The Amazing Dutch Oven

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BAKING IN A DUTCH OVEN

Once your "iron chef" has been fully sweetened, it can be used to prepare just about any one-pot dish you might dream up. You can cook either above or below ground in your Dutch oven, but "fast" dishes (such as biscuits and pies) do best over an open fire, while "slower" meals (like stews, roasts, and yeast breads) turn out better if left to cook for several hours in an earthen pit.

When you're learning to prepare "aboveground" treats, start with uncomplicated one-pan desserts (just use your favorite kitchen recipe for gingerbread, apple crisp, etc.), which don't need much preparation . . . and will often "Dutch" bake in the same amount of time as they'd require in conventional indoor ovens. Your first step will be to scrape out a shallow hole about 18 inches across (as you would before building any campfire) and encircle it with large rocks to contain the flames. Then build a hardwood blaze . . . and let it burn down to embers.

After the big flames have died back, spread the coals out slightly with a shovel and warm the iron lid over that heat source. Next, find three or four small stones of about the same size and arrange them on the bottom of the Dutch oven to form a "rack". Place the batterfilled baking tin on this platform, keeping it as nearly level as possible. Finally, set the whole oven on the coals, seal the lid tightly—giving it an extra half-twist to secure it—and pile about 10 to 15 hot coals on top.

You'll find that you need to check your baked goods' progress more frequently than you might when cooking indoors, and that you'll have to replace the coals on the lid occasionally . . . since the embers burn out quickly when exposed to the open air.

UNDERGROUND COOKING

Some camp cooks think that a Dutch oven really comes into its own when used in a subterranean pit (especially if you're preparing hearty meat dishes). To cook underground, dig a large hole ( make sure it's a few inches wider and deeper than your cooker) and line it with stones or foil. [EDITOR'S NOTE: For safety's sake, be sure your pit is located in, mineral soil—well away from roots and humus—so that the fire can't possibly spread beneath the ground.] Then light a large blaze in the hole and let it burn down to coals. (Or—if possible—simply transfer the leftover hot coals from the breakfast campfire into the pit.)

When cooking a pot roast (or just about any meat, for that matter), it's a good idea to brown the cut-atop the coalsin your preheated, pregreased Dutch oven . . . before adding chopped vegetables (such as potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, or peppers), followed by approximately 1-1/2 cups of water. Then seal the kettle, lower it carefully into the pit, and cover the lid with live coals. Finally, shovel a few inches of earth—to form an insulating layer—on top of the pot, and let the food cook slowly . . . usually for a period of 2 to 4 hours. (If you've added enough water, however, you can simmer the meat for up to 8 hours . . . which should be long enough to tenderize the toughest roast.)

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