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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Chile, chilli, or chili?
Do you want to start an argument about chili? Is it “chili”, “chile”, or “chilli”? Are we talking about a country, a type of pepper, a seasoning, or a dish? There’s all kinds of camps that will jump at the chance to argue about chile, chilli or chili. I’m not talking about the South American country, that’s a whole other definition and word origin. When we’re on food, first there’s a question about the proper spelling of the word and whether it relates to a meaty, delicious, sometimes burn your mouth, food item also called chili con carne by some. Or, are we talking about the pepper or a particular…
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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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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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To line or not to line?
There are cast iron purists that cringe at the thought of lining a dutch oven with anything more than their favorite oil or shortening. Some consider it “cheating” if one is placing anything between the food being prepared and the well seasoned cast iron bottom of a dutch oven. There are folks who say when one lines a dutch oven, the food doesn’t taste nearly as well as when cooked directly on the iron. There are those who believe that eating food cooked in cast iron can help with iron deficiency and that liners reduce that benefit. At the same time, some cooks would never use any tomato-based product in…
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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,…
