We have tried a DO and had a lot of fun with it but no matter how much we season it and take care of it, there is still a certain amount of messy, water wasting cleaning after. I know all the "old hands" will say I'm wrong, but that is our experience. We use aluminum pans on one of those propane hibachi type grills. No cleanup and we even do a great lasagna.
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Rick n Andy n SandyPaws
Rexhall American Clipper 29': 2005
Suzuki Samurai; 1994
I just bought a Cabelas 6 qt. 10 inch DO. The cost is about midway between a Lodge and Camp Chef. I bought it because, well, it was conveniently available in stock near to our home. It is made in China sorry to say. I also bought Lodge brand iron tripod for cooking over a wood fire. Interestingly they were also made in China.
I've made the no-knead bread - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU - in our oven but not in camp yet. The reason I bought the DO because I just think it a challenge and cool to cook that way. It should be fun.
Davydd
2005 Pleasure-Way Plateau Sprinter B Camper Van
Davydd is the Welsh spelling for David with an English twist using a v instead of an f. See Our Pleasure-Way and my pork tenderloin sandwiches
Visited states in an RV
At work we have all heavy duty aluminum pans and everyone hated them because everything sticks to them and were hard to clean. That was until I watched the Food Network one day and saw a premiere chef using the same cookware. I then found this to be the key. When using aluminum preheat it, like hot, turn off the burner and then add some oil to the pan then return the heat to desired cooking temp and nothing should stick! i was told this is because the aluminum on high heat opens up, then by adding the oil and cooling it a bit lets the oils get into the pores of it. Works for me at least!~
SWMO wrote:
Quote: We use aluminum pans
I haven't found aluminum easier to clean than CI, whats your trick?
Thanks,
Dave www.SoCalRailFan.com
2006 Jeep Wrangler Umilimited, 2008 Fleetwood Westlake
Ha! What I meant was disposable "tinfoil" or "aluminum foil" pans. We use paper plates too. We think camp cooking should be easy to make and clean up too. Who wants to do dishes out on the road? To make up for the waste we recycle at home.
samuraitowd wrote: We have tried a DO and had a lot of fun with it but no matter how much we season it and take care of it, there is still a certain amount of messy, water wasting cleaning after. I know all the "old hands" will say I'm wrong, but that is our experience. We use aluminum pans on one of those propane hibachi type grills. No cleanup and we even do a great lasagna.
Part of the "magic" of Dutch ovens is the flavor that is infused into the food from cooking it in cast iron. I've made a lot of our favorite recipes in the oven at home in the winter, when it's too cold to cook outside (-20 is a bit much), and they don't taste anywhere near the same as when I make them in a Dutch oven.
I'm not going to argue with you, as cooking in cast iron is not for everyone, but if there are issues cleaning it, then it's really not seasoned properly. While you WILL use some water to clean the cast iron, it's not an exorbitant amount. I rarely need more water than it takes to fill the oven 1/4 of the way, or to the food line in the oven.
I'm not trying to convince you that cast iron or Dutch oven cooking is better, just trying to help a bit when it comes to cleaning a cast iron Dutch oven.
Davydd wrote: I just bought a Cabelas 6 qt. 10 inch DO. The cost is about midway between a Lodge and Camp Chef. I bought it because, well, it was conveniently available in stock near to our home. It is made in China sorry to say. I also bought Lodge brand iron tripod for cooking over a wood fire. Interestingly they were also made in China.
I've made the no-knead bread - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ah9ES2yTU - in our oven but not in camp yet. The reason I bought the DO because I just think it a challenge and cool to cook that way. It should be fun.
LOL! Thats the way it goes nowdays.
You guys have dragged me into the 21st century. I've been emailing my yahoo box with youtube (silly name ) links to look at on my next visit to the library.
SoCalRailFan wrote: At work we have all heavy duty aluminum pans and everyone hated them because everything sticks to them and were hard to clean. That was until I watched the Food Network one day and saw a premiere chef using the same cookware. I then found this to be the key. When using aluminum preheat it, like hot, turn off the burner and then add some oil to the pan then return the heat to desired cooking temp and nothing should stick! i was told this is because the aluminum on high heat opens up, then by adding the oil and cooling it a bit lets the oils get into the pores of it. Works for me at least!~
I've always added oil to a warm/hot pan- any pan (still do). Someone posted a link here that called it a cooking myth. Maybe it helps with some materials and not with others.
The question was What can they do and should I buy one?
I can't tell you all the things I have cooked in my ovens. I have 3.
Buy a good cast iron, be sure the lid fits tight. You can cook anything you want. Many people do simple things. Learn to stack them and get really creative. They can be so much fun and get the cook a lot of oohs and aahs.
Chefd
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) links to look at on my next visit to the library.
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