T-minus 2 hours before hitting the road this past weekend for a quick camping trip we made the snap decision to up our game in camp cooking. Initially motivated by our desire to have delicious biscuits in the morning, we decided to try our hand at Dutch Oven cooking. We hoped that this cast iron investment would open up a whole new world of cobblers, stews, cornbread, and yes, biscuits to our fireside dining.
Living in the heart of Fairfax, VA suburbia, I was able to conveniently pick up a 10” diameter 4-quart Lodge cast iron Dutch Oven at the REI right around the corner (dangerous, I tell you!). A little Googling later – we had a grocery shopping list together for our first go-round. The goal – cook something relatively idiot-proof the first time and build from there.
Dinner was a simple chicken and dumplings recipe, and of course biscuits were on the menu for the morning. On both recipes, we “cheated” and used pre-prepared ingredients. No need to over-complicate our inaugural go-round.
Build a fire, then use the coals to warm the oven…
We headed out to one of our favorite spots in George Washington National Forest for the night – the weather was shaping up to be perfect and we hoped to see some early fall color in some of the trees. One of the best things about camping is that, when done right, requires you to slow down and appreciate where you are. The dutch oven definitely reinforces that for us. Cooking with it is a process, but a pleasant one:
- Build and maintain a fire to get a good bed of coals (or use charcoal)
- Place coals underneath and on the lid of the oven to pre-heat it
- Prepare the recipe / stove contents
- Load contents into the oven and let it cook, rotating both the oven and the lid opposite directions to evenly apply heat over the course of the cook time
- Enjoy the delicious Dutch Oven fare!
Our first foray was a success both with the Chicken and Dumplings as well as our morning biscuits! Clean-up was pretty easy too – just heating a little water in the oven then wiping clean with a paper towel (no soap – don’t want to remove the oils impregnated in the cast iron).
We are looking forward trying out many, many more recipes on upcoming trips – it adds a new dynamic to these weekend getaways, and cooking in cast iron just “feels” right in a lot of the settings we find ourselves in.
awesome right up. you had me at biscuits
I got one for Christmas last year but never got a chance to use it yet. I was amazed all the recipes out there for it too. Very simple to super-complicated are available. Needless to say, I will going something like you did for a few tries at least!