Cast Iron Cooking.

For centuries, heavy cast iron cookware has survived from generation to generation, from the open hearth to the open trail.

One of the most versatile of these cookwares is the Dutch oven, a heavy pot, usually 10 to 20 inches in diameter, with a tight fitting lid. The pots designed for outdoor cooking often have short legs and a rimmed lid, so that coals may be placed under the pot and on top of the lid.

Heat from the bottom and the top of the pot create a cooking condition similar to a conventional oven in which food may be baked, braised or roasted.

A Dutch oven was an important utensil for chuck wagon cooks, who used them for everything from bacon to beans, from stews to cobblers.

Any recipe that can be cooked in a skillet on top of the stove, or in a roasting pot or baking dish in the oven, may be cooked in the Dutch oven outdoors.

Number of Charcoals Needed For Dutch Oven Cooking.

Most Dutch ovens are 10" to 16" in diameter.

Follow this formula for the number of coals and place 1/3 of coals under the Dutch oven and 2/3 of the coals on the lid.

FOR MODERATE HEAT:

The diameter of the Dutch oven multiplied by 2 equals the number of coals to use; i.e. 12" pot x 2 = 24 coals:

1/3 or 8 under the pot and 2/3 or 16 on lid.

FOR HIGH HEAT:

The diameter of the Dutch oven multiplied by 3.

TO MAINTAIN HEAT OVER AN HOUR, IGNITE 10 TO 12 EXTRA COALS AND ADD 4 TO 5 COALS AFTER EACH 20 TO 30 MINUTES OF COOKING.