I love Dutch oven cooking. For those of you that are not familiar with it, Dutch oven cooking is done outdoors with cast iron cookware and hot coals. This method of cooking is a great way to have a good hot meal when you are out in the middle of nowhere without electricity or don’t have an oven or stove available.
To keep things simple and easy to clean up, I use the match light or the light in the bag coals. I light the coals in a disposable aluminum turkey pan. I use another aluminum turkey pan by lining the bottom with a specific number of coals, place the Dutch oven on top of the coals, and then put a specific number of coals on the top. The disposable turkey pans are fairly sturdy and I have used the same ones for a few years.
Dutch oven in aluminum turkey pan
Some Dutch oven chefs use special equipment for heating the coals and holding the coals and Dutch ovens while the food is cooking. A Dutch oven table is an example of that equipment.
Dutch oven table
A favorite dessert that I make for special occasions at the family party barn is a caramel apple crisp. I found this recipe a few years ago on Byron’s Dutch Oven Cooking Page website.
Caramel apple crisp
Caramel Apple Crisp
Serves 16
Filling
- 8-10 large granny smith apples; peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 Tbs. lemon juice
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 (12 oz.) jar caramel sauce
Topping
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup instant oatmeal
- 1 cup butter; melted
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
In a buttered 12″ Dutch oven add apples and lemon juice; stir to coat apples. In a separate dish combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt; stir to mix. Pour dry ingredients over apples and stir until apples are well coated. Spread out apples and pour caramel sauce over the top. In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, and walnuts; stir to mix. Using a fork, mix in melted butter to form coarse crumbs. Spread topping evenly over apples. Cover Dutch oven and bake using 10-12 briquettes bottom and 16-18 briquettes top for 60 minutes.