Dutch Oven questions
I've been wanting to try DO cooking and with my b-day coming up, my wife is considering gettng me one. I've done some reading on them but still have a question... When you are using charcoal briqu...
Forum Discussion
brirene wrote:
Simple answer is it depends what you're cooking. For a simple things, such as a dump cake, one round of charcoal may be enough. Something requiring a longer cook time, such as a stew or other meals will require you to refresh the coals. The trick is knowing when to do it. The good thing is, imo, its not a crucial timing type of thing. Have fun!
BTW, if you haven't already, check out Byron's site for all things DO.
Double ditto. The cast iron is heavy enough to hold heat while changing out the coals. You can tell when the coals have died. Our pot roast is usually a 3 hour cook and I only have to change the coals once.
Other factors are wind and cold: windy days, the coals do not last as long as they burn faster; cold days, you need more coals to compensate for the ambient temperature. It's easy to get the hang of it. Just pay attention to your pot. Usually we sit around with our drinks and play cards while the pot is doing it's thing.
Another good source of info where you can ask as many questions as you like from the experienced cast iron chefs is the Yahoo Dutch Oven group.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dutchovencooking/
