Black Pots

[utahcarver]

Dave R.'s great thread on charcoal BBQ got me revving up for another dutch oven season. I didn't want to thread-jack his topic so I'm starting this one. If you don't know what a dutch oven is, it is sometimes referred to as a 'camp stove', which is probably more accurate. Both a dutch oven and a camp stove are made of cast iron. A camp stove has 3 legs which keeps the bottom of the pot elevated off the fire source.

If you really like impressing your neighbors and friends, dutch oven cooking will make your friends think you've spent hours honing your cooking skills late at night after everyone has gone to bed. It is one of the most simplest cooking tools I've ever used and it is easy to learn and to teach someone how to use a dutch oven. Think: one pot, one meal. Period.

Of course, d.o's are hard to backpack with and I'm not going to be the first slob to try it. But, keep one or two in your garage and wow the neighbors while they are sipping the cheap suds you bought them for your annual summer party. I use Kingsford briquets and a handy chimney, like the ones in the Charcoal BBQ thread. Just take 2 pieces of your local newspaper and stuff them in your chimney (stove) which is filled with the briquets and light. Once your briquets are ash gray, put them on top of your dutch oven which you've filled with whatever meal you are cooking. I usually use 12 briquets on the lid of the oven and 4-6 on the bottom of the pot. Cooking time usually takes a little over an hour for most meals.

While the pots are cooking, I usually relax with a favorite imported beer and catch up on some reading. It's that easy. Oh, you're wondering who did the prep work for the meal? Well, any smart cook has sous-chefs for that. If you don't have any sous-chefs, do your prep work early in the day or the day before and put everything in a zip-type plastic bag and just keep everything in the refrigerator or cooler until about an hour before cooking time.

Easiest recipe: Dutch oven potatoes. Equal parts potatoes (wedges), onions (diced), salt, pepper, and one can chicken broth. Top with shredded cheese prior to serving and allow to melt. Also, prior to cooking add boneless chicken thighs (cut into strips) and you've got a one-pot meal. Add carrots (diced), and celery (chopped) to increase the flavor intensity.

It's not fancy cooking by any means. But, if this summer you are sitting around a campfire at evening after a day of biking, skateboarding, or hiking, and you're the hero with the black pot, your friends won't be able to shut up the next day about the meal you fixed. Trust me on this.

There are numerous sites where you can get information on purchase, seasoning, care and uses of dutch ovens. Lodge makes the best ones that I know of. I'm not a sales rep for Lodge. Just passing along some information about a great product.

www.lodgemfg.com

I hope you enjoy your summer!

Mark

[BlueB]

Besides Braai (BBQ), Potjiekos is South African favorite way of cooking!

Potije = small pot, kos = food

Racipes are here:

http://www.potjiekosworld.com

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[bobdea]

Besides Braai (BBQ), Potjiekos is South African favorite way of cooking!

Potije = small pot, kos = food

Racipes are here:

http://www.potjiekosworld.com

-

hahaha, wasn't south africa settled by the dutch?

[BlueB]

Correct. Afrikaans is nothing but ancient Dutch, that evolved in different way then modern Dutch. When the Voortrekkers (settlers) did their great track from Kaapstadt (Cape Town, the mother city) to the interior of the continent, they couldn't carry much or cook fancy. So, it was Braai, Potijekos and Pap (porridge) that became national foods.

[mr_roboteye]

Well, I learned something today. Before I read this thread I thought a Dutch oven was just something you did in bed to really piss off yer' old lady.

thanks,

Dave R.

[Erik J]

Be carefull with your cooking temps. The key is longer and slower. Once you put the lid on, the temp inside goes up. The pic above looks nice but there's got to be a rolling boil in that pot unless it's windy out. Boiling can destroy flavor, generally speaking.

Keeping the temp low helps to preserve the aromatics & flavors of your ingredients. Tougher meat cuts like shank and the like require about 3 - 4 hours to break down connective tissue.

[utahcarver]

Well, I learned something today. Before I read this thread I thought a Dutch oven was just something you did in bed to really piss off yer' old lady.

thanks,

Dave R.

That's also called a 'covered wagon'.

Mark

[utahcarver]

Be carefull with your cooking temps. The key is longer and slower. Once you put the lid on, the temp inside goes up. The pic above looks nice but there's got to be a rolling boil in that pot unless it's windy out. Boiling can destroy flavor, generally speaking.

Keeping the temp low helps to preserve the aromatics & flavors of your ingredients. Tougher meat cuts like shank and the like require about 3 - 4 hours to break down connective tissue.

Erik: you are so right. The example I gave above of using 12 coals on top and 4-6 on the bottom usually produces a temperature ranging from 325ºf to 350ºf depending on weather conditions (i.e., slight afternoon breezes, hot afternoon sunshine, or cool nights). Thanks for pointing this out. BTW, as you may know, it is this low and slow method that can drive your guests crazy with the smells wafting through the air while they are waiting for a good meal.

Mark

[bobdea]

I thought the national food was amarula!?

[BlueB]

Amarula Cream comes only in the 3rd place, after the Castle Lager and Klipdrift brandy.

A popular nik for Amarula is "Elephant's sperm"...

_

[utahcarver]

Besides Braai (BBQ), Potjiekos is South African favorite way of cooking!

Potije = small pot, kos = food

Racipes are here:

http://www.potjiekosworld.com

-

Boy, this is not going to go over well with my raw food friends! That said, I've always known that Dutch black pots had influences on other cultures. One of the things I've often enjoyed about cooking 'dutch' is being able to take lesser cuts of meat, vegetables, and fruits and turn them into a delicacy-like meal. Over the years, I've found that by adding grilled and smoked meats (and veggies) to my 'dutch' repertoire I've been able to expand my menu keep the crowds coming in. The potjieksoworld website is another great resource for me now. Low and slow, like Dave R. pointed out to us above.

Thanks BB,

Mark

The image below is from campchef.com, a local company here in town. Every year in the spring, they have a get-together over at their warehouse. They invite the community to bring their best dutch oven meals and meet and greet with other black pot enthusiasts.

[carvedog]

Your timing is great on this. I am all fired up to try a couple of new things on my June river trip.

After guiding for 15 years, I have prolly done over a 1,000 DO dinners.

For one lunch I was cooking, I had a stack of 12 ( three stacks of four actually) and it all came out great. Keep rotating.

I love it on the river for the reason of once the prep is done you get to sit and drink. And now that I am retired from active guiding we just do a couple for the entree and a couple for dessert.

For on the river we use aluminum DOs. And they do cook a little different and loose heat quicker ( better to cool desserts anyway), but they don't break your arm lifting them off the coals either.

My favorite are the anodized ones for easy cleanup. And I tend to go heavier on the coals. Solid ring around the outside lid and a couple by the handle, six or seven on the bottom.

For lighter cornbreads and desserts less, for heavy liquid ( dutch enchiladas or lasagne ) more coals.

One of my faves is pan fried chick breast ( not cooked all the way to keep it moist) over a shallot, onion, mushroom mixture, with a little jack melted over it served with a side of pesto pasta. Damn I am making myself hungry.

We also do pizzas, focaccia bread, super moist corn bread.

Ok I am going to lunch now.

[skategoat]

This sounds like my kind of cooking.

So any reason why you can't do this on a gas barbeque? I can control the heat on my 'que quite nicely since it has a temp gauge on the lid.

[bobdea]

This sounds like my kind of cooking.

So any reason why you can't do this on a gas barbeque? I can control the heat on my 'que quite nicely since it has a temp gauge on the lid.

no, even in a oven a DO will work

mileage varies though, I have a electric oven and use a DO to do rabbit and anything elese that threaten my parsnips. Have used gas grills and DOs, did not cook as even as it does with coals or in a electric oven.

anyone got a good woodchuck recipe?

got one of those ****ers, and it needs to die.

[carvedog]

You can cut down your cook time indoors or out, cast iron or aluminum by heating your dutch lids while you are loading the ingredients in.

If you are using aluminum and put the lid on your gas burner on high it can melt. How do I know this? Welllllll let's just say I know.

I do a wicked good greek chicken in the dutch too.

Whole chicken(s), dried and fresh oregano, little bit of dry thyme, pepper, sea salt, olive oil, lemons - juice them over the chicken and then put them inside of the chicken. This is over a bed of potatoe, onion, maybe some cloves of garlic or whole heads as you prefer.

I go with high heat on this to brown the chicken.

Throw in some broccoli after about an hour, cook for ten or fifteen more and it is a great one pot meal.

As long as there is moisture in the pot, it is very hard to burn, but it can be done.

[Dr D]

now learn to do it over a slit trench fire and you have real pioneer skills:eplus2:

Spent a little time in western nebraska working for a wagon train tourist trap. If you didn't build the fire underground it didn't stay lit in your general area due to the usual gale force winds. a long slit trench provides both chimney and draft. Top with a dutch oven and you are in business

[skategoat]

What do you think about the enameled dutch ovens. Like this one:

Will they do the job?

[carvedog]

What do you think about the enameled dutch ovens. Like this one:

Will they do the job?

Yeah they will. I have an enamel one too. For me part of the whole DO thing is to get the heat out of the house in the summer. Spending the time outside. Drinking while cooking. The other one gets used in the winter when I don't want to fire the charc.

[eastcoasticerider]

Hey that looks a lot like the original Griswold Dutch Ovens that used to be made right here in scenic and exotic erie pa....They are quite collectible now and still can be found at garage sales if you look hard......

[utahcarver]

Yeah, When Emeril Lagasse first hit the airwaves years ago on the Foodnetwork, my mom bought the whole Le Creuset cookware ensemble. Then, when she got her new kitchen and the stove/range was induction-powered, she kept burning everything when she used the enameled cast iron pots. I still don't know if it was her not knowing how to use an induction range or if there is some incompatibility with enameled cookware.

Anyway, I inherited the cookware and I love it. Not for everything but, when I need the food to cook slowly, or to transfer the pots to the oven, the cookware is great. Clean up is easy, as is the case with any cast iron cookware.

I'll address black pot clean up in another post,

Mark

[bobdea]

I'm a cast iron junkie, the best non-stick cookware there is if you use it right

enamel kills it for me.

always wipe and avoid washing if you can, easy as can be.

[utahcarver]

I'm a cast iron junkie, the best non-stick cookware there is if you use it right

enamel kills it for me.

always wipe and avoid washing if you can, easy as can be.

Well said, Bob.

I FORBID soap, detergents, any kind of degreasers around my pots. I keep'em clean with a scotch-brite pad (if necessary), hot water, and whatever fats or oils are available. I have a cast iron skillet that has a finish that is black and hard as heck-fire simply because it's never seen a drop of soap. I can literally cook an egg on it without adding any butter or oil and the egg will not stick. It's taken almost 2 years to get it to that condition, though. Teflon is no match for this finish. Simple to use, simple to reuse.

Once the cooking temps are above 212ºf, all bacteria and fungi are killed. What's left is the clean taste of searing meats and veggies; think: Fajitas (fa-hee-taahs).

Mark

I can't wait for some great dutch oven cooking and grilling over at the skatepark this summer!!!

[carvedog]

I think tonight might be the pork shoulder roast stuffed with slivered garlic. Super hot for twenty, deglaze with beef or veg broth, put in brown or wild rice. Apply beer internally and to crock pot - 45 minutes later top with broccoli, another 15 minutes and

.......Schwing.

[xxguitarist]

I'm a cast iron junkie, the best non-stick cookware there is if you use it right

Absolutely agree with this. My favorite egg pan is a cast iron one. Couple drops of oil & it is just as good as teflon.

[utahcarver]

Yesterday, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I finally got some pics of cooking with a dutch oven. I started by getting my briquets going in my trusty Weber chimney. BTW, don't grab the metal handles on the chimney or dutch oven without some welders gloves on. I use my trusty lid lifter (not pictured) to check on the food in the pot. Next, I put my food in the dutch oven, in this case a #10 Lodge dutch oven and put 17 briquets on top and about 8-9 on bottom. I let this cook for about an hour.

The temperature in the oven was about 375ºf and I should have taken one or two briquets off of the top and bottom to bring the temperature down to 350ºf. When the potatoes were done, I topped them with shredded cheese and pulled the hamburgers off of the grill. The kitchen stayed cool, the missus was happy, and I got to swill some suds.

This is really easy cooking, folks! And yes, that's over a pound of crispy bacon in those potatoes.

Dutch Oven Potatoes

4-5 Russet potatoes medium dice

2 medium onions rough chopped

1 stick butter melted

2-3 cloves garlic minced

1 pound bacon (crispy)

2 tbsp lemon pepper (if desired)

salt and pepper to taste

Variations: Add 1 can chicken broth or cream of chicken soup; add chopped carrots for flavor and color; half-way through cooking the potatoes, add 4 chicken breasts and cook until done.

Enjoy.

Mark