just picked up a Lodge 12”/6qt Camp Dutch oven and 60” tripod this morning. The tripod was not wide enough to fit around my fire pit so I drilled some angled 3/4” holes in the cinder blocks for the legs to fit in and make it rock solid. Never cooked in a Dutch oven before and will look at doing a beef stew or a chili this weekend, any tips or advice from the more experienced? Thanks.
Looks great! I’m no expert , but cook with cast iron regularly and also have a tripod I use when camping. If the Dutch oven isn’t seasoned already, give it a good rub with whatever oil you prefer (I like avocado) and slowly heat it to make the surface more slickery . My other advice is, especially if you’re not used to cast iron, keep the heat lower than you’d think at first as it easy to get it too hot and burn the bottom of everything. I always toss a couple/few coals on the lid to heat from above also. Other expert tip, lots of pics ! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
First and foremost, don't cook over a fire, cook over a bed of coals. Like others said, some coals on top make everything better. I haven't yet but I've seen several people bake some real nice camp bread in them. Lots & lots of videos on youtube and vimeo. I use Flax oil to season cast iron, it's essentially unrefined Linseed oil so it polymerizes and leaves a really good coating on it. Burn it in and keep rubbing it down to make it nice and smooth. Better than Teflon if you do it right. Never used Avocado oil before... Is it a drying oil? I know it's pretty pricey but then Flax isn't cheap either.
I've used mine for stews, pulled pork, and even threw in two chickens once to see what would happen. The meat fell off the bones, no crispy skin though. Also, I read that you should avoid any tomato based foods, (chili), until the pan is very well seasoned, because of the acid in the tomatoes. And low heat is key, those things retain heat like crazy!
Makes me feel like my statement is incomplete. Yup, bed of coals and coals on top of the lid as well. Cobbler turned out great every time I used that method. Save cooking over a fire for the hot dogs and marshmallows.
Used to bake cake/brownie batter in icecream cones for the cub scouts in one. I also use flaxseed oil. Low and slow is the way to go.
I use...well...never mind what I use. Have one skillet I’d like to try that avocado oil on...just because it has the highest smoke point of any oil at 500*F. Even if I did try it it would take years...no...decades worth of use to make a fair comparison with what already works. No harm in trying something new though. My hope would be the avacado oil wouldn’t impart any strange flavors. Bad lard can do the same. Don’t buy bad lard...stuff smells like a hog lot. Good lard doesn’t smell that way.
I don’t notice any flavors from the avocado oil. My wife went crazy with evoo for a time and I grew to detest the flavors it has. Found that avocado oil worked gooder, high smoke point like you said, and I cook steaks in cast in my wood stove and found the avocado oil bestest for this. Most of my cast iron is old and very well coated / seasoned so it’s a light touch up occasionally, depending on who “washed” it after use. I’ve found them “soaking” in the sink a few times and had to have a chat with way tooooo much info for my girls. I find if I handle it that way, give more info than anyone could care to know, they shy away from the issue next time Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Lodge cast iron comes preseasoned from the factory. They use canola oil if I recall correctly. I stripped the seasoning off a Lodge griddle a few weeks ago. It was a factory second and needed some sanding and finish work for a Christmas present. I did 4 seasonings with grapeseed oil. I would weld 3 short pieces of pipe or tubing onto the edge of the fire pit to hold the tripod. You could make forks or boat oar support like objects to hold roasting sticks that fit the same supports. If the support is strong enough you could put a grill cantilevered to one side that can rotate over the coal's or over to the outside for loading/unloading...
There's a lot of good info here regarding cooking temps and charcoal placement. Camp Cooking outdoors
Nice buy! I have the same tripod but used the Dutch oven a couple rimes I second this with making sure there aren’t any flames lapping the pot will produce a burn spot. The coals create that even heat so burning any fire down first is best. Also its nice to have the tripod so that you can control the fire temp in your cauldron pit. Being able to move coals and creating a more cool spot if the heat gets too much can be really helpful. The coals on the top of the lid go a long way as well. I’m posting late sorry but hope the cooking went well.
How’d I miss this?!! Frying some chicken over a maple fire right on the driveway. I made this tripod out of some rebar and a few other pieces of steel for the adjustable hook.
Also made a nicer one for a friend out of 1/2” square stock. Start with 6’ pieces so it’s near 60” legs. It folds up nice and also comes apart easy to stab a leg in the ground to hang stuff on like a lantern or something. Had a spare piece and made a little lid lifter tool (hanging on the hook)
