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Getting Started With Dutch Oven Cooking – Online Dutch Oven Resources

Scott — Sat, 14 May 2011 03:26:36 +0000

This is the last post in this series of Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking. I've shared a lot of information about dutch oven cooking, but it's only the start! There are lots of resources online to help you whether you are a beginner or an expert. In this post I'll share some of the best online dutch oven websites with you.

Outdoor Cooking Magic

I have a lot of dutch oven tips and dutch oven recipes right here on this website. In addition to this series about getting started there are other tips along with a lot of recipes grouped into a number of categories.

Byron's Dutch Oven Recipes

This website has a LOT of great recipes on it, grouped in various categories. It's one of the websites that is frequently referred to when people talk about online dutch oven resources.

Mark's Black Pot - Dutch Oven Recipes & Cooking

Mark has some great recipes and posts about dutch oven cooking. It's a great resource. I met Mark recently at a dutch oven event in Utah. He was cooking a turkey in a dutch oven. The turkey turned out great and was delicious.

International Dutch Oven Society

The International Dutch Oven Society is the premier organization for dutch oven enthusiasts and information about the organization can be found at the link above. There is a list of dutch oven events, merchandise, including cook books, a dutch oven forum and more. The annual World Championship Dutch Oven Cookoff is sponsored by the society.

Dutch Oven Gear

You can find custom made dutch oven accessories at this website. I met Sami and the spring Dutch Oven Gathering last month and he had some great dutch oven tables, lid holders, and other accessories that he makes himself in his iron works company. He also has recipes and tips at this website.

MacScouter - Dutch Oven Cooking

Dutch oven cooking has been popular among Scout groups for years. It's an easy way to make a lot of good food to feed a group of hungry Scouts. They have collected a lot of great recipes and other information at this website.

DMOZ - Dutch Oven Cooking

The Open Directory Project has a section for dutch oven cooking and has links to some of the best dutch oven resources on the web.

There are tons of dutch oven resources on the web. These are just a few and provide lots of recipes and information about dutch oven cooking. If you need help finding something, let me know in the comments below and I'll see what I can do.

If you have a favorite site, please share it with us in the comments below.

This is the last article in this this series. I hope that you've enjoyed it. Please let me know your successes and failures and favorites of dutch oven cooking. You can find me on Twitter -- my Twitter name is outdoorcook or you can find my on Facebook at Facebook.com/OutdoorCookingMagic. Or share a comment here.

See below for all the articles in this series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking:

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking - Online Dutch Oven Resources

Getting Started With Dutch Oven Cooking – Online Dutch Oven Resources is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – Dutch Oven Cookbooks

Scott — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 03:52:58 +0000

It's been a while since the last post in this series of Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking. I hope you've had a chance to do a little cooking in your dutch oven. Since the last post, I attended a dutch oven get together and met some people that provide wonderful resources to help you with your dutch oven cooking. I'll share those later.

In these last two articles, I want to share with you a number of resources for dutch oven recipes. In this article, I'll talk about dutch oven cookbooks and then in the last articles, I'll talk about some great online resources for dutch oven recipes and other dutch oven resources.

There are tons of dutch oven cookbooks. They range from providing very basic recipes to the truly gourmet. And a lot in between. So today, we'll look at several cookbooks and what they provide. If you have a favorite, I hope that you'll share that everyone in the comments below.

101 Things to Do With a Dutch Oven

This first book has a many instructions and helps for the first time dutch oven cook, but also has enough recipes to keep you busy and interested.

Vernon Winterton, the author of 101 Things To Do With a Dutch Oven has been cooking with dutch ovens for over 30 years. He has qualified three times for the World Championship Dutch Oven Cook Off. He shares his favorite recipes and tips in 101 Things to Do With A Dutch Oven.

This would be a great book to get you started. It has delicious recipes, plus a bunch of tips and helps to get you cooking as a pro in your dutch oven.

The Beginners Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking

This book is one of the best selling dutch oven cooking books on Amazon. As far as recipes, it has sections for recipes to get you started, appetizers, soups and stews, side dishes, breads, main dishes, breakfast, desserts, and finally, recipes for cooking for a group.

Here is one of the reviews of this book on Amazon:

"I was asked to take some of the teenagers at church camping this summer and didn't really have much Dutch oven experience other than when I was camping as a youth. So I got this book and MANY others from the library. This was my favorite book and after flipping through it I realized that I wanted to make copies of about 1/2 of the book, so instead I order one for the church to keep and pass it off to the leaders in charge of camping next year. The book has a lot of great how-to info that I found very helpful, but you don't necessarily have to read all of that to use a recipe. Each recipe tells you how many coals to put on top and how many to put on bottom. That made it SO much easier for me."

For more information on this book, click here.

International Dutch Oven Society Cookbooks

On the International Dutch Oven Society website, they have dutch oven cookbooks that contain the recipes from the world championship dutch oven cook-offs along with a general recipe book that has a large number of recipes. There are truly all types of recipes here. Many of the world championship cook off recipes will be a bit more challenging, but the Archive Cookbook has a great variety (over 400 recipes!). I have the Archive Cookbook along with two of the World Championship Cookbooks and they have some great recipes in them. After all, these recipes are from some of the best in the world!

In the next and final article in this series, I'll share my favorite online dutch oven cooking resources. That should give you everything you need to cook like a pro in your dutch oven.

See below for all the articles in this series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking:

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Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – How to Clean a Dutch Oven

Scott — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 04:13:37 +0000

Since the last article about easy dutch oven recipes in this series of Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking, hopefully you've had the chance to cook one of those recipes or something else in your dutch oven. Now you need to clean your dutch oven. This article will tell you how to do that.

There are two parts to cleaning your dutch oven. The first is to remove all the food and the second is to add to the protective finish that was started when your dutch oven was seasoned.

Remove the Food

First, use a plastic or wooden utensil to scrape all the food that you can from your dutch oven. A plastic dough scraper can work well or you might use a wooden utensil with a flat edge. A plastic mesh scrubber can also work. I've also used a rolled up ball of aluminum foil--it's soft enough that it shouldn't harm the finish of the oven. You don't want to use metal utensils to do this step.

After you've scraped what food you can off the dutch oven, add some warm water and let it work into the remaining food and then scrape again. I often put it over a stove and heat the water. Or you could do it over your charcoal or campfire also. After you have all the food scraped off, dump out the water and then rinse with warm water again. You might need to repeat these steps.

You might also find it helpful to put some water in the dutch oven after you remove the food and start it heating while you enjoy your meal. When you are done, dump the water out and scrape out as described above.

Note that you should not use soap when cleaning your dutch oven! The soap will just get into the pores of the oven and will give your food a soapy taste for some time. It will also break down the protective coating, so say no to soap.

Also, make sure that you don't put cold water into a hot dutch oven! It may either split or warp your dutch oven and ruin it for good. Either warm the water up or let the dutch oven cool a bit before you add water to your dutch oven.

Maintain the Finish

After all the food is scraped off and you've rinsed the dutch oven, now you need to heat it to dry up all the moisture that might be left. This helps prevent it from rusting. Then, just like when you seasoned your dutch oven, while it is warm, use a paper towel rub a little bit of oil into the dutch oven, both inside and out. This also helps to prevent it from rusting and continues to add to the protective coating that was created when the dutch oven was first seasoned.

Don't put too much oil on your dutch oven. Use a paper towel to wipe out the excess. Too much oil will just turn rancid.

When the oven has cooled, store it in a dry place for use the next time. It can be helpful to put a paper towel between the lid and the oven base to help absorb any moisture that might remain and allow some air to circulate in the dutch oven.

One thing that you can try to really help speed up your dutch oven cleaning is to use a dutch oven liner. This goes into the bottom of the dutch oven before you add the food and it just tossed out when you are done cooking. No mess at all! You can purchase these or use aluminum foil to make your own.

Those are the basics for cleaning a dutch oven. If you have any suggestions on this particular topic, please feel free to share in the comments below.

Next time I'll share with you a few Dutch oven cookbooks that will provide you plenty of recipes to try in your dutch oven.

See below for all the articles in this series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking:

Be sure to sign up for the Outdoor Cooking Magic Newsletter to be notified when the next article is ready!

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Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – Easy Dutch Oven Recipes

Scott — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:08:18 +0000

After all the things we've talked about in getting started with dutch oven cooking, we are finally ready to cook! In this article I'm going to give you several easy dutch oven recipes, recipes that you can get started with right now. Remember that your dutch oven is very versatile and almost anything you can cook in your kitchen you can also cook in your dutch oven. Some of that will come with experience, so let's get started!

Dutch Oven Cowboy Stew

I think that one of the easy recipes to start with is a soup or stew, something that has a lot of liquid. It's not easy to burn and still tastes great.

There are lots of soup or stew recipes for the dutch oven. One of the easiest is what is called Dutch Oven Cowboy Stew. I don't know what makes it cowboy stew, other than it's made primarily with canned goods, so it an easy recipes for which you don't need a lot of fresh ingredients.

The recipe, along with instructions and pictures is located at Dutch Oven Cowboy Stew. So be sure and check that out. But just to give you a glimpse, you brown some hamburger in your dutch oven (through in a chopped onion if you like), then add a can each of corn, peas, tomatoes, beans, baked beans and tomato soup. I also add some diced potatoes. Some salt and pepper and a bay leaf top it out. You basically cook until the potatoes are done. That's it. I found that my kids love it and is great for leftovers.

Dutch Oven Dump Cobbler

Dutch ovens are famous for desserts, so you'll definitely want to try a dessert in your dutch oven. An easy recipe for desserts is Dutch Oven Dump Cobbler. To make Dutch Oven Dump Cobbler, dump two cans of fruit pie filling, like apple or peach into your dutch oven. On top of that, add sprinkle a white or yellow cake mix. Don't stir it! Sprinkle the top with a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon and then cut 5-6 pats of butter on top of the cake mix. Again, don't stir it (I know you'll be tempted!). Put the dutch oven on top of 6-8 coals, and put 14-16 coals on top. Back for about 30-45 minutes. Rotate the dutch oven clockwise by 90 degrees every 10 minutes and rotate the lid counter-clockwise 90 degrees at the same time (helps eliminate hot spots). Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Dutch Oven Mountain Man Hash

Dutch Oven Mountain Man Hash is a great breakfast recipe (although breakfast can be great for any meal, right?) See details of this recipe at Mountain Man Hash and a video at Dutch Oven Mountain Man Hash Video. As I say in this article and video, this also makes a great breakfast burrito recipe.

Here are some links to some other recipes that are pretty easy to do:

But don't be afraid to try recipes! There are tons of recipes for dutch ovens and lots of very easy recipes, as well as very gourmet recipes. In a couple more articles, I'll point you to a number of great resources both on the web and in print. You'll find all ranges of recipes for all types of food.

If you have a favorite recipe that would be good for a beginner to start with, I hope you'll share it with us in the comments below!

See below for all the articles in this series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking:

Be sure to sign up for the Outdoor Cooking Magic Newsletter to be notified when the next article is ready!

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Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – Easy Dutch Oven Recipes is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – Dutch Oven Accessories

Scott — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 14:04:58 +0000

Now that we've talked about getting a dutch oven, seasoning it, and where and how to cook with your dutch oven, we'll look at some dutch oven accessories that you'll need to get you going and then a few accessories that you might want to get and use as you go along.

Lid Lifter

The number one dutch oven accessory that you should get is a dutch oven lid lifter. While you can use pliers, a lid lifter is much more convenient and will allow you to securely lift and move your dutch oven lid. Remember, that lid is heavy! The last thing you want to drop it (could crack it, making it unusable), or drop coals in your food (making the food inedible).

The best lid lifter to get is one that holds the lid firm when you pick it up. The surest lid lifter combines a hook with a three-legged brace. The three legs rest on the top of the lid. The hook goes under the lid handle. As the hook is pulled up tit tightens the lid against the three legs. Click here for an example of this type of lid lifter.

Charcoal Chimney

In order to do dutch oven cooking, you'll need some way to get the charcoal briquettes going. The number one way to do that is with a charcoal chimney. The chimney has a couple of chambers.

The top one is where you put the briquettes that you are starting. The bottom chimney is where you start the fire. Crumple up a few sheets of newspaper and push them into the bottom section. Set the chimney on a non-flammable surface (probably where you are going to cook with your dutch oven) and light the paper. Give them 15-20 minutes, and you'll have briquettes, ready to go.

Another solution, if you have grill with a side burner, is to simply put the chimney of briquettes on the side burner and turn it on--no paper needed. Give it a few minutes to get the briquettes going, turn off the side burner and let the coals continue on. It's a nice easy, quick way to get those coals ready.

Find out about charcoal chimneys.

Lid Holder

You'll need something to set the dutch oven lid on while you check the food, stir the food, and serve the food. The lid is hot, so you can't just put it on the table, and if you set it on the ground, it will pick up dirt which will fall into the food when you replace the lid. A dutch oven lid stand is a solution, or you can use some clean bricks, or something similar to set the lid on.

Tongs

Some long tongs will help you to put the charcoal briquettes where you need them, both above and below the dutch oven. Get charcoal tongs that are long enough to keep you from getting burned. Get a pair that you'll use exclusively for moving charcoal. They aren't that expensive and you won't have to wash them!

That's probably the minimum number of dutch oven accessories that you need to get going. If you think there is something else that is a must have, share that with us in the comments below.

Here are a few other things that you might consider as you get more experience and are willing to spend a bit more.

Dutch Oven Table

A dutch oven table was mentioned in the article about where to cook with a dutch oven, but it's worth mentioning here. A dutch oven table provides a dedicated place to cook with your dutch oven--it will go well in your backyard or patio and let you cook with your dutch oven whenever you like.

Leather Gloves

Many people like to use a pair of heavy leather gloves when they are doing their dutch oven cooking. Wear them when you are moving the dutch oven on and off the coals, or when rotating the dutch oven. They allow you to have a much firmer grip on the dutch oven then the lid lifter. The wire bale can get hot, so the gloves will protect your hands.

There are certainly many other accessories that you can use while cooking with your dutch oven. But these are a good set to get you started.

If you have other accessories that you use, let us know in the comments below.

In the next article we'll talk about some easy dutch oven recipes to get started with.

See below for all the articles in this series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking:

Be sure to sign up for the Outdoor Cooking Magic Newsletter to be notified when the next article is ready!

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Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – Dutch Oven Accessories is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – How to Cook with a Dutch Oven

Scott — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 01:40:58 +0000

In this next article in the Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking series, we'll discuss how to cook with a dutch oven. Cooking with a dutch oven isn't difficult. It's all about controlling the temperature. And you do that with charcoal briquettes.

Use Charcoal Briquettes

The easiest way to cook with dutch ovens is to use briquettes. You can cook right on a fire, but that takes a bit more skill. The coals from a fire just won't be as consistent as charcoal briquettes. When you are just getting started, use briquettes.

Use a good quality briquette. Kingsford briquettes are good and will last sufficiently long. Avoid the briquettes that are pre-soaked with lighter fluid like MatchLite. They won't last as long. Just use a charcoal chimney to get briquettes started.

How Many Briquettes Do I Use?

The general rule is to take the diameter of the dutch oven and multiply by two to get the number of briquettes to use to maintain a temperature at roughly 350 degrees (which works for most dutch oven dishes). Note that this is only a general rule and you'll need to adjust the number. Many things, from the quality and thickness of the dutch oven, to air temperature and wind will affect how many briquettes you 'll need to keep sufficient heat to cook your dish.

Always remember that you can always cook something little bit longer if the heat isn't quite enough, but you can't undo burned food if the heat was too much.

How Do I Place the Briquettes?

You'll generally want to have coals both underneath and on top of the dutch oven. If you are cooking soups, stews, or chilis, you'll want more underneath and fewer on top. If you are cooking bread, you'll need more on top and few underneath. For roasting meats, and cooking casseroles, vegetables or other general dishes, you'll want an even distribution.

For example, if you had a 12" dutch oven, use the following chart as a rough estimate for how many coals to put underneath and on top:

Dish	Number of Briquettes On Top	Number of Briquettes Underneath
Soups, Stews, Chilis	9	15
Breads, Rolls, Biscuits, Cakes, Pies	15	9
Roasted Meats, Casseroles, Vegetable Dishes	12	12

The best way to distribute the coals is to put them in a circle underneath the dutch oven, just in from the outside edge of the bottom of the dutch oven. And then put 1 in the middle. I just returned from seeing the Dutch Oven World Championship Cook-off and one of the presenters on the side said that he takes one coal and uses his tongs to split it into a couple pieces to use in the center.

On the top of the oven, space the coals evenly around the outside edge and then 2-4 around the handle in the middle. The heat will distribute through the dutch oven from the bottom and you'll get more even heating on the top.

Rotate, Rotate

If you put the coals in a circle underneath, you won't need to rotate the dutch oven, but if you choose otherwise, you should rotate the dutch oven by 90 degrees clockwise every 10 minutes. And in both cases, rotate the lid counter-clockwise 90 degrees every 10 minutes.

Rotating will help keep hot spots from heating a particular location in the dutch more than other locations, helping prevent burning of your food.

Stacking Dutch Ovens

This is probably more for when you get more experience with dutch oven cooing, but one of the cool things about dutch ovens is that you can stack them, making more efficient use of the coals.

The coals on top of one dutch oven heat the top of that dutch oven, as well as the bottom of the dutch oven above it in the stack.

Stacking does take a bit more skill--more to worry about in terms of how many coals to use and rotating the dutch ovens in a stack is more involved. But is pretty impressive to see a stack of dutch ovens cooking an entire multi-course meal!

That should do it for actually cooking with the dutch oven. If you have any more suggestions, please add them in the in the comments below.

In the article, I'll talk about accessories that you'll probably want to have when you get started dutch oven cooking, and some that you can add along the way.

See below for all the articles in this series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking:

Be sure to sign up for the Outdoor Cooking Magic Newsletter to be notified when the next article is ready!

Make sure to follow my on Twitter and Like Me on Facebook!

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – How to Cook with a Dutch Oven is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking – Where to Cook With a Dutch Oven

Scott — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:38:24 +0000

In this part of the Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking series, we are going to talk about where to cook with a dutch oven. The answer to that question might seem obvious, until you start to think about it. After all, in order to cook with a dutch oven, you need some place where you can put 15-20 coals and put a dutch oven on top of those coals. You'll also want to be able to put some coals on top. That's how you cook with a dutch oven.

So, do you have someplace where you can have 15-20 coals going, without causing damage to the ground or to whatever you put them on? If you are lucky enough to have a fire-pit in your backyard, then you are set. You could wait until you go camping and use a fire-pit there.

But what if you want to cook right in your own backyard? Here are a number of suggestions for you to consider. Which solution you use, will depend on what you have available to you and how much you want to spend.

Charcoal Grill

If you have a charcoal grill that would hold a dutch oven, that might work for you. I've done that. I took out the grates, started the charcoal, and set the dutch oven down inside the grill. If you do try this method, make sure the grill isn't top heavy or unstable. You don't want a huge problem on your hands if that grill were to tip over.

Dutch Oven Table

Another solution is to use a dutch oven table. This is a metal table that is built for holding dutch ovens and the coals that are used to heat them. They are a great solution, and work really well. At a recent dutch oven cook-off that I attended everyone was using a dutch oven table. The only downside of the table is that there is a cost. And if you are just getting started, you might not want to shell out $60-$80 more to get a dutch oven table. But if you don't mind doing that, a dutch oven table is a great solution. Click here to get more information about dutch oven tables.

Volcano Grill

Another possible solution is the Volcano Grill. This unique, versatile cooking device can be used with charcoal, propane, or wood. It has a patented heat chamber that concentrates the heat. 12-15 coals will last for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. That's perfect for a dutch oven.

The outside of the Volcano Grill is cool to the touch, so will work well in your backyard. The legs keep it up off the ground, so that will help protect whatever you have it set on as well.

Another advantage of the Volcano Grill is that not only can you use it to cook with a dutch oven, you can also grill with it, and cook in a variety of other ways. Check out the Volcano Grill with use with your dutch oven.

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking

Scott — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:00:02 +0000

Recently I was at a conference where we were discussing outdoor cooking. I was surprised at how many people had never heard of Dutch oven cooking, let alone actually cooked with a dutch oven. After some discussion, I realized that most of the people I was talking with were from the Eastern United States.

I'm from the west, and Dutch oven cooking is big out here. Maybe even more than big! It seems like it isn't as popular back east. I have a neighbor that has 8 or 9 Dutch ovens, and I've heard of someone else that had 18 and even heard of one person that owned 100 Dutch ovens! They must cook for some awfully large groups!

So it got me thinking about writing a series of articles to help someone get started with Dutch oven cooking. The questions that I wanted to answer were those that someone who had never cooked with a Dutch oven might want to know. So I sent an email out to my newsletter group (go here to subscribe) and asked a series of questions, and will be summarizing their answers, along with my own ideas, research, and experience, into this series of posts.

So, why would you want to cook in with a Dutch oven? Quite simply, you can cook fabulous dishes of a large variety in a Dutch oven. Just about anything you can cook in your kitchen on your stove or in your oven, you can cook outdoors in a Dutch oven. You can cook soups and stews, meats, vegetables, casseroles, breads, desserts, breakfasts, and much more. You can bake, boil, simmer, slow cook, fry, roast, deep fry, and more. You can cook the simplest of dishes, or gourmet. There is a reason that our pioneer ancestors brought this cookware across the plains. Taken care of properly, a good cast iron Dutch oven will last 100 years or longer.

Here are the articles that will be part of this series:

I'll update these with links to the articles as they become available. And I may even add in some other articles if I think of something else that would be helpful. If you have other Dutch oven questions that you would like to see answered, please let me know if the comments below.

P.S., Be sure to sign up for the Outdoor Cooking Magic newsletter to be notified when each of these articles are available.

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking - Buying a Dutch Oven

Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Dutch Oven Cooking Every Day

Scott — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:05:19 +0000

Have you ever thought about cooking outdoors every day for a year? I've thought about that, but haven't decided that I wanted to do it just yet.

But then I came across this blog that detailed doing Dutch oven Cooking every day. For an entire year. I think there was a slight gap a couple of times due to unavoidable circumstances--still the accomplishment was impressive.

As I skimmed through her blog I found posts on some tasty bread, posts about cooking in the snow, cooking in the rain, and much, much more.

Take a minute and visit Dutch Oven Madness and see all the great recipes and stories of cooking with a Dutch oven every day.

Dutch Oven Cooking Every Day is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

The Volcano Grill – Perfect for Dutch Oven Cooking

Scott — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:22:43 +0000

The Volcano Grill is the perfect portable outdoor cooking system. Why would you want one of these? Well, first of all, it is portable. The collapsible version folds down to a space of 5" high so it won't take up much room wherever you are going.

Second, you can cook with propane, charcoal, or wood with it. So whatever type of fuel you have, you can use!

Third, it is incredibly versatile. It's small size means that you can take it camping, boating, on picnics, to beach parties, Scouting trips, tail gate parties, Dutch oven parties. And even more impressive, whatever type of cooking you want to do, you can do it with the Volcano Grill. Do you want the quick cooking of a propane grill? It does that. How about the flavor of the charcoal or wood fire. You got it.

It holds the coals that you need for Dutch oven cooking. You can put a wok on it and do stir fry. You can use a fry pan with it, boil with it, steam with it, bbq with it.

It's perfect for a small fire to cook marshmallows or hot dogs on.

Finally, it is the perfect accessory for cooking with Dutch ovens, because of the focused heat that it provides. You'll save money on fuel.
The Volcano Grill has a patented design that funnels the heat from the coals right up to your Dutch oven, giving you the perfect environment for cooking with your Dutch oven where-ever you are.

Check out this video demonstrating the Volcano Grill:

Now click here to get more information.

The Volcano Grill – Perfect for Dutch Oven Cooking is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Recent Outdoor Cooking Activities

Scott — Sun, 30 May 2010 03:43:41 +0000

This summer I'm going to be working regularly on going through my recipes, cooking them, and adding pictures to those recipes--something I should have done before. I hope you look forward to seeing those! I think it helps to see what the dish really looks like when you look at one of my recipes.

So I'll be cooking outdoors as much as I can (hopefully 2-3 times week), taking pictures, and in some cases, updating the recipes on this site. I'll make periodic posts to point you to those updated recipes.

Last week, I cooked Dutch Oven Pork Chops. They were awfully good. My family downed them pretty quick!

Then yesterday I did Dutch Oven Cowboy Stew. This is one of my favorites and is super easy to do.

I look forward to documenting, with pictures, more of my cooking this summer. I'm just afraid the summer will be over before we know it!

Let me know what kind of outdoor cooking you are doing this summer in the comments below.

Recent Outdoor Cooking Activities is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Dutch Oven Cooking Recipes

Scott — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 12:12:35 +0000

Although it had been a dying art, there has recently been a resurgence in Dutch oven cooking. Recipes can easily be found in many locations. Here are some of the best sources of Dutch oven recipes:

Your own set of recipes is another place to find sources for Dutch oven cooking. Recipes that are your favorites are usually easily adapted to the Dutch oven. You can use your Dutch oven to simmer, stew, boil, bake, steam, fry, roast, etc. See Dutch Oven Cooking Tips for tips that will help you use your recipes in your Dutch oven. Try your own recipes and see how great they taste in a Dutch oven.

If you have a favorite you would like to share, please send it to recipes@outdoorcookingmagic.com. We'll give you credit for the recipes we use, including a link to your website, if you have one. We will also collect recipes into an eBook. We have a goal to collect at least 500 Dutch oven recipes. If you share your recipe with us, we'll send you a copy of the eBook when it is finished.

Dutch Oven Cooking Recipes is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Dutch Oven Outdoor Cooking

Scott — Fri, 19 May 2006 17:03:18 +0000

Dutch oven outdoor cooking provides the opportunity to cook a wide variety of foods. Dutch ovens are extremely versatile, and can be used for virtually every cooking need. Dutch ovens can be used to boil, steam, fry, and bake, among other things. They can be used to cook meat, soups, breads, desserts, and to create hot drinks. With enough dutch ovens, you can create a multi-course, gourmet meal.

Dutch oven outdoor cooking requires coals. These can come from wood or charcoal. Charcoal is probably a bit easier to use, since they will burn and heat more evenly. Nevertheless, the smoke from the coals of a real fire can add some great flavoring to your dishes. There is nothing like food cooked over a fire.

Dutch ovens may be used on the coals in a fire, or they may be stacked, one on top of another, with coals on the lid of one dutch oven, heating to the bottom of the dutch oven above. You will sometimes see stacks of ovens using this technique. This is handy when fire space is limited, but may require a few more coals to keep the heat going.

Dutch oven outdoor cooking is not difficult, but may require some practice and trial and error to get just right. The hardest thing is the regulation of the heat. Experience will help you judge whether the dutch oven is too hot or not hot enough. Checking the food occasionally will help determine that.

Be sure to check back here often for lots of dutch ove n recipes for you to try.

Cooking with dutch ovens is lots of fun!

P.S., If you are interested in learning more about dutch oven cooking, please check my series on Getting Started with Dutch Oven Cooking

Dutch Oven Outdoor Cooking is a post from: Outdoor Cooking Magic

Outdoor Cooking Magic » Dutch Oven Cooking Tips

Getting Started With Dutch Oven Cooking – Online Dutch Oven Resources