Camping and Dutch oven cooking go well together and it seems to me that one always makes the other all the better. Recently we spent the weekend at Fairfield Lake State Park, one of our favorites, to camp and present a Dutch oven cooking demonstration. The demo was Saturday afternoon and so the order of the day was preparation of food items during the post breakfast mid-afternoon time frame. We fixed a pot of beans, a couple of batches of cornbread, and a peach cobbler dessert for the 2:00 event. By the time we were done with the demo, we were ready to clean the pots, pack up, grab something…
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What’s round, delicious, and easily customized?
What is he up to now? The stack of stainless steel rings on the tailgate does arouse the curiosity. In our house we have a weekly ritual that is known as, “Pizza Night”. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing, if we’re not already talking about getting pizza on Monday night, we are reminded by our favorite pizza fan what day it is. Over the years we’ve taken this love of pizza into the woods with us and had lots of fun with it. One of the great things about pizza is the unlimited variety of options. Dietary restrictions? No problem. In addition to the traditional blend…
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Demos & Classes, and Coaching, Oh my! (Much less scary than Lions & Tigers and Bears.)
I recall when I first started cooking with a dutch oven, there were lots of stews and more than a few burned cookies or biscuits. There were meals that have multiple parts, some of which were still on the fire and others had already cooled down and needed to be reheated. There were times I had so much charcoal leftover it could be used to start three or four campfires and other times that I had to relight coals in the middle just to get the meal done. Now this is not a complicated form of cooking, but there is definitely a learning curve. Over the years I’ve had the…
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Minimalist? Nah.
Have you ever played with a puppy with a squeaky toy or some sort of a throw toy? They get all excited about those things. While playing, have you ever taken a second toy in your other hand and held a hand on either side of the dog’s head? (I know that’s teasing it, don’t judge me, I’m just painting a word picture.) What happens then, in my experience, is that the pup can’t decide which way to go and all it does is shake its head back and forth. It’s kind of funny to watch but from the dog’s perspective it’s got to be frustrating. Instead of enjoying the…
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Nothing says, “I love you”, like…
… a fresh, hot, homemade biscuit right out of a dutch oven. Even better if shaped like a heart. Happy Valentine’s Day! From,
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How do I get started?
Does Dutch oven cooking interest you but you’re hesitant to jump into it? You’ve seen some YouTube videos about Dutch oven cooking. Maybe you’ve been to a Dutch Oven Gathering, (D.O.G.), a Chuckwagon competition, attended a demo, a cooking class, or a chili cook-off and seen all kinds of various pieces of gear in use. Sometimes it’s easy to be overwhelmed when one looks at a website, a cooking section in the store, or a cooking video and you see all the accessories being used. True there is a lot of cool stuff to use as aides for Dutch oven cooks. There are cooking tables and stands. There are all…
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Welcome to the Coals…
There are lots of good ways to fix great food outdoors. One of our favorites is in camp dutch ovens. Whether it’s cooking for a couple or well over a hundred, as well as meals for groups of assorted sizes in between, we’ve done it. Uncle Mike’s Kitchen is not a place, but rather it’s wherever we set up camp, light up the coals, or stir up a dish. Information about upcoming demos, cooking classes, and catering can be found here over time as well as a recipe or two. Your questions, comments, and ideas are welcome. If you like what you see and would like notification of updates,…
