Dutch oven metal cook table thoughts? ideas?

[Tallbald]

I love outdoor cooking. Have some beautiful Dutch ovens and cast iron ware I'd really enjoy using in our back yard. I've kept my eyes open for some scrap steel plate, a stainless steel medical exam table or some other flat steel surface I can adapt with wind shields and even a hinged lid for rain protection.
Anyone here have a suggestion as to best price on a commercial version or care to share a suggestion about something I can maybe make? I did consider a tossed out gas grill, but the aluminum gets soft with a wind fed burn. I've actually cast small aluminum parts melted with charcoal. I also considered a stainless frige door with the plastic parts removed but they are very thin.
Thanks! Don

 

[tinman]

Will it be used for a food prep table or something else?

 

[Tallbald]

No, actually just to build a fire of wood or charcoal for use under a skillet or more likely 1 to 3 Dutch ovens at a time. Some don't even have sides for wind protection.There are many commercially offered versions. Some fold, some permanent. Most all more than I feel OK to spend though. Here's the Lodge brand product:
https://shop.lodgemfg.com/outdoor-accessories/outdoor-cooking-table.asp
Don

 

[Mobuck]

I see restaurant grade SS food prep tables and such now and then on "c-list".

 

[arfmel]

Maybe talk to a rancher friend or a welder to see if his scrap pile has something that would work

 

[Tallbald]

good ideas. Hmm. We have a used restaurant equipment place locally. I'll give them a visit and see if they have something in their reject pile.Thanks friends. Don

 

[Dave P.]

Just trying to understand how this works....
Do you build the fire on the tables surface and
place the dutch oven over the fire?
If so I would guess the thin SS tops of food
prep tables would heat warp pretty bad.
I don't understand why you just wouldn't use
any old barbecue grill?
I'm know I'm missing something here...
Dave

 

[jgt]

scrap yard

 

[Tallbald]

The idea with a Dutch oven cook surface is several fold. It raises the cookware to a more comfortable level first. Wonderful for comfort, and for access for folks like me with spinal damage and bending troubles. Being on a steel table there's less chance of sparks and coals spreading a fire to stuff nearby if on the ground. Some campsites forbid open fires and a table may satisfy the rules in some locales, like using a grill does some placces. Tables have screens to block wind from blowing the coals (some tables even have a hinged cover for rain protection. A table gives a level surface too which is handy to keep filled ovens and such from spilling.
I too am concerned about thin stainless warping. I myself would use old bed frame rail angle iron to brace the tabletop. Reinforcement without a huge weight gain.
My use of a table would only be here at the house in my yard. Weight is not an issue once it's put in place.
I've been checking Craigslist off and on. Maybe as the outdoor season winds down I'll find something that suits my needs.
Thanks again friends. Don

 

[Dave P.]

Ok. I'm catching up with the idea.
If I wanted a table to build a fire on and not
have to make it myself I'd look for a scrap/used
welding table or even an old die cart.
Here in the rust belt there are plenty around.
They will be heavy so you would need help
getting it into the yard. No advantage to SS
the food's not in contact.
Dave

 

[Kevin]

Don:
The recipes I’ve seen for Dutch ovens list only use a few pieces of burning charcoal. For example, some use 10 pieces under the Dutch oven and 10 above. Less heat for the long slow cooking style. What about some bricks on top of the stainless table?

I didn’t know Lodge made that table. It looks nice and would indeed make cooking more comfortable.

Have you thought about a Santa Maria style bbq grill? That would be something similar to what you are describing I think.

 

[powder smoke]

Bean Hole Beans

Around here we just use a hole in the ground lined with flat rocks.
Make sure the hole is large enough the flat rocks take more room
than you think. Prepare your favorite recipe, round here we do baked beans.
Start a fire in your rock lined hole and let it burn down to a nice bed of coals.
Place your Dutch oven in the hole take a piece of steel cover the hole then
cover the steel with dirt! In about 10 hrs you'll have the best baked beans ever!
Good luck. Well worth the effort, we do this mostly for cookouts and camping!

 

[Bull Barrel]

I have been watching this thread and the first thing I thought was a bbq grill.
Most grills are too small...but a large smoker would do the job and contain any stray sparks and provide wind protection. Plus it can be used as a smoker. Killing two birds...

 

[reuben_j_cogburn]

I cook inside and on top of wood stoves all the time with dutch ovens. On one barrel stove I have a steel plate mounted about 1/2 inch above, and it makes a great platform for slow cooking.
I heat all my water that way as well....
Also any regular wood stove works.... You can put a grate from a regular kitchen stove under the Dutch oven to help prevent food burning...
I also have a barrel stove that stands up on end, which also makes a great platform.....
A wood stove (out doors), with a spark arrestor, would let you cook without the worry of an open flames in breezy conditions, or drier weather...
I am planning on some wood fired dutch oven video's this winter.

This is the only dutch oven cookin video I have so far.... but you can see it does the job...

https://youtu.be/rfOZJunc-80?list=PL72789F8045BF3F75

My vote would be for a wood stove.... and it does double duty if you ever NEED a wood stove!!!

ciao y'all
reyben....

 

[pete44ru]

No, actually just to build a fire of wood or charcoal for use under a skillet or more likely 1 to 3 Dutch ovens at a time. Some don't even have sides for wind protection.There are many commercially offered versions. Some fold, some permanent. Most all more than I feel OK to spend though. Here's the Lodge brand product:
https://shop.lodgemfg.com/outdoor-accessories/outdoor-cooking-table.asp
Don

If you can weld, here's a few ideas:

This one's a variation on using a 55gal steel drum

.

 

[contender]

I think the best & most economical way to get what you seek is to find a good scrap yard. I visit one locally when I need odd stuff and have never been disappointed.
And in general,, they charge a lower fee (it's scrap remember,) than a restaurant supply house etc.

 

[Poco Oso]

How about an old cast iron double sink from your local Habitat For Humanity or any other used building materials store? A piece of quarter inch steel for the top. Maybe hinged in the middle for access.

 

[Justice B. Swift]

I use a galvanized metal oil drain pan purchased at Bi-mart for $9. I put a small amount of sand or dirt in the bottom as an insulator, spread the hot coals on the sand, then set the Dutch Oven on the coals. It has just enough sides to cut the wind and is the perfect diameter for my 12" oven. To get this up off the ground scrounge an old kitchen or bathroom cabinet and top it with flat concrete stepping stones or pavers available for a couple bucks each at Home Depot or similar supplier. Total investment $20 or so and no special skills required to build.

 

[Dan in MI]

My brother works for gas station maintenance company. The sides and doors of many gas pumps are sheet stainless. The sides are a thinner gauge than the doors. They always have a bunch in their scrap yard. Keep your eyes peeled for the local company that does it and suck up to the guy at the pumps working.

Other wise a scrapyard (metal recycler) is your best bet.

 

[contender]

Contact our own member here,, "sixshot" as he has a dutch oven cook table he uses. You mention owning more than one dutch oven, and as such,, you likely need a table that can hold 2-3 dutch ovens at the same time. Look at sixshot's table & maybe get a few ideas too.

 

[Pal Val]

My brother-in-law made a cooker from a 55-gal drum. It took him a weekend to weld on the legs and a few pieces of angle iron to hold either a grate, or a holder for a pan or dutch oven. He told me the hardest part was to burn the drum to get the petroleum smell out of it. It works, I can witness.

 

[Tallbald]

Hello and again, thank you all. Three Dutch ovens at a time is my wish, so the larger area would be better. I've learned many great ideas here and am on the lookout. Don

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I'm late to the thread, Don, but one of the BLM campgrounds we use regularly has a grill at each site that's similar to the Lodge table. Difference is there's a hinged grate about half way up, so you can lift it out of the way to use a Dutch oven. You'd need to scale it up for your purposes, but it's just about perfect for my 10" Dutch oven. They're permanent, welded onto the top of about a 3" dia pipe.

Made of regular old 1/4" plate, these units hold up well to all kinds of use and abuse. USFS uses a similar, if not identical, grill in some of the picnic areas and campgrounds around here. Maybe one of the gubb'mint agencies could point you to the mfr of new ones, or a pile of old ones they've replaced? BLM gives our campground a face lift about every 20 years, and I have no idea what they do with the stuff they remove.

Rick C

 

[Tallbald]

Rick I wish I could find the scrap yard they sell to! Thanks all. Don

 

[nekvermont]

How about using a old cast iron farmhouse sink and having a simple base welded up to support it. You could mount a metal pail under the drain hole to push ashes into. :) I run across these every now and then and a lot of them don't have enamel or porcelain on them, just bare cast iron. Some of them are thin so they aren't to heavy. A lot of them are in the 2' x 3-4' size. I know some of these are expensive but they can also be had for cheap. I included some links to some on our local Facebook marketplace for examples. Hope the links work.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/457325444843250/
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/381285275803286/
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2329116904009096/

 

[gunzo]

Flat top or grill top popular these days to set on top of gas grills that so many already have, & are used as a griddle for frying, bacon, sausage, eggs & the like. They are sold in different sizes & many have wind guards.
If they will hold up to 2-4 gas burners to get hot enough to fry eggs they should hold up to the few coals that it takes for a dutch oven.
The handy gas grill has now morphed into 2 additional cooking options.

 

[wiz1997]

Back in my Boy Scout days we built firearm tables to cook on.

Made it easier to cook and kept dirt from being kicked into the food.

Being Boy Scouts, the table frame was lashed together so it could be disassembled and used again.

We placed a piece of corrugated tin on the frame and then placed a couple of inches of dirt on top of the tin to prevent the tin from getting hot.

Later we switched to a piece of 3/8" aluminum because of the concern over fumes from the galvanized tin.

When we were ready to pack up, the fire was put out, the dirt was returned to the hole dug under the table.

I believe a thin stainless table would work fine with a couple of inches of sand to insulate the heat.