six months to check for this.

Bryan’s Dutch Oven Chicken

1 chicken, cut in pieces
1 cup teriyaki, over top of chicken
3 or 4 cups salsa
1 to 1-1/2 cups of honey
sprinkle ginger on top
(Vary according to taste)

Use a briquette starter to heat briquettes. Using tongs, put 8 briquettes underneath Dutch oven and 12-15 briquettes on top. (Temperature should be equivalent to 350 degrees.) Cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until chicken is done.

Kate’s Dutch Oven Pasta

1 onion, chopped
optional vegetables, chopped (carrots, zucchini, spinach, chard)
Optional Italian sausage, chopped
1 package little, thick, sturdy, semolina noodles
2 big cans tomato sauce
Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese

Saute onion and optional vegetables and optional sausage in pot of Dutch oven. Add tomato sauce and uncooked noodles until it’s like a big soup. Mix ricotta in, add some mozzarella on top, and let it cook about 40-60 minutes.

Kate’s Cobbler

Cut up fruit of choice. Add small amount of pancake mix (approx. 1/4 cup) to fruit, stir, and set aside. In a bowl, make pancake mix according to the instructions (adding egg and water) and pour over the fruit. Place in Dutch oven and put it on coals on concrete if doing this at home, or in fire pit if camping. Using 5-6 coals on the bottom and 4-5 on top, let cook for 45 minutes. While cooking, whip up some cream for a yummy topping.

Judy Sobeloff hasn’t used a Dutch oven yet, but her family did make a mean flaming Cherries Jubilee with the cherries from their tree.