The Amazing Dutch Oven

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Once you're an expert in the basics of Dutch oven use, you might like to attempt some of the more advanced cooking methods. For example, if you need to bake several dishes at once for a single meal, it's possible to "stack cook" in a pair of the kettles. Or you can make the versatile cooker a flapjack griddle: Simply place it upside down on the coals (as a heat conductor) and set the lid—also upside down—on the kettle's legs to form a frying surface! No matter how you use it, I think you'll find that a Dutch oven is a rugged and practical alternative to conventional camp cookware . . . and a lot of fun, to boot!

WHATS IN A NAME?

It isn't really Dutch in origin—and it's certainly not a regular oven—so how did the outdoor cooker earn its unusual name? Well, what may seem like a misnomer actually makes sense, in light of the sturdy utensil's history.

The advantages of cooking in portable cast-iron kettles were well known to early settlers on the Atlantic seaboard, who carried the covered pots with them when they moved westward. As the "new", relatively small cookers became increasingly popular, they were massproduced by northern manufacturers ... and then eagerly snapped up by Dutch traders for use in their barter with the Indians . . . and in that way the oven gained its ethnic label.

The design of our modern Dutch oven hasn't changed much since colonial craftsman Paul Revere perfected the original pioneer model ... and the hearty victuals it produces today are every bit as tasty as (and often quite similar to) meals that our ancestors enjoyed.

TRY ONE YOURSELF

If this article has whetted your appetite for rib-sticking outdoor meals—and you'd like to learn Dutch—oven cookery—you might be able to find the vessels at your local hardware or camping equipment store ... or you can order one directly from a manufacturer. The iron pots are most often available commercially in five- and nine-quart sizes (which measure roughly 10 to 13 inches in diameter). A good manufacturer is the General Housewares Corp., Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 4066, Terre Haute, Indiana 47804. These folks—at the time of this writing—offer the conventional five-quart (for $15.25) and nine-quart (for $33.00) sizes . . . as well as a minimodel (a two-quart bean pot, which measures 8" in diameter) for $10.75, postpaid.

EDITOR'S NOTE: To examine a few really good reasons to explore the outofdoors after summer's crowds have gone, turn to the article on page 72.

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