dutch oven
anyone have any personal favorite or secret campfire dutch oven recipes??
Forum Discussion
Here's a tip from Boy Scout days.
Put a few pieces of gravel in the bottom of the pot, then put a pan on top of them to bake brownies, cakes, pizza, etc.
The air space prevents burning the bottom.
Here's my favorite recipe.
'Ground Hamburger' (elk, deer, beef, antelope, etc)
Mix the burger with your favorite hamburger/meatloaf seasonings. Some ideas are bread crumbs, garlic, peppers, etc
Make large egg shapes out of burger, about 5-6" high and about 2-3" wide.
Stand them vertically on a pan that will go inside the pot with airspace as described earlier. Push down a little to flatten the end so it stands up like an egg on its end.
Use your thumb to push a hole about 2/3 through it from the top and a little bigger on the inside. You are looking to make a teardrop shape inside the burger with the opening on the top. Ideally, leave about 3/4" walls to your hole, with about twice that at the bottom.
Put Prego "spicy herb and garlic" spaghetti sauce inside the hole- fill to the top. Cover the entire pan and burgers with heavy foil, leaving about 2-3" of airspace above the burgers (foil should not touch the meat). You want a little extra foil on the top, so scrunching a little foil together is helpful.
Place in dutch oven (don't forget the rocks!), put the lid on, and let cook for at least 20-30 mins, maybe more over a medium heat.
If you left the extra bit of foil on the top, you can tear an opening in this to peek at the meat after 20-30 mins and stick it about half way down the side with a fork to see if it is done. If not, fold the foil of the tear together to seal it back up.
The sauce must simmer/boil inside the meat for about 5-10 mins (suit to taste)
Don't worry if some sauce spills in the pan (not the dutch oven), it is normal.
Be careful, everything will be VERY HOT!
These will be tender and juicy like mini-meatloaf but with intense flavors like a well-seasoned burger.
You can cook longer and the flavors will go more into the meat. The meat should never dry out.
If your meat was very dry or low in fat, you can add a spoonful of water in the pan to add moisture (not the dutch over, the pan inside the foil)
You can expect company as soon as you open the lid to check it the first time ;)
About 4-6 should fit in a standard dutch oven/pan combo.
When you cut into one, the sauce will flow over the meat with a cloud of steamy goodness. Very appealing burst of smells, textures and flavor- especially with a little fresh green pepper added to the hole and sauce.
And, yes, our troop won the 'Golden Spatula' quite easily with the elk version ;)
Put a few pieces of gravel in the bottom of the pot, then put a pan on top of them to bake brownies, cakes, pizza, etc.
The air space prevents burning the bottom.
Here's my favorite recipe.
'Ground Hamburger' (elk, deer, beef, antelope, etc)
Mix the burger with your favorite hamburger/meatloaf seasonings. Some ideas are bread crumbs, garlic, peppers, etc
Make large egg shapes out of burger, about 5-6" high and about 2-3" wide.
Stand them vertically on a pan that will go inside the pot with airspace as described earlier. Push down a little to flatten the end so it stands up like an egg on its end.
Use your thumb to push a hole about 2/3 through it from the top and a little bigger on the inside. You are looking to make a teardrop shape inside the burger with the opening on the top. Ideally, leave about 3/4" walls to your hole, with about twice that at the bottom.
Put Prego "spicy herb and garlic" spaghetti sauce inside the hole- fill to the top. Cover the entire pan and burgers with heavy foil, leaving about 2-3" of airspace above the burgers (foil should not touch the meat). You want a little extra foil on the top, so scrunching a little foil together is helpful.
Place in dutch oven (don't forget the rocks!), put the lid on, and let cook for at least 20-30 mins, maybe more over a medium heat.
If you left the extra bit of foil on the top, you can tear an opening in this to peek at the meat after 20-30 mins and stick it about half way down the side with a fork to see if it is done. If not, fold the foil of the tear together to seal it back up.
The sauce must simmer/boil inside the meat for about 5-10 mins (suit to taste)
Don't worry if some sauce spills in the pan (not the dutch oven), it is normal.
Be careful, everything will be VERY HOT!
These will be tender and juicy like mini-meatloaf but with intense flavors like a well-seasoned burger.
You can cook longer and the flavors will go more into the meat. The meat should never dry out.
If your meat was very dry or low in fat, you can add a spoonful of water in the pan to add moisture (not the dutch over, the pan inside the foil)
You can expect company as soon as you open the lid to check it the first time ;)
About 4-6 should fit in a standard dutch oven/pan combo.
When you cut into one, the sauce will flow over the meat with a cloud of steamy goodness. Very appealing burst of smells, textures and flavor- especially with a little fresh green pepper added to the hole and sauce.
And, yes, our troop won the 'Golden Spatula' quite easily with the elk version ;)
