Dutch Oven Tips

Here are some handy tips to help you get the most out of your cast iron dutch oven.

• For camp cooking, be sure to get a Dutch oven with feet (to make a space for hot coals underneath) and a rimmed lid to hold hot coals on the top.
• Charcoal briquettes are more consistent in size and cooking capacity – they will work better for more precise cooking methods such as baking. For most situations you can use coals from your fire.
• For a 350 degree oven, multiply the diameter of the oven by 2 to get the number of coals; for example, a 12” oven uses 24 coals.
  • When baking, place ¾s of the coals on the top.
  • When roasting, place ½ the coals on the top.
  • When stewing, place ¼ of the coals on the top.
  • When frying, place none of the coals on the top and all of them underneath.
• Unless specified, place the top coals in a checkerboard pattern.
• Unless frying, concentrate the bottom coals around the bottom rim.
• Use an inexpensive cookie sheet under the oven to place the coals on to get more heat from them. This will keep the coals off of the cold, damp ground and will reflect heat back to the oven.
• Rotate the oven 90 degrees every 10-15 minutes, and rotate the lid back to avoid hot spots in the oven.
• Monitor the cooking closely. If you think things are slowing down remove the old coals and ash and replace with new coals – be ready with more white coals for longer recipes.
• Use parchment paper or a Dutch oven liner in the oven when cooking breads, cakes, or with acidic or sticky ingredients.
• Tools that are handy to have with the Dutch Oven
  • Natural whisk broom to clean ashes of off the lid
  • A lid lifter and a lid rest to safely remove the hot lid and a place to set it.
  • Wooden spoons, ladle, spatula
  • A plastic hand scraper to remove cooked on food
• To clean, remove all of the food you can and then (when cool enough) put some water in the oven and heat. Let cool and scrape. Rinse, repeat if necessary. Heat to dry out and re-oil.
• Measurement conversions
  • 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
  • 2 tablespoons = 1 ounce
  • 4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup
  • 1 cup = 8 ounces
  • 2 cups = 1 pint = 16 ounces
  • 2 pints = 1 quart
  • 4 quarts = 1 gallon