Dutch Oven

Trail Purpose

Camp stoves eventually run out of fuel. A dutch oven can be used over open flame from nearly any fuel as long as you know how to do it. You can bake nearly anything you can in a gas stove in your home. 

While they are heavy, they are perfect for a camp setting. When you're restricted to using sticks as fuel a dutch oven meal would be a very welcome meal.

What We Like

• Versatile - a dutch oven can be used in so many situations. Monitoring the heat from briquets or firewood coals is the main key.
• So Tasty! - My first dutch oven meal was on a car-camping overnighter. We had floated the river and were exhausted. As we changed into dry clothes we set up chicken pot pie and cobbler in two ovens. Let's just say it was a memorable meal.
• Perfect for Outdoor Survival - If weight is no issue, dutch ovens can be a great alternative to modern conveniences. It obviously gets left home in an evacuation.
• Cleaning - OK, so we don't like cleaning the oven, however, you can clean them with hot water and some form of scraper

Tips and Recommendations

• Practice - don't wait for a campout before you figure out how to use a dutch oven. Here are some meals and desserts you should consider for home cookin':
  • chicken pot pie
  • cobbler (mixed berry, peach, blue berry, or cherry)
  • mountainman breakfast
  • biscuits and gravy
  • pizza (this one is an advanced challenge)
  • chicken alfredo
  • more...
• Season the Oven - season the oven with hot oil. There are tons of videos showing you how.
• Don't wash it with soap - Once seasoned, you don't want to wash out the oil.