Campers Guide to Outdoor Cooking with the Dutch Oven
If you are going camping and canned food or dried food items don't sound too appetizing you might want to take a Dutch oven with you. The Dutch oven can be utilized for making stews, frying foods, streaming vegetables, roasting meats and vegetables and even baking.
You can even make bread with a Dutch oven as well as cobblers made with fresh fruit. Some campers have even made a tasty pizza with this nifty invention. Some camper guides to outdoor cooking will even recommend making a cake in a Dutch oven. You can basically make most of the meals that you make at home while camping if you cook with a Dutch oven.
While reading a campers guide to outdoor cooking that recommends utilizing a Dutch oven you will probably discover there are two types of cooking with the Dutch oven. You can place the food items into the Dutch oven or with the other technique you place the food items into another container which is then situated on a trivet which is placed in the bottom of the oven.
Aluminum Dutch Oven
Dutch ovens are made from cast iron or aluminum. The aluminum ovens are much lighter than the cast iron ovens. The aluminum Dutch ovens won't rust and they are easy to clean up after your meal with soap and water. The aluminum models will heat up quicker when compared to the cast iron ovens, however you will probably have to use more coals for an aluminum oven.
Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Experts who write a campers guide to outdoor cooking typically recommend a cast iron Dutch oven when weight is not a primary factor for the campers. They retain their heat effectively and food will not burn as easily when compared to an aluminum oven. Cleaning up the cast iron Dutch oven requires more work than the aluminum version and rust can occur in the cast iron Dutch oven if it is not protected. You will have to perform a procedure to protect the oven from rusting after every time you have cooked.
A good campers guide to outdoor cooking will also provide some useful tips for cooking with a Dutch oven. When roasting meats and vegetables you will want a heat source that is situated on the top as well as the bottom of the oven. Place some coals underneath the Dutch oven and place some on the lid. While baking with the Dutch oven place coals on the bottom and on the lid but place about three times more coals on the lid. If you are going to fry some foods or boil a meal place all the coals underneath the Dutch oven. If you are going to simmer a meal place most of the coals underneath. There should be about four times more coals placed underneath than on the lid. A good camper's guide to outdoor cooking will usually teach you how to use a Dutch oven and give you some easy recipes to take with you when enjoying the great outdoors.
