I was on another board when folks had made comments that while they would love to try Dutch oven cooking - they had no place to even try. Well - you may have more choices than you imagine - You can cook on a table - when I was a kiddo, we called these Sheepherder's stoves. No need to burn your lawn. Sold at several outlets as "Camp Chef Cooking table" - will hold charcoal or a gas stove. $80 to $100. Roll your own with bits from an old table (From Dutch Oven Gear) basic table with some added work space If you can think outside the box, all sorts of things will work! flower box or cooking box? Would need a rain cover for idle times... slightly less elegant, but workable. Volcano stove with dutch oven insert - the stove goes for about $100 Hopefully, this will give you an idea of how to cook in a dutch oven without a full time fire pit in the back yard... I use the bricks and heavy duty oil pan pit. Cheap, clean and stores in little space. What do you use?
Us city folk just put our imitation Dutch oven in side the regular oven. If I put the Dutch oven in a a solid fuelled fire and got it all blackened and soot covered my wife would be pissed.
Last I checked, the pioneers had all kinds of trouble getting propane for their covered wagons. : ) The idea is that if the power or gas is out owing to a disaster, good chow doesn't need to be a causality as well. My wife gets ticked when I put my 'dirty' D/O in her stove... Ya just can't win.
Wifes don't understand that once you get a good hard layer of soot built up after many uses you clean off the the loose surface soot and the rest stays put and doesn't rub off on everything. Yes I have a growing wood pile in the back yard in case the power goes out for extended time. I have some full 20 and 40 pound propane tanks, but don't want to start using them immediately.
Interesting ideas @DKR some of those are super easy to make. Hopefully the fire restrictions will be lifted and I can try one of these methods out. Currently I am like @oil pan 4 and use my dutch oven in the oven or stove top. I have one w/o legs so it works nicely in the house.
If folks don't want the black soot on the bottoms of pans no matter what kind. Take dish soap and rub over the sides and bottom. I can hardly wait for late spring and the snow will be gone and the fire pit will be cleaned out . These are some good ideas above.
All of mine have legs, but even if your are flat bottomed, 3 or 4 right sized rocks will work just fine to allow the coals under to heat. If you look closely at the 'flower box" and Volcano pics, you see a 3 or 4 legged wire...trivet. These are a commercial product that elevate a flat bottom D/O. Slick - but rocks or bricks are cheaper...
Lots of good ideas here. I love Dutch ovens and have a full set of 8, 10 and 12 inch ovens with and with out legs. I still want one more with legs in 14".
Some great ideas, and inspiration @DKR. Thanks for posting. Dutch Oven - Cast Iron Dutch Oven Recipes For Camping - Camping For Foodies I like the chainmail cast iron pot cleaner....eminently adaptable to a coif or pauldron. Survival Cooking: How To Use A Dutch Oven - Bio Prepper
I cook everything in mine all winter long from stew to cornbread. On top of the wood stove. Just bump the lid up against the stove pipe and a whole lot of heat gets spread across the top.
Another useful resource for folks wanting to do Dutch Oven cooking. Simple instructions for Dutch Oven cooking, and a number of handy recipes. https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/4h/OutdoorSkills/DutchOvenCooking.pdf Tips and Techniques Wooden box storage helps protect stainless steel cookware when on the move. Camp Kitchen Checklist
