Dutch Oven Cooking Has An Old World Flavor That Is Making A Comeback.

You may be surprised to find that the old black pot sitting around your garage or basement is in high demand in the culinary world. More and more, those who yearn for that rich, full flavor in their cusine have found consolation in the extraordinary taste found in dutch oven cooking. Not limited to outdoors, sensational dishes can be whipped-up right in your modern-day kitchen. Our ancestors were not without cast iron in their daily cooking tasks, and they knew something we have forgotten; cast iron cookware makes food taste great.

Limited to the produce of the farm and garden, all-in-one meals were a mainstay in the early frontier, containing standard meat and potatoe meals with seasonal vegetables simmered into a succulent stew. But todays fares have exploited variety and stimulated palettes across the country with such favorites as chili & cornbread, deep dish pizza, Mexican burrito casserole, and even roast chicken with dumplings, all from the dutch oven.

But don't stop there, because a well-seasoned iron oven can even cook fat-free; it's "patina" allowing totally non-stick cooking, while giving up that wonderful flavor only found with cast iron cooking. Only minor maintenance is required to keep these power-pots in top notch shape. Such cleaning and seasoning is, in many cases, quicker to do than scraping stainless steel or aluminum and throwing it in the dishwasher.

Cooking In Cast Iron Is Easier Than You Think.

The trick to successful cooking in cast iron is temperature control. If you are cooking indoors, its simply a matter of setting the temperature on your range. If you are cooking over a fire, you must control heat by the amount of coals, or the number of charcoal briquettes, depending on your choice of heat. For wood coals, you can use this time-honored scouting method;

Hold your hand, palm down, 4 inches above coals and count the seconds you can hold that position.

2 seconds = Hot = 400° to 450°
3 seconds = Medium Hot = 350° to 400°
4 seconds = Medium = 300° to 350°
5+ seconds = Low (Slow) =250° to 300°

For charcoal, the general rule is to have 2/3 of the briquettes on top of the dutch oven, in a checkerboard pattern, and 1/3 on the bottom in a cirlce. Use this standard dutch oven recipes chart for heat and number of briquettes. Even heating can vary depending on the source, especially on a wood fire. To counteract this effect just turn your lid and pot 1/4 turn, in opposite directions of each other every 15 minutes.

If you want to try a recipe or two in your dutch oven, there are plenty of tantalizing tempters out there. You can try some from a cast iron cookbook, that includes more tips and tricks, or just test the waters on your own with some free dutch oven recipes. Once you savor the taste of cast iron cooking, you'll most likely never lose track of that old black pot again.