cowboy and dutch oven cooking

[aladatrot]

Okay, I borrowed a dutch oven from a friend to try to learn how to cook in it. I wanted to cook in a borrowed oven before I jumped headlong into something I'm not good at. Anyway, the oven is sitting here in my kitchen and I have been burning up the internet trying to pick up authentic old time recipes, tips, and techniques. Today, I got "Herman" started fermenting. "Herman" is the name for the sourdough starter recipe I decided to use. I also sent off for some starter that has been kept continually going since 1847. I guess I will try both of these starters and see which makes better bread and flapjacks.

Do any ethd members have any tips, recipes, or techniques to share about cowboy cooking?

I'm thinking of starting out using charcoal, and then once I have mastered that I will learn with wood. I have a good spot to have my cowboy kitchen in the back yard. I have a fire pit with a swing out grill, and was thinking of either making my charcoal fire in that. Is there any reason I shouldn't have my cooking coals in that metal firepit?

Cheers
M

[Silverton Boar Dogs]

You will have a lot of fun cooking in the cast iron, make sure you get it well seasoned, I use lard. I like a fire pit that has a brick floor with block sides and back, build a big wood fire and let it burn to coals. The coals are easy to shovel out and  put down on another bricked area to place your oven's on to do your cooking. I think its easier to cook with wood coals than charcoal....but I learned on wood. You just need a good blunt nose shovel for moving coals.

You can cook anything outside in cast iron that you can cook in the kitchen. Learning to judge the heat and balancing the top and bottom heat, or knowing when to use all bottom or all top heat is the trick.

I have a great easy recipe for salmon patties and of course a cobbler, and beer batter bread......I have done boiled shrimp, meat loaf, spaghetti, stews, chicken fried steak, pot roast, the list is endless.....Stella Hughs has a good camp cookbook.

I cooked for my cowboy crew for many years while camped all over west Texas. Just start cooking....

[slimpickins]

Mandi, you'l love it and figuring it out is all the fun.
I have also cooked everything you can imagine in a dutch oven.
When you start buying this stuff, look at pawn shops, garage sales, flea markets, estate sales, antique stores and swap meets.
Look for old LODGE ovens. The older ones will have "LODGE" stamped in the cast iron.
The newer ones will have "LODGE" in raised lettering done when casted.
The older ones might not be quite as obvious from years of use.(ash, grease, oil and soot will fill the lettering in some.)

#1 tip I can give you is this.....70% of your heat goes on top.
#2 tip is to always, always pre heat.
No matter what your cooking if you put the food into a cold dutch oven, it will not come out correctly.

Some other tips and suggestions.
As Paul said, season it, lard, bacon grease, even store bought peanut or olive oil.
Worst whooping I ever took was using detergent in my Dad's, just wipe, scrape and burn clean, then re oil.
Store them in a plastic trash bag, to keep the dust from sticking to the oiled surface.
Ashes are hot but not enough to cook, but coals are, less ash more coals cook better.

Dad took a square head shovel and cut out a big square in the head and welded in large expanded metal.
Leaving about a 1 1/2 inch piece of the original shovel all the way around, for rigidity.
This shovel is his pride and joy, as he can sift the ashes out and get only good, hot coals.

Here's a great, easy cobbler recipe.
One box, cheap white cake mix.
One can cheap cherry pie filling.
Two sticks salted butter.
Sugar and cinnamon.

Pre-heat oven and lid.
Use one stick butter and liberally coat inside of oven. (Don't actually use the entire stick, just coat it well).
1/3 of dry cake mix spread in bottom of oven.
Dump entire can of pie filling on top.
The rest of cake mix spread on top of filling.
Slice up one stick butter and the rest of the one used for coating at start.
Spread butter slices evenly over top of cake mix.
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.
30% heat under bottom, 70% heat on lid.
Cook to a golden brown top and butter and filling juice should be bubbling through crust in a few places.

I take mine with a scoop of vanilla icecream. Mmmmmmmmmmm!

[aladatrot]

Thanks guys! I think I will season the oven I borrowed again, as it has only been used a couple of times. If the weather holds out for me, perhaps I will try a desert in it one night this week. I have been trying out bread recipes while I'm waiting on my sourdough starters. Just baking loaves in the regular oven, but my goal is biscuits in the dutch oven.

When y'all season your ovens, do you coat the entire thing in oil or just the cooking surface? Also, when you have it oiled, do you heat it in a regular oven or the firepit to season?

Cheers and thanks again!
M

[slimpickins]

Season all of the inside, lid included, the "seasoning" will prevent rust.
Any way you can to heat, then "season" it with whatever you choose.
What happens is as it it heated, the pores in the cast iron open up.
Then you rub down with whatever grease you're going to use.
Then as it cools, it actually draws that oil/grease into the cast iron.
This needs to be done several times.
Rust will kill a dutch oven.

Another good way to season one, and help in the learning process.
Buy a can of Jumbo buscuits from the grocery store.(only 5 or 6 biscuits to a can).
Pre heat the oven and lid, then drop in 1/2 stick butter and melt it.
Open the biscuits and coat both sides in melted butter in bottom of oven.
Just flip them all over once so that they are coated on both sides.
Rub biscuits up sides of oven and inside of lid to get oil there as well.
Pack the biscuits in the bottom, no need to spread them out, they will rise up.
Then cook the biscuits in it.
A can of these biscuits is around a dollar and a great way to learn how much heat (coals) are needed for top and bottom.
Plus, you have now seasoned the oven again.
I've done as many as 3 or 4 sets like this in a day just to play with it.
Easy cheap way to figure it out.

[Paul Marx]

King Ranch chicken is awesome . For recipes and good reads go type in Dutch oven society there are clubs all over the world. Don't know if they still do it , but they used to have cook offs at Bear Creek park. For the cook off you show up with your spices and they give you a box with stuff in it that was what you had to cook that cook off.

[clint]

A guy cooked in one for us the other day. He said 9 coals on bottom and 18-20 on top and thats supposed to be 350 degrees.

He cooked us homeade cathead biscuits.

He said he also makes mexican cornbread, mule skinner pie and all other types of stuff.

It was very good.....

[matt_aggie04]

mmmmmm.....corn bread........

[craig]

Mandi

 all you need to do is start cooking , with the advice these guys have given and some common cooking experince anyone can cook in a dutch oven.
 i started out cooking on the campfire, just let it burn down to coals, or take a shovel and take coals out of the campfire and set up outside the fire ring , so you can still have your camp fire too..

 invest in a tri pod or have your crafty husband make you one  .

 you will need a shovel i prefer a long handle to keep out of the heat of the camp fire ,some leather gloves,and i like to use some real long tongs for handling coals for putting on the lid like others have said try and keep ashes off the top makes cooking uneven and makes a mess too, when lifting the lid to check food.( turn the lid 1/4 turn when you check your food makes the top cook more even.)

 get yourself a good lid lifter too makes life alot easier, i welded 4 horse shoes together standing up right to make a place to set the lid while stiring or serving..

 i went to bass pro and bought a new pre-seasoned oven and carrying case i just couldnt get past the idea of what someone might have put in a used dutch oven .

 i have been adding stuff over the years and i keep it all in a big tub together  makes it alot easier to keep track of everything.

cooking in a dutch oven is alot of fun ,  enjoy..