I mentioned before how useful a good Dutch oven is for cooking on a camping trip and I wanted to write more on the subject to show you everything it’s capable of.
First off, let’s take a look at what you should know before buying one. To be ideal for camping, your Dutch oven needs to have a couple of things. It’s a little difficult to see in the image above, but the Dutch oven there has three little legs on the bottom. You want those to be there so your oven is less likely to shift around when it’s in or on the fire. They also allow you to put coals directly underneath the oven for faster cooking. Also, it goes without saying that all Dutch ovens should be cast iron. Nothing else.
You also want to get an oven that has a wire handle (detachable is great but not necessary) so you can move it more easily when it’s cooking. The wire handle will also stay much cooler than the oven itself will although you may still need to use gloves or a hotpad to grab it. Lastly, you want an oven that has the lip that wraps around the lid. This lets you put coals on top of the oven, which not only helps it cook faster, but also helps to even the temperature on the inside allowing all of the food to cook at an even rate.
The best way to use your Dutch oven is to spread some coals out to the side of your campfire. You can do this by taking the coals from your fire with some tongs, or you can also build a second, smaller fire nearby and wait for the wood to burn down to coals. Once they’re ready, put the Dutch oven on top of them, put your food in, put a few more coals on top and then just have a seat and wait for it to be ready.
You can also use your Dutch oven like a slow cooker. This is great for meals with beef or potatoes, or any other ingredient that needs to cook for a while. Just put all of your ingredients in around lunchtime, put the oven next to the fire and let it cook all afternoon. By the time dinner rolls around, everything will be done and you’ll be set. Just make sure to check the oven every hour to make sure that everything is cooking nicely.