While I can’t remember a specific time when I first started cooking in a Dutch oven, I have memories of family camping from as early as 1st grade. Mom would load up the travel trailer, stock up the kitchen, and when dad would get home, he’d hook up the trailer and we kids would hop in the car where we would fall asleep on the road. We’d wake up in our bunks with a window view of whatever forest or National Park that had been our late night destination. I recall Boy Scout summer camp where a Dutch Oven demonstration was given and a cobbler was made out of berries we’d gathered. What I mostly remember was cleaning a sticky mess out of an iron pot and wiping it down with grease of some kind and thinking this was no fun at all. I also recall Dad making stew in a big iron pot with legs on it that would be sitting on a bed of coals on the edge of our campfire. That pot made it into my possession, my first Dutch Oven. That vintage Lodge 14” shallow Camp Oven is still among one of my favorites to this day.
Fast forward a few decades and the scene is a father son Cub Scout camping trip. My son and I watched from a safe distance as folks nearby juggled hot packets of aluminum foil out of the coals and beamed proudly at their hobo stew/silver turtles. The contents of the foil packs included burnt on the edges and raw in the center ground beef patties, “burn your lips” hot carrots and slightly crunchy, undercooked potatoes. We had to be satisfied with our simple meal of meat loaf, mashed potatoes and crescent rolls cooked up in that old black pot from dad. Somewhere along the way I had learned a thing or two.
Over the years the menus have expanded, we’ve cooked for youth and college ministry retreats, group camping trips, other assorted events, and with friends at Dutch Oven Gatherings, (DOGs). We’ve seen folks struggle trying to figure out dutch oven cooking and have helped when we could. We don’t claim to know it all or even know the best way to do our hot coal cooking, but we have found what works for us and are glad to share some of that knowledge.
Labeled with a youth camp nickname, now used by adults as well, “Uncle Mike” responds to a wide range of folks. Wherever we set up the coffee pot, dutch ovens and light up the coals; at a campsite in the woods, a pavilion at local park, one of our favorite State Parks, or our driveway at home; and whether we’re teaching a class, preparing a meal for family and friends, giving samples to those interested in how dutch ovens work, or feeding dozens of campers ready for a hot breakfast at a private event; we’re in Uncle Mike’s Outdoor Kitchen.
Welcome to Uncle Mike’s Outdoor Kitchen.