Blogger Sheryl Canter offers this Recipe for SeasoningCast Iron based on what looks like a very well-thought out scientific analysis. After researching the subject she concluded: The seasoning on cast iron is formed by fat polymerization, fat polymerization is maximized with a drying oil, and flaxseed oil is the only drying oil that’s edible. From that I deduced that flaxseed oil would be the ideal oil for seasoning cast iron....
If you want to serve a memorable campfire meal I can’t imagine a much more flavorful or impressive dish than this paella. Dave Herzog (the chef who developed this recipe) is a real dutch oven impresario – you can get his recipe collections through the Cook’n recipe organizer, this requires purchasing the Cook’n software – something you may consider if you are a dedicated cook. Make sure you like Dave’s Facebook page to keep up with his excellent advice and recipes....
There’s nothing quite like baking a pineapple upside down cake in a dutch oven. It’s easier than you think! Preheat the dutch oven until a hand held inside gets uncomfortably warm in five seconds. While the oven is heating mix a box of white or yellow cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Spread margarine around the whole inside of the oven. Melt about 1/3 of a cup of margarine in the bottom of the oven, add about 2/3 cup of brown sugar and mix well....
I learned how to care for cast iron cookware like dutch ovens from some old timers. Their methods are compatible with standard Boy Scout principles and more modern methods. Some of this may be considered “heretical” by the “authentic” dutch oven cooking folks. You’ll have to decide for yourself. Here’s some hints that have served me well: Use plenty of oil. Use oil even when browning meat, even ground chuck. Maybe not so much with ground beef....
Steve Karoly writes about Dutch oven bread revisited on his blog ‘Round the Chuck Box. This isn’t quick bread, no, it’s slow bread – bread that takes hours to make with kneading and rising and kneading and proofing and yeast. Real bread, not the store-bought lifeless loaf that they strip mine somewhere out there – real bread. The smell of this bread alone is so good that (in the words of the mountain men) it will ‘make you slap your daddy off a creek bank....
If you aren’t cooking in a dutch oven you are missing a lot of fun and some great food! Now nobody is going to carry a dutch oven backpacking; this is a ‘car camping’ option for sure. If you need to get outfitted here’s what you’ll need and a few things that you may want (note the difference!) Lodge 8 quart pre-seasoned dutch oven Lodge dutch ovens are the industry standard....
Dutch oven cooking is worth the trouble. Truth be told it’s not actually all that much trouble either! Here’s a great introduction to dutch oven cooking in three parts. It is as easy as it looks; use simple recipes, don’t get too overwrought and you’ll have some great eating. Other Dutch oven information at ScoutmasterCG: Larry’s Dutch Oven HintsDutch Oven KitDutch Oven VideosDutch Oven Bread RevisitedDutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Campfire Cafe is a television show about campfire cooking. Lots of information on their website including recipes, tips and podcasts. If you really want to do it right, you need to learn about different firewoods, cooking gear, cast iron pots, and accessories that will make the job easier and the cooking experience successful. There are weather conditions that will have a direct impact on cooking time, like wind. You’ll need to learn how to maintain your equipment, as well as the fire itself....