Welcome to Boy Scout Troop 230

Dutch Oven Cooking

Basics

A Dutch oven is a cast iron pot between 8 and 22 inches in diameter. It has 3 legs, a flat bottom, and a lid flanged to hold hot goals or briquettes. The lid has a low handle in the center and the Dutch oven has a bail similar to one on a bucket. These features are for convenience in cooking over an open fire. A 12” small shovel and tongs for moving coals around and a lid grabber are needed to complete your Dutch oven cooking kit.

Aluminum is lighter in weight (8 lbs.) that the same size iron (18 lbs for a No. 12) Dutch oven. They don’t rust but need more coals than a cast iron to maintain the same heat level. When buying a Dutch oven, go for quality, since you’re DO will last you a lifetime. You can use a DO to bake, deep fry, brown, stew, and boil foods. Anything you can buy in a restaurant or cook at home can be cooked in the field using a Dutch oven.

Care and Feeding

Breaking in a DO is called seasoning. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions closely. If you mess it up, do it again. By properly seasoning your DO, it will be easier to clean. Over time, the DO takes on a patina (or finish) that is a barrier to rust. Each time that you use your DO, remove any dust or foreign objects. Check to see that it has a light coat of oil on all inside surfaces. After use be sure that the inside surfaces a lightly oiled and stored with the lid off or use something to leave a gap between the lid and oven.

Cleanup is easy when the cooking surfaces have a light coat of oil on them. DO NOT USE SOAP to clean your oven. If wiping down the oven doesn’t clean it, fill the oven with water and place it back on the heat bringing the water to almost a boil. Use a soft scrubber, and gently scrub off the remaining food. Do not use a metal scrubber since it will scratch or remove the patina. After the oven is clean, place it near the fire to dry. When the oven has cooled re-apply a coating of oil to the cooking surface.

Cooking Basics

To use your Dutch oven as an oven for baking, place some metal tent pins on the bottom of a preheated oven and place the baking dish on top. The tent pins create a gap that allows the air to move around the baking dish.

For boiling, deep-frying, or stewing, a rule of thumb states that 2/3rds of the coals should be on the bottom and 1/3^rd on the top. When browning, the coals are on the bottom with the lid off. Baking requires that the lid be on with the coals on top. The following table gives the suggested number of coals to use when baking.

Briquettes Required to Give a Moderate to Hot Temperature

To determine how hot your oven is, hold the palm of our hand over the coals. Count “one-and-one”, “two-and-two”, and so on for the number of seconds you can bear to hold your hand still. Be sure to circle around the coals “feeling” for hot and cold spots in the fire. Using the guide below you will know how hot your fire is.

Cautions

New users tend to use too much heat. Practice corrects this. When stacking ovens be sure the surface is level. Don’t cook foods in your Dutch oven that you don’t eat already.

Dinner

Dutch Oven Chili Pie
Recipe by Zak Menz. Approved with unanimous "Yummies".

1 pound lean ground beef
˝ cup chopped onion
1 small can diced green chilis (optional)
1 can chili beans in sauce
1 small can tomato sauce

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk


Directions:
1. Heat Dutch Oven bottom over coals.
2. Brown the ground beef in Dutch Oven over coals. Drain excess grease if the ground beef isn't lean.
3. Add onion, green chilis, chili beans, and tomato sauce. Stir to mix well.
4. In a separate container or bowl, mix Jiffy corn muffin mix, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup of milk until creamy.
5. Pour or spoon the corn muffin mixture over the beef mixture. Don't worry about getting it to the edges, as it will expand.
6. Cover the Dutch Oven and cook for approximately 45 minutes. Cook with coals on the top and bottom of the oven.
7. At 45 minutes, test with a toothpick…if it comes out clean when stuck in the middle, the pie is done! If not, cook for another 10 minutes.
 

Dutch Oven Baked Ziti

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8 people
-----------------------------
16 oz pkg Ziti Pasta (Rigatoni)
1/2 lb mild Italian Sausage, bulk
1/2 lb hot Italian Sausage, bulk
2 - 27 oz jars of Spaghetti Sauce, flavored
16 oz Sour Cream
6 oz Provolone Cheese, sliced 6 oz
Mozzarella Cheese, grated or sliced 1/2 C
Parmesan Cheese, grated (or Parmesan and Romano) 2 T
Italian Seasoning

Cook pasta as directed on the manufacturer's packaging and drain.
While the pasta is cooking, saute the sausage
in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
(sausage can be pre-cooked ahead of time) Add spaghetti sauce and simmer about 15 minutes.

Place about half of the pasta in a lightly oiled 12-inch dutch oven. Layer half of the provolone and mozzarella cheeses. Spread on a layer of about half the spaghetti sauce mixture and all of the sour cream.
Cover with the remaining pasta, cheese slices, and sauce. Finally, sprinkle on a layer of Parmesan cheese and top with italian seasoning.
Bake in Dutch Oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese and sauce are bubbly. Serve warm.

Stew and Biscuits

1 roast (1/4 - 1/2 lb. per person; cheaper than stew meat)
1 bottle Zesty Italian salad dressing
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 large onion
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 cup corn starch
1 - 2 cans refrigerated jumbo biscuits
1 large Ziplock bag
2 - 3 1 lb. bags frozen vegetables (chef's choice - many combinations are available at the supermarket.
Note: The onion can be omitted if the frozen vegetable package includes onion. It's nice to include a specialty mixture of vegetables for color and variety.) 1 package mushroom (or brown) gravy mix. Also, (a package of e.g., McCormick, beef stew seasoning can be used in place of the seasonings and corn starch)
The morning of the dinner, cut up the roast into bite-sized cubes, put the cubes in the Ziplock bag, and add the salad dressing and Worcestershire sauce. Seal the bag and knead to mix the contents. Put the bag back in the cooler until its time to cook. It is best if the meat can marinade at least four hours (this imparts a wonderful flavor to the meat as well as tenderizes it).
Dice the onion, sauté' in the butter in the Dutch oven. Then add the marinated meat and spices and brown the meat. After the meat has browned, add the mixed vegetables and stir. When everything is combined, mix the gravy mix with water in a separate cup per the instructions on the package and add to the stew. If there is not enough liquid to the mixture, add a little more water. Cover the Dutch Oven and allow to cook for about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. There will be extra liquid in the stew from the marinade, vegetables, and added water, which will have to be thickened. To do this, mix the corn starch with cold water in a separate cup until it is a thick white liquid. Slowly stir this into the stew over heat until it starts to thicken. Cover and allow to simmer on low heat for 5 - 10 more minutes, stirring frequently. Pull the oven off the fire and uncover. Place jumbo biscuits on top of the stew leaving a small gap between the biscuits. Cover the oven and place the oven on a pile of coals, then place coals on the lid. Check periodically until the biscuits are light golden brown.

Sausage Balls

1 lb Sausage (Mild or hot)
1 Egg
6 oz Grated Cheddar Cheese
3 c Bisquik
Mix all ingredients together. Mixes best with your hands. Pinch off small pieces and form into balls. Cook 10-15 min at 350 in Dutch oven. Makes 6 dozen.

Basic Hamburger, Beans & Biscuits
2 lb lean Hamburger or Turkey Hamburger
2 - 2 lb cans of Pork & Beans
1 jar Hickory Smoked BBQ sauce
1 jar Mesquite BBQ sauce
1 jar Regular BBQ sauce
1 cup shredded Cheese
Ketchup
Mustard
Onions
Your favorite Rollout Biscuit Mix
Brown and drain the Hamburger. Add both cans of Pork & Beans. Fix well. Add as much or as little of the three BBQ sauces to the mix. Again, mix well. Add Ketchup and Mustard to taste. Once all is mixed, add a handful of chopped onions (the finer the better). Let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.
Make your Rollout Biscuits. Cut out in circles. Cut circles in half giving two half circles. Stir the Beans & Hamburger. Arrange biscuit halves on top of simmering beans. Stand biscuit halves on end so that round halves are up. Cover the complete top of the beans and hamburger mix with biscuit halves. Add all shredded cheese on top of biscuits. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. It's done when the biscuits are done.

Mess

1-1/2 lb ground beef
1 can (16 oz) French style green beans
1 can tomato soup
1 sm onion chopped
1 can mushrooms
In Dutch oven or large pot, brown ground beef and onion until onion is clear. Drain and add other ingredients. Heat through and salt to taste. Serve plain or on top of noodles or spaghetti.

Taco Pie
1-1/2 lb ground beef
1 med jar Taco sauce
4 lg corn tortillas
1 8 oz pkg shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (8 oz) tomato puree
Brown ground beef, drain. Combine taco sauce and tomato puree. Line Dutch oven with aluminum foil. Place 2 tortilla shells in Dutch oven. Place 1/2 of ground beef on top, pour 1/2 taco sauce over top. Place 2 more tortilla shells on top and place in rest of beef and pour remaining taco sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake until cheese is melted. Variations: Add chopped onions, mushrooms or tomatoes to meat.

Australian Beef 'N' Beer

**Editor's Note: Please observe local and Scouting regulations before using the Australian Beef `N' Beer recipe.

1 lb. Chuck steak or similar (diced)
1 packet of French Onion Soup mix
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Pinch of dry mustard
1 can beer (our cans are 375 ml or about 12 oz)
Combine ingredients in the oven and cook slowly for 3 - 4 hours. Note there is no alcohol left after the cooking, and you can use low alcohol beer if you like.

1st Class Cooking Requirement In a Dutch Oven

2 lb lean round steak or London Broil
6 TBS flour
1 lb link sausage (optional)
8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes
4 apples, cored and cut in cubes
1 lb bag of baby carrots
2 onions, diced (frozen diced onions will work)
1 can (36 oz) tomato juice
6 beef bullion cubes
salt and pepper to taste
Cut steak into cubes, roll with flour. Cut sausage in halves. In a warm Dutch oven put half of potatoes, apples, carrots, and onions. Add meat and then rest of vegetables. Sprinkle each layer with salt and pepper. Heat tomato juice and bullion cubes, then pour over mixture. Cover and bake at 350° F for 90 minutes. Serves 8.


Breakfast

Biscuits and Gravy

INGREDIENTS:

Amount Ingredient
-------- -----------------------------
16 oz tube of spicy sausage (16 oz Jimmy Dean type)
(since it will be mixed with other stuff, cheap, store brand is ok)
1 - 1-1/2 C flour or bisquik (flour preferred)
1/2 gal milk (2% or whole makes a richer batch)
salt

Biscuits (lg or sm) or Brown'n'Servers (seasonal)
(brn'n'servers are quick and only need a short bake)

Squeeze out the sausage into a LARGE deep fry pan. Over a low-medium heat, break-up up the sausage with a fork into small pieces. Completely cook and do not remove any grease. (more grease - better gravy) Sprinkle and stir in flour a little at a time until the sausage pieces are covered and saturated. You may not use all the flour.

Now comes the tricky part. Adding in the milk.
The amount of milk you add will determine the final consistency.
You will not be using all of the milk.

I prefer a "NON-wallpaper paste" type of consistency so the biscuits will absorb the gravy (instead of sitting on top). In this case, I add enough milk to cover the sausage only leaving a few parts of the sausage pieces sticking up through the milk or just barely covering. Stir occasionally so not to burn until the mixture thickens. (this may take awhile depending on temperature, pan, etc.) If preferred, add salt for taste to mixture while stirring.

Don't panic if you throw in too little or too much milk. Whatever the case you can always add some flour or milk to balance out the mixture.

Quick & Easy Breakfast Casserole (a.k.a. - Cholesterol Casserole)

8 slices of bread
2 pounds of sausage
16 oz grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 qt. Milk
1-1/2 tsp. Dry mustard
1 tsp salt
Line a 12" Dutch Oven with heavy-duty foil. Lightly grease the foil with butter. Break up bread into the oven. Crumble cooked sausage meat over bread and cover with cheese. In a separate bowl, mix eggs (lightly beaten), milk, dry mustard, and 1 tsp. salt (to taste). Pour the egg mixture over the layered bread/sausage/cheese in the oven, cover, and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, checking occasionally. The cheese rises to the top, melting into a golden brown crust over a fluffy layer of eggs, making a super filling camp breakfast for a crowd!
Mountain Man Breakfast
1/2 lb bacon, or pre-cooked sausage, or deli ham
1 Med onion, 1 Medium Bell Pepper
2 lb. bag of hash brown potatoes
1/2 pound of grated cheddar
1 doz eggs
Small jar of salsa (optional)
The following requires 6-9 bottom coals and 12 -15 top coals:
Pre-heat 12" Dutch Oven. Slice bacon and onion into small pieces and brown in the bottom of the DO until onions are clear. Stir in the hash brown potatoes and cover; remove cover and stir occasionally to brown and heat potatoes (15-20 minutes) Scramble the eggs in a separate container and pour the mixture over the hash browns. Cover and cook until eggs start to set.(10 - 15 minutes)
Sprinkle grated cheese over egg mixture, cover and continue heating until eggs are completely set and cheese is melted. Optional: cover cheese/egg mixture with a small jar (~ 1 cup) of SALSA. Cover and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Slice and server like quiche. (Real men don't eat quiche but I sure get lots of requests to cook up the Mountain Man.) Cooking times will vary with the weather and your state of awake but it’s almost impossible to screw up. Serves 6.

Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Several tubes of refrigerator biscuits
Mixture of sugar and cinnamon
Cooking oil
Heat about one and a half inches of cooking oil in the Dutch oven. Be careful not to allow it to become too hot. Heat over coals, NOT FLAMES! Prepare the biscuits by sticking your thumb through them to make a ring. CAREFULLY drop them from a spoon into the hot oil. Turn them once. Remove them from the oil and roll them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. WARNING: These are habit forming.

Breakfast Pizza
All you need is biscuit dough pre-made from the store or homemade if you have the time, eggs, ham, bacon, sausage your preference or all three and cheese. First stretch the biscuit dough thin a spread it over the bottom of the Dutch oven so none of the oven can be seen. Then pour a small layer of scrambled eggs over the dough. Add your preference of ham, bacon or sausage or all on top of the eggs if you use bacon pre-cook it. Then spread the cheese over that and cook for 10 to 15 minutes and the Scouts will eat it up. It worked for us and was given to our lodge by a Scoutmaster and his troop credit must go to Troop 29 of Union, Mississippi. Happy Cooking. Joe Maxwell, Scouter, OA Lodge Advisor

Desserts

Strawberry Dump Cake
Recipe by Zak Menz.  Yummy tested by the entire Troop

1 can crushed pineapple
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter or margarine


Directions:
1. Slice 1 cup of strawberries and discard the stems
2. Pre-Heat Dutch Oven over coals.
3. .When Dutch Oven is heated, empty can of crushed pineapple into bottom.
4. Layer strawberries on top of pineapple mixture.
5. Dump box of yellow cake mix on top of fruit mixture.
6. Slice stick of butter into many pieces and place over top of cake mix. DO NOT MIX UP THE CAKE MIX AND FRUIT MIXTURE…it will cause the entire cake to burn!
7. Cover Dutch Oven and cook 45 minutes. Cook with coals on the top and bottom of the oven.
8. At 45 minutes, test with a toothpick…if it comes out clean when stuck in the middle, the pie is done! If not, cook for another 10 minutes.
 

EZ Cobbler

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 - 60 minutes
Serves: 10 - 12 Scouts
Cal: unknown (not much)

Amount Ingredient
-------- -----------------------------
4 cans Your favorite pie filling (apple/blueberry/cherry/peach)
(16oz cans)
2 boxes Yellow or white cake mix
4-8 tsp Cinnamon powder
1 stick Butter (optional)
tub Cool-Whip, whip or ice cream (optional)

(the above ingredients are for a 12 inch non-deep dutch oven)


Start the charcoal (about 3-4 dozen briquettes)

For easy clean-up, line the dutch oven with heavy duty tin foil.
(smooth out the sides, bottom and along the edge where the lid seats)

Spread out pie filling into the dutch oven.
Sprinkle unprepared cake mix over the filling.
Sprinkle generous amount of cinnamon powder over the cake mix.

OPTIONAL:
Slice stick of butter into 1/4 inch thick & scatter over top of cake mix before sprinkling cinnamon powder.

NOTE: If using "apple" filling, sprinkle cinnamon over both the pie filling and cake mix.

Cover dutch oven and load up a single layer of charcoal on lid and underneath.

Bake for 45-60 minutes (check at 30 minutes).
(remove some coals from lid if top of cobbler is starting to darken)

When done, remove all coals, crack lid and allow to cool for 30 min. before dishing out.
Smother with Cool-Whip, whip or ice cream.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Utensils needed: Ingredients needed for 8 persons:

Dutch oven with rack cup butter
Spoon for mixing ˝ cup brown sugar
Can opener 1 20-oz can crushed pineapple
Mixing bowl 1 single layer white cake mix
1-2 eggs (see cake box)
Instructions for preparing:

1. Line Dutch oven with heavy duty aluminum foil and place over bed of coals to preheat with some coals on lid.
2. Put butter and brown sugar in the Dutch oven to melt. Stir occasionally. Warning: If fire is hot, the butter and sugar will burn easily.
3. Open can of pineapple and drain juice into cup.
4. After butter and brown sugar are melted, spread drained pineapple evenly over butter and brown sugar.
5. Mix cake batter according to instructions on box. Save empty box.
6. When batter is mixed, pour batter evenly over the pineapple mix.
7. Place pan on rack in DO. Place oven over a few coals with a few coals on the lid (350°F).
8. Check in 5 minutes. IF crust has started to form, the fire is too hot. Remove some coals from the lid.
9. Check in 10 minutes. There should be a light crust forming. If there is a heavy crust or browning, remove most coals from lid. If there is no crust forming, add coals under oven and to lid.
10. Check in 20 minutes. There should be a slight browning. IF there is no browning, add coals to lid. If there is dark browning, remove all coals from lid. Test for doneness by pushing a thin twig in the cake. If it comes out dry or with dry crumbs, the cake is done. Remove from oven. (If not done, check every 4 or 5 minutes until done.)
11. This step is dangerous. To remove cake from pan, use a pair of gloves. Place a piece of aluminum foil over the cake. Put oven lid on foil. Hold the lid and cake pan tightly together, as far as possible from your body, and quickly turn them over. Leave pan on cake a few seconds so all topping will drip down on cake. Then lift pan off cake.
Time Required:
Add 20 minutes to the time shown on the box. Cook cake before you start cooking the main part of your meal.