Have you ever been to a DOG or to a demo for a DO? Wait, maybe I should explain what I am talking about and tell you that my husband and I like to camp and have a popup that we have used for years. While it has many great qualities it doesn’t have my double oven from home inside and I find that I miss that method of preparing our meal more than I thought I would. There are ways around this but most of them involve electricity and a few counter top appliances. Power isn’t always available so I have been thinking about alternatives. Back in January, I decided to do some research on Dutch Oven Camp Ovens. My middle brother is a great outdoor cook. He has a “Big Green Egg”, a smoker and two or three Dutch Oven Camp Ovens. So, after doing my due diligence on the computer, I decided to tap Vic’s knowledge. I had way too many questions for him, though he was very helpful and we will likely get into this together at some point. Then in February my husband, Denny, got me a 12” deep Lodge for my birthday.
The snow is gone now and I can get the old Weber kettle out of storage and season my new DO properly and that will likely happen on Monday as I am not working at the tea room. In the mean time I have heard from some of the other folks that I have been plaguing with my questions and found out that there was a DOG and Demo at the Hurstville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa on May 3, 2009.
To begin with a DOG is a Dutch Oven Gathering and of course a Demo is a Demo. Doug Gonner from Maquoketa was the speaker and he was assisted by a son or two and a good friend. I was by far the person with the most questions and Doug was faithful to never make me feel any of them were stupid and he thoroughly answered each on.
A Dutch Oven Camp Oven is a pot, usually cast iron, that has three short legs and a flat lid that has a raised ring around the outside. It also has a bale (handle). Not to be confused with Dutch Oven that came with the set of pans that you received for Christmas. First let’s do a bit of history.
HISTORY
These pots originated in Holland back in the 1800’s and migrated into the US with the immigrants from there. Our patriot, Paul Revere, standardize them and gave them the distinctive ring around the lid. One of the earlier versions was called a “spider” and was used in the fireplace. It had legs that were longer than the ones you see today and the bales were longer as well. This versatile pot was a major player in the wagons traveling west and are still used today and manufactured in many countries. Mine was made in Pennsylvania, I believe but Campchef is made in China and there are Texport, Stansford and many more. Some of them have dimpled bottoms and are called “Chicken Pots”, but I was unsuccessful in finding this item online.
I have long used my Weber kettle as an oven using “in-direct” heat and even bake pies on my Weber Genisis grill ( this one never leaves the deck) so I was happy to find a possible solutions to my camp oven needs. We attended a DOG (Dutch Oven Gathering) and Demo and I learned so much. I learned;
· The do’s and don’t’s of seasoning
· That you can turn the whole thing upside down and use the top as the bottom and make pizza
· That you should grease the inside of the DO to make cornbread
· The making of biscuits in a DO and the way you place them to make them bake the best without burning or coming out gummy in the middle
· What kinds of tools I still needed beyond the pot, the lid lifter and lid rack (who knew I needed a chimney)
· That you need to place coals under and on the top to use the oven as such
· The number of coals determines the baking temp and there is a ratio top and bottom that works best
· That you can stack them and have a multi-course meal, depending on how may pots you have
· That there are different sizes of charcoal and that there is a lump kind and each produces a different degree of heat and for a different length of time, did you know that Kingford reduces the briquette size that they make a few years ago and that throws the whole thing off
We left with a shopping list and an itch to get started. I love to cook and I am really looking forward to getting started.
Our next adventure will take us to Southeast Iowa to share the Villages of Van Buren County with my Mom for Mother’s Day. This will include a trip to Cantril, Iowa and the “Dutchman’s Store” there. Would you like to come along?
The snow is gone now and I can get the old Weber kettle out of storage and season my new DO properly and that will likely happen on Monday as I am not working at the tea room. In the mean time I have heard from some of the other folks that I have been plaguing with my questions and found out that there was a DOG and Demo at the Hurstville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa on May 3, 2009.
To begin with a DOG is a Dutch Oven Gathering and of course a Demo is a Demo. Doug Gonner from Maquoketa was the speaker and he was assisted by a son or two and a good friend. I was by far the person with the most questions and Doug was faithful to never make me feel any of them were stupid and he thoroughly answered each on.
A Dutch Oven Camp Oven is a pot, usually cast iron, that has three short legs and a flat lid that has a raised ring around the outside. It also has a bale (handle). Not to be confused with Dutch Oven that came with the set of pans that you received for Christmas. First let’s do a bit of history.
HISTORY
These pots originated in Holland back in the 1800’s and migrated into the US with the immigrants from there. Our patriot, Paul Revere, standardize them and gave them the distinctive ring around the lid. One of the earlier versions was called a “spider” and was used in the fireplace. It had legs that were longer than the ones you see today and the bales were longer as well. This versatile pot was a major player in the wagons traveling west and are still used today and manufactured in many countries. Mine was made in Pennsylvania, I believe but Campchef is made in China and there are Texport, Stansford and many more. Some of them have dimpled bottoms and are called “Chicken Pots”, but I was unsuccessful in finding this item online.
I have long used my Weber kettle as an oven using “in-direct” heat and even bake pies on my Weber Genisis grill ( this one never leaves the deck) so I was happy to find a possible solutions to my camp oven needs. We attended a DOG (Dutch Oven Gathering) and Demo and I learned so much. I learned;
· The do’s and don’t’s of seasoning
· That you can turn the whole thing upside down and use the top as the bottom and make pizza
· That you should grease the inside of the DO to make cornbread
· The making of biscuits in a DO and the way you place them to make them bake the best without burning or coming out gummy in the middle
· What kinds of tools I still needed beyond the pot, the lid lifter and lid rack (who knew I needed a chimney)
· That you need to place coals under and on the top to use the oven as such
· The number of coals determines the baking temp and there is a ratio top and bottom that works best
· That you can stack them and have a multi-course meal, depending on how may pots you have
· That there are different sizes of charcoal and that there is a lump kind and each produces a different degree of heat and for a different length of time, did you know that Kingford reduces the briquette size that they make a few years ago and that throws the whole thing off
We left with a shopping list and an itch to get started. I love to cook and I am really looking forward to getting started.
Our next adventure will take us to Southeast Iowa to share the Villages of Van Buren County with my Mom for Mother’s Day. This will include a trip to Cantril, Iowa and the “Dutchman’s Store” there. Would you like to come along?
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