New to Outdoor Dutch Oven Cooking

DrewE wrote:

Vintage465 wrote:

2 Retired wrote:
Thanks for the chart Vintage 465! Very helpful Much appreciated.

Yeah, if I was just starting out, I'd go get a couple rounds crack and cook biscuits. They're about $5.00 a round and a 12" D/O will just about swallow one round of crack and cook biscuits. That way you're not really out a lot if you toast em too much..............

At $5.00 a tube for biscuits, you're either getting ripped off or purchasing ultra-gourmet, all-natural, free-range, organic biscuits. Basic store-brand ones run about $.50 around these parts.

One useful "secret" to keep in mind for dutch oven (and other) cooking is that very often oven temperatures are not at all critical for the success of a dish. If it's a little cooler, it'll just take a little longer to cook; and if it's a little warmer, it'll merely be done sooner. Keep an eye on things and adjust the heat according to what you see and you should have no great trouble. It does, of course, help to cook things, at least at the start, that you know are not too sensitive in that regard.

For that matter, charcoal briquets behave a bit differently than coals from a campfire, and it's about impossible to count the latter accurately, but both work fine.

OK......So the crack and bake Pillbury are $2.00 a roll. I never buy them.....but my cousin uses the heck out of them. I bake from scratch. But I think it's an easy way to learn the oven.............

DrewE wrote:


One useful "secret" to keep in mind for dutch oven (and other) cooking is that very often oven temperatures are not at all critical for the success of a dish. If it's a little cooler, it'll just take a little longer to cook; and if it's a little warmer, it'll merely be done sooner. Keep an eye on things and adjust the heat according to what you see and you should have no great trouble.

Exactly. Not only keep an eye on it but keep your nose on it too. If it smells like it's starting to burn, it usually is. This is not "set it and forget it" type of cooking.

Chill winds affect the pot temperature. Humidity. Charcoal briquets or wood coals impact it. As I mentioned earlier, a Weber tabletop kettle like Smokey Joe will hold a 12" oven and help maintain a steady temp.

Vintage465 wrote:

2 Retired wrote:
Thanks for the chart Vintage 465! Very helpful Much appreciated.

Yeah, if I was just starting out, I'd go get a couple rounds crack and cook biscuits. They're about $5.00 a round and a 12" D/O will just about swallow one round of crack and cook biscuits. That way you're not really out a lot if you toast em too much..............

At $5.00 a tube for biscuits, you're either getting ripped off or purchasing ultra-gourmet, all-natural, free-range, organic biscuits. Basic store-brand ones run about $.50 around these parts.

One useful "secret" to keep in mind for dutch oven (and other) cooking is that very often oven temperatures are not at all critical for the success of a dish. If it's a little cooler, it'll just take a little longer to cook; and if it's a little warmer, it'll merely be done sooner. Keep an eye on things and adjust the heat according to what you see and you should have no great trouble. It does, of course, help to cook things, at least at the start, that you know are not too sensitive in that regard.

For that matter, charcoal briquets behave a bit differently than coals from a campfire, and it's about impossible to count the latter accurately, but both work fine.

2 Retired wrote:
Thanks for the chart Vintage 465! Very helpful Much appreciated.

Yeah, if I was just starting out, I'd go get a couple rounds crack and cook biscuits. They're about $5.00 a round and a 12" D/O will just about swallow one round of crack and cook biscuits. That way you're not really out a lot if you toast em too much..............

Thanks for the chart Vintage 465! Very helpful Much appreciated.

When I need to keep temp from changing much I will remove and replace coals as a set, when ash on the coal gets thick. Lots of heat left to put under another oven/pan where temp is less critical.

I have a 10" Dutch Oven. Below....with any luck is a chart that should get you going in the right directions. There are many variables in D/O cooking and not a lot of "constants". I think the best way to learn D/O cooking is to find one thing and perfect the cooking of that one thing and then move to the next one. Biscuits is an easy start to learn. I've found with biscuits, after 20 minutes, take the coals from the bottom and put them on the top to minimize the cooking on the bottom and brown the top. The Scout's Outdoor Cookbook" is a real good hand book to get you started.

Another point regarding number of coals .. The number they give you works great for the first load of coals ... After that, it's a bit hit or miss, since you have a combination of fresh coals and worn coals. Just get a feel of what the coverage looks like, then when replacing coals, match that coverage. After the first load of coals, the number doesn't make much sense.

Also, if possible, sweep off the ash between coal refreshes, since the ash acts like an insulator.

Because space is a premium in an RV I bought one of these both for grilling and doing DO cooking. My 12 inch ovens (regular and extra deep) fit inside perfectly. It blocks cold winds as well as rain. Perfect for maintaining better temp control when we do our winter camping. Good idea for beginners too.

Weber Smokey Joe

Charcoal formulas are good in the sense that it gives newbies a place to start so they can get over the fear of using DOs. Way too many of them sit around because people are afraid to start.