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 privilege of helping a number of people move through and past that learning curve. When the recipes work, that’s fun and satisfying to both the coach and to the learner.

There are several different ways of learning ranging from demos and group lessons to in-depth hands on classes and private lessons, and I’m not sure that I have a favorite. 

Demos are basically a show-and-tell with gear and possibly something that’s already been prepared for a sample, usually last about 30 to 40 minutes with limited Q&A. When we can tie in some history in the conversation it’s even more fun. They are designed to answer a few questions and to stimulate interest in experimenting with Dutch oven cooking.

Our demos have varied from breakfast foods and snack items to sweet tooth satisfying desserts. We can pop open the pre-made cinnamon rolls compliments of the Pillsbury Doughboy or get a bit more involved with items like biscuits from scratch when we feel like going old school. For flavor with simplicity we’ll wrap Lil’ Smokies in Crescent Rolls for Pigs in a Blanket. Originally planned as a dessert item, Sopapilla Cheesecake is now on our breakfast food list. We’ll prepare it the night before, then chill it overnight for a rich, sweet breakfast item. Desserts have been as simple as 3-Ingredient Dump Cakes, fresh, hot out of the oven cookies, and for a bit more creativity we’ll make Peach Cobbler or maybe a Pineapple Upside-down Cake. The common thread is something good to eat that one might not normally think of as a campsite creation. The demo isn’t a cooking lesson, but more of an encouragement to try something new.

Scouting and youth groups typically are a bit more hands-on with projects that are fun and kid-friendly like cookies, cakes, and pizzas. In the hour or longer time together, there’s plenty of time for “how to” questions and answers along with active involvement in the cooking process ranging from mixing ingredients to managing coals. The purpose here, like in the demo, is to encourage folks to try something that they might not normally think of as outdoor or camp food. The difference though is that while the demo’s are a chance to look and see, as well as taste; in the group lesson, we actually go through the entire process from start to finish as well as a bit of gear care and clean up. 

Sometimes it’s fun to have a class with a handful of people at various cooking stations each making a different one pot meal that we can all sample at the end of the 2-3 hour session. Other times with the same concept of multiple cooking stations a meal can be created with an entree, a couple of sides, some type of bread, and a dessert. In the latter format everyone sees how to make each component and everyone gets some hands-on experience at one station or another.

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The most fun that we’ve had recently was a private cooking class for a birthday present for an old friend who wanted to learn how to cook in Dutch ovens. We planned a menu, set a time, and devoted several hours of an afternoon and evening to fixing multiple items and then sharing a family feast. It’s a lot of work but it was a real blast and a lot of information was shared. We started with gear set up, firing up the coals and prepping an assortment of items. We seasoned ribs, sliced potatoes and onions, made a bacon lattice for the cauliflower, sliced apples to roll into dumplings and once the food was on the fire, we made cheddar/garlic butter biscuits. When preparing an entire meal, not only do we take into consideration the individual dishes, there is a workflow plan put into place so that everything is hot and ready to eat at the same time.

The common denominators of each of these teaching/learning events include a look at gear, the basics needed to cook out of an iron pot, fire starting, coal management, and temperature control.

There are some basics to Dutch oven cooking that can apply to numerous types of dishes and cooking styles. There is a bit of science in play as well as art in cooking and we explore both. What’s fun is mixing the two, utilizing what is learned, modifying based on various menus, weather conditions, and timing situations. 

Classes can be in backyards, driveways, campsites, or just about anywhere that coals can be lit. 

Here’s a simple side dish, mentioned above, that enhances the flavor on the plate with very little effort in the process.

Now it’s time to get off the computer and get onto the coals!

Bacon Lattice Cauliflower:

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Wash cauliflower and trim leaves and core.

Season to taste with anything you like, (we used a combination of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder,) and place in a sufficiently deep oven to fit.

Interlace 8 slices of bacon into a 4×4 lattice, place over cauliflower and put on the coals. 

A ring on the lid and one around the base will provide enough heat for a tender, fully cooked side dish in 45 minutes. For crisp bacon, during the last 10 minutes, we increase the top heat by adding another couple of rings of coals to the lid, or if impatient, we really crank up the heat by covering the entire lid for a short time.

Slice and serve from the pot.

*Special thanks to Joan and James Fackler for the Driveway Cooking Photos