Dutch Oven Cooking

This weekend we went camping with Jen’s girly group from the city. We stayed local so that other non-campers could join in the events. So, we were not roughing it or anything, but we were still camping. I got a chance to use my dutch ovens a bit, which is always fun.

I have two ovens, a 10 inch diameter and a 12 inch diameter one. I usually use them both while we are camping with the family. But, many of the available dutch oven recipes are meant to feed a large group of people. So I have been forced to adapt other recipes for the dutch oven while we camp. Usually I do the standard stuff….cinnamon rolls for breakfast, chicken and rice, etc.

This weekend I got to do some stuff I hadn’t done in a while, or at all. For the group pot luck, I made a chicken pot pie in one. Basically chicken, vegetables, potatoes, gravy, and a crust on top.

For desert, I made peach cobbler in the smaller oven. It is amazingly simple to do, but turns out just unbelievable. I think that was the most popular thing I made.

The next morning everyone pitched in to do breakfast for the group. Someone else browned up sausage patties, and I made biscuits in my large oven. When the biscuits were done we separated the top from the bottom while they were still in the oven. We put the sausage and cheese in them, and put the tops back on. I let the cook for another minute, until the cheese melted. I have never done those before and they turned our REALLY good.

Believe it or not, breads and biscuits are one of the toughest things to get right in a dutch oven. Unless you are cheating, and have a separate pan inside the oven. I couldn’t do that because the amount I was cooking. Otherwise, with no pan, you have to pull the oven from the bottom heat and let it continue to cook with top heat only, so that the bottom does not burn.

Jen didn’t even have her camera out for this trip. But, I definitely need to start taking a couple of pictures of this stuff.