Dutch ovens
 

Mr Wizard has a bunch of dutch ovens and does not really enjoy them. (family heirlooms) How do you people;

- clean them
- store them
- cook with them
- calculate temperature

Any serious input would be appreciated !

Cast iron?

Yep, gotta know that first before anyone can answer your questions.

Yes, they are cast iron, (lodge mostly) very nice and in various sizes, my uncles were great with them, I just did not download that info before they passed. :(

I thought this thread was about something totally different.

I am dissapointed this thread isn't about something different.

I usually eat Taco Bell first.

And I use a heavy wool blanket.

Sorry, Mr Wizard does not not know any dutch women. :(

Clean them like any other cast iron cookware. If they are well seasoned, all you need to do is wipe them out and then dry them in the oven for 10 minutes or so.

My friend has a couple of these and he cooks outdoors with them using regular charcoal briquettes. He uses recipes and the recipes specify the number of briquettes and where to put them (bottom or top). I'd check Lodges website to see if they had a cook book.

I've had stews and cobblers out of it and they were great.

Are they currently rusty?

When were they last used?

Do you have a storage space in mind for them?

In looking for something a bit more illustrative... I ran across this. It made me chuckle to myself. Enjoy.

one is slightly rust on the outside, the rest are not, they are in the garage They do not have storage bags.

Former Eagle scout here; The dutch oven is pretty good to cook with on camping trips if you know how. Usually with open flame fire pits. You basically pull some coals out of the fire pit, and put the oven on top. Then pull some more coals out of the fire pit and put them on top of the lid. Having a set of pliers, and a shovel are necessary. Then you just check the cake, pie, etc. with a toothpick to see when it is done. Generally around 30 mins. but could be sooner depending on how hot the coals are. Clean by hand with regular dish liquid and dry ASAP. Then before you put away the dutch oven you need to season it by rubbing a coat of vegatable oil in the inside and on the inside of the lid. Helps keep the oven in good cooking condition. Anyway you can go to this link for any other advice.

http://www.idos.com/

NEVER USE SOAP. If you don't use soap, you don't have to season them every time.

Get it to appear clean by wiping it out. Use some water, but no soap. Then use heat to kill any bacteria and to dry it so it won't rust.

I do remember them cleaning them with a chunk of crunched up tin foil and NEVER using soap, thats about all I remember except that they cooked some amazing things in them.

ROFL

THAT is what I thought this thread was about.

I've heard it done this way as well. I've always used soap personally. But I think it is just up to preference.

For the first cleaning, I would use steel and water to get the rust off.

Dry them with a towel and then put them on the stove and turn on a burner until thoroughly dry. Cast iron is porous so you want to dry them very thoroughly. Then apply a thin coat of shortening all over, inside and out. If there are lids, store them with the lids off.

If you see the rust come back, you may need to re-season them. Lots of info on the intrawebs about that.

Once you get them right, theyre' really very low maintenance.

Dutch ovens. French ovens. Same thing. They all crack and fall apart when the heat is applied.

I always have problems whenever I eat Raisins or raisin bran. or egg salad or hard boiled eggs, or stuffed cabbage. the convected heat under the covers is quite disturbingly smelly.

Is PAM ok to use on them?

Actually if you insist on doing that to the one you love eat 12 deviled eggs and 3 jalapeno poppers before going to bed. I accidentally did this to myself years ago and would not wish it on my worst enemy. The next morning I drove to work with the AC on and windows down. Mr Wizards says DON'T GO THERE.

Ah... a serious thread sprinkled with fart humour. I love it!

I wouldn't. I've noticed that PAM leaves a bit of a sticky residue. Regular vegetable works fine, afaik. I use shortening when it's on hand but that's probably just because I saw it done that way as a kid.

Any oil should be fine. Pam is just aerosolized oil. The advantage of wiping the oil/Crisco on is that you are sure to saturate the pores of the cookware. You might miss some spots by spraying.

It's truly a marvel of the universe that the temperature of charcoal embers is perfect for cooking a cobbler in a dutch oven.

:spock:
This.

These things are really popular at Cabela's. I think you can use them in the oven if you don't feel like making a fire. Not 100% sure though.

Here is a Link to some cookbooks Cabela's has.

They can be used in the oven but the joy comes from the campfires. Alton Brown had a show on Dutch Ovens on Food Network's Good Eats. Episode title is "Going Dutch"