Dutch Oven Tips & Techniques
Cast Iron is the original "Non-Stick" Cookware
- The Most Important thing to learn in cooking with a Dutch oven is Temperature Control.
- The amount of charcoal briquettes given with a recipe should only be used as an guide.
- One common method for temperature control is to take the size of the Dutch oven plus 3 briquettes on the top, and subtract 3 briquettes on the bottom for a 325°-350° oven.
(a size 12" would use 15 coals [12 +3] on top and 9 coals [12 -3] on the bottom)
- A general rule for most Dutch oven cooking use 2/3 of the charcoal briquettes on top
and 1/3 of the coals on the bottom.
- For most Dutch oven cooking, evenly space your bottom charcoal briquettes in a circle,
½" inside the diameter of the oven.
- When frying or browning in the bottom of your Dutch oven, arrange your charcoal in a checkerboard pattern with about 2-inches of space between each briquette.
(15-18 coals under a 12" oven)
- For charcoal placement on the lid of your oven, arrange your coals in an all-over the top checker-board pattern.
- Good Charcoal will hold heat for about one hour of cooking. If something takes a longer than 1 hour to cook, change to fresh coals after 45 minutes. Some inexpensive charcoals burn unevenly and can go out on you in the middle of cooking.
- Factors like wind, altitude and air temperature can effect the cooking temperature in your Dutch oven.
- A tip to avoid hot spots when cooking is to separately rotate your oven and lid, a quarter turn in opposite directions every 10 to 15 minutes.
- When there are coals on the lid, you must be very careful how you remove it to check your food or ash will blow into the oven.
- NEVER add cold liquid to a hot Dutch oven or you could crack the cast iron. Pre-warm any liquids for recipes that require addition during cooking.
- Leather gloves, a lid-lifter, long tongs, and an ash shovel are very useful tools to have when moving your oven or adding hot charcoal briquettes.
- Occasionally, you'll need to remove hot grease or other excess liquids from your oven. One easy method is to use a turkey baster to siphon out the excess.
- When putting the lid on your Dutch oven, always give it a quarter turn to make sure the lid is in the sealing groove.
- Never set a Dutch oven lid on the ground. Use a lid stand, 2 sticks or a board as a place to set the lid while checking or stirring the food.
- Use 2 boards or sticks to level the lid when turning over an upside-down cake. Or turn it over onto a foil-covered board as a serving tray.
- Top a stew with dumplings about 15 minutes before serving. The stew must be simmering.
- When baking breads directly in the Dutch oven, about half-way through the cooking time, remove the bottom briquettes, and complete the baking with top heat only. (On cool days leave several coals beneath the oven)
Kingsford charcoal is used almost exclusively by most Dutch oven cook off participants.
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