dutch oven cooking

[HouseInABox]

i've been curious about baking in a dutch oven with coals anyone have any experience - suggestions - recipies etc.?  

thank you

[wernstriumph]

Hello, I've used  my DO for years and love it! If you go to the Dutchin for Dummies thread on this sub-forum there is a great download. It tells you all you need to know to get started. It even has a formula for determining the temp by how many coals to use. Cornbread comes out fantastic! I will also post a recipe for pork loin as soon as I find it (our Cub Scout pack won "Cub Scout Iron Chef" at a recent jamboree with this recipe. As far as tips, all I can say is be sure to SEASON the DO well. Good luck and Happy Cooking!

[AustinBoston]

You can bake almost anything in a Dutch Oven.  Most recipies do not need any modification, but...

When baking in a DO, you need to take care not to overcook the bottom.  How you do this varies depending on whether you bake directly in the DO or put another pan in the DO.

If you use a separate pan in the DO (such as a layer cake pan or pie pan), you need to suspend the pan off the bottom of the DO.  There are a number of ways to do this.  You can buy a cast iron "trivet" made just for the purpose; Lodge sells one.  I think the most popular method (and it's free) is to use three small, heat-resistant objects (such as pebbles or wads of aluminum foil) of equal size under the pan.  Anything the size of a pea or larger will do.  If using a disposable aluminum pie pan, you may need more than three, but they will need to be very close in size.

If you bake right in the DO, such as when making breads or cobblers, you need to use the 2/3 heat rule with 2/3 timing (I may be using wrong terms here but the explanation is correct.  In addition, you may need to do this with the "trivet" method above as well.)  It is easy to burn the bottom of baked goods in a DO.  To prevent this, we use less heat and less cooking time on the bottom of the DO.  Put only 1/3 of the coals under the DO, and 2/3 on top.  Turn both the DO and the lid frequently without opening it!  Most DO cooks turn everything they cook in a DO, but it's really only necessary when baking.  Remove the DO from the bottom heat after 2/3 of the cooking time.

Here's a made-up example:  A recipie calls for 15 coals, and says to bake for 30 minutes.  I put 5 coals under the DO (1/3 heat) and ten on top (2/3 heat).  I turn the DO every ten minutes, and take it off the bottom heat after 20 minutes (2/3 of the cooking time).

This "heat on the top" arrangement is the opposite of what you would do with soups or stews, where most or all of the heat goes under the pot, and little or no heat goes on top.  I used to put a few coals on top of a stew, but now I don't.  You want the lid cool enough so that steam can condense on it and drip back into the pot.  If you put coals on the lid, it's too hot to allow condensation, and the stew can end up dry or with a thin "crust" on top.

Austin

[ForestCreature]

I really enjoy using my DOs.. I was typing out a nice long reply hit the wrong thing and lost it :compumad:  but AB cover most of what I said. (now I don't have to retype it all) I have a 10" Lodge and a 12" (more like 13") CampChef.
here is the link to Dutchin for Dummies

Plus a few other links, it's been a while since any good DO links have been posted

http://www.idos.com/
http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/
http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/Dutchoven.html
http://www.chuckwagonsupply.com/recipe%20archive.html

[HouseInABox]

I thank you all for your advice and suggestions.