Recommendations for my first D.O.?

Now that I actually have my Raindrop, I am going about the business of SLOWLY and CAREFULLY outfitting her. I'm wary of clutter. But I do want to get myself a Dutch Oven. But which one? The 12" seems to be too much capacity for my needs of cooking for 1-4 people most of the time; but it seems to be the size that most recipes are made for. Is it bad to cook in a 12" DO if its only 1/2 full? And then I see recipes calling for "deep" ovens. Should I get a "deep" oven?

 

Why don't you start with a Lodge 8" or maybe 10".

 

Rick,

The 10 inch is a great size.
Besides where are you going to keep leftovers while camping?

Lid lifter absolutely necessary.

I have two carrying bags and don't use them. Store the Dutchoven wrapped in a towel because that is what works for me. All cookware nested together. Dutch Oven on the bottom.

I carry a much smaller container of Charcoal. Made plywood cookies to use as a cover stand/dutchoven trivet.

I am one of the few who does not keep the cooler in the designated galley space. That space is designated for a rubbermade tub that holds COBB grill, charcoal, tongs, wood cookies, fire starters.

Another option is consider is a deep cast iron "chicken fryer" instead of a dutch oven. The frying pan will be multi purpose, use on stove and as a dutch oven.

Investing in a cast iron lid lifer or gas stove grate to use as legs such as are on the dutch oven. Might consider purchasing a dutch oven lid to place coals on top. Frying pan comes with a rounded lid.

First consider how do you cook while camping? Use stove or over fire. If only anticipate using stove, why add the weight of the dutch oven and related supplies if you are concerned about clutter.

Jean

 

Oven - Ditto on the 10" DO for starters.

Lid lifter - Go with the Mair, as you have much better control with using it to lift the lid as well as move/carry the DO. Size is your preference. I first got the 14" as the 22" was way to long for a short person like myself to use without looking ridiculous. Then I came across the 9" & use that almost exclusively. Inherited a 22" but never use it.

Lid Stand - Not a necessity but I use mine a lot. Have even used it inside the DO to raise up a pan or pie plate.

Carry Bag - Again, personal preference. I have them for most of my DOs & love them. Don't particularly care for the Lodge ones as much as the Sportsman's Warehouse ones, which are padded & have a more rugged feel to them for a way better price.

Wooden Cutout/Trivet - I had Craig cut a circle of plywood to fit in the bottom of each DO bag. He also used a Forstner drill (spade bit works, too) to drill 3 places for the legs to sit in (Holes don't go all the way through the plywood). This serves 2 purposes: Gives support to the bag while traveling, carrying & like Jean's, can be used as a trivet for the DO if you don't have a place to set a hot DO.

Charcoal Box - I use a smaller Rubbermaid box with a handle for carrying. I line it with a kitchen size trash bag & change out the bag occasionally. Keeps things cleaner.

Tongs - A good pair of long handled ones (more like ones for a BBQ - not the short handled ones used in the kitchen) for moving coals around.

Gloves - Again, not necessary but nice for carrying, moving the DO around. If you get gloves, they need to be heavy. Welder's gloves work well.

Charcoal Chimney - Again, nice but not necessary. I made my own to start with but finally bought one as my DO cooking needs expanded.

Fire Starters - You can use lighter fluid but I am not a fan for a lot of reasons. Can also buy fire starters. I'm cheap & make my own & they are much easier to store.

"Stuff Bag" - I found a medium size brand new duffel style bag at Goodwill for $5 to store all the "Miscellaneous" stuff. Keeps things clean & if I really want to, I can always throw the bag in the washer to give it a good cleaning.

ID Tags - Especially important if you are part of a DO pot luck or are cooking with a group of people. Something simple as wiring an old key to the DO handle & to the lid, id tags (you can order these, get them at a locksmith, or there are machines in places like Walmart that will make them). Something that can withstand the heat & will remain intact so you can identify your oven & lid.

Lastly, there is the seasoning of a DO...there are a variety of opinions & techniques. Again, it's what works for you. I'm a huge fan of George's method & prefer using beeswax...that's a whole new discussion!

I acquired things over time, as I tried different things and borrowed from others. That way, I knew what I wanted/liked/would use.

 

Jenn,& Rick we also us a tub in the cooler area. (the cooler we already had was to big) We keep our Cobb in it with the Dutch oven lid holder, (tongs,and 10" pizza pan to put charcoal and set oven on.(cheap at Goodwill))
Becky made a lid cover and oven bag.
We have a Lodge 10" oven with the legs. (American made)
We keep the charcoal in one of the floor storage compartments in the bag it comes in.
I made a starter chimney out of some stove pipe with handles I can easily take off and made it half as tall as the ones you buy. It still holds more than enough charcoal to start and takes up way less space.

 

We carry our Dutch Ovens in this box, in the back of our pick-up, with all of our other toys! Jim cut some packing foam to fit the inside to prevent things from clanging around. We can fit all four of our Dutch ovens (nested), chimney, tongs, lid lifter, lid stand, gloves, lighter, newspaper, and a few other cooking tools. It is heavy duty, and weather proof. When it is packed full, you need to be on steroids to be able to lift it!! Works well for us though!

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mini-Truck-Box/16795320

We also use this trivet, when baking bread, biscuits, or bread pudding in a pan placed inside the DO.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/cooking-accessories/outdoor/trivet-meat-rack-L8DOT3

And don't forget a good stiff brush and scrapers for clean up.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/cooking-accessories/outdoor/pan-scraper-SCRAPERPK

http://www.lodgemfg.com/cooking-accessories/outdoor/cast-iron-scrubber-K11BRSH

 

What size are the recut parchment paper liners?

What is the purpose for the aluminum foil under the DO?

 

With a chimney, you can start your coals over a gas stove...just ask Darrel!

I also use a hog feeder pan to start the coals. It allows me to use the DO pretty much anywhere. I also set the DO in it for cooking (helps with the coals when it's windy). You can also make a windscreen out of old license plates. Folds flat for easy storage.

 

Thank you for all of the helpful suggestions! I was touched by all of the links and photos many of you embedded in your posts as well. I had forgotten about all of the accompanying tools and supplies that were necessary. I'm not much of a cook, and will confess to camping with a micro-wave with my kids in the pop-up. But I really want to learn at least some of the basics of D.O. cooking. It seems to compliment the TearDrop lifestyle so much more than the microwave (Sayeth the man who has in his Raindrop A/C, Furnace, Television, Kick Ass sound system with satellite radio and power antenna.) But, hey, life is full of contradictions and irony, right?

 

Hey, Rick.

I just use a 10 inch chicken fryer and a lid snitched from one of my dutch ovens. The long handle makes it easy to move around as I cook on an open fire. No charcoal, no stands, a rock works just fine for hot lids and a small branch can hook that lid as easily as a heavy pot holder...which I also use.

One pan, one lid and you can fry, stew and bake to your hearts content. This is bare bones cast iron and I find it works just dandy.

But season that baby or you'll be in the world of scrape and scour without a road map out.

And most of all, have fun and buy American made.

Camp On

Sue

 

Ken, beautiful hammered lid.

 

Sue: I like the way the "chicken fryer" option would keep things simple. Because that is what I'm trying to do here.

However, I took the plunge and ordered a few things on-line last night:

10" 5-quart (deep) Lodge Dutch Oven

Mair 9" lid lifter

Lodge Lid stand

10" Lodge Cast Iron Skillet with glass lid (Not related to DO cooking, but something I wanted for my Raindrop.)

I know I will still need to pick up a few more things, but this should get me started! I'm hoping to practice a bit here at home over the next few months.

Thank you again for the wisdom of the tribe here!

Now onto my next question - any particular kinds of meals or recipes that are especially easy and would be confidence building to a DO newbie? Conversely, any recipes or kinds of DO cooking that might be better done with more experience???

 

Thank you, Ken! I shall try these!!

 

Beautiful loaf, a little wine and cheese and oh my!