SIXSHOT DUTCH OVEN COOKING

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sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
1,835
Location
soda springs, idaho
Some of you may or may not cook with dutch ovens, our family does it a lot, everything from spuds, chicken, bread, cobblers, pie, roasts & stew, you can cook anything in a dutch oven. You can use your fire pit & hot coals, don't use any open flame, thats too much heat. You can cook with them on your kitchen stove or you can use charcoal brickettes, the last 2 are easier because you can control the heat much easier. There's also one other way, you can bury your masterpiece in the ground. I'll cover that later.
First lets make up a nice big #14 dutch oven filled with Idaho taters! :wink:
If you are going to feed 12-15 people a #12 works great, more people, bigger oven, etc. I start out by dicing 2 pounds of bacon, place the bacon in a hot dutch oven, cook it crisp & scoop out the bacon, leaving the bacon grease, now add 1/4 cup cooking oil, your choice & 1/2 stick of real butter.
I wash & slice several large spuds without peeling them, my choice. Cut them fairly coarse as you will be turning them several times as they cook, add 1 large diced onion, I use walla walla sweets, my choice. Drop the sliced spuds & diced/chopped onions in the hot oil, then add your salt, pepper & I like to use a good dose of Johnny's seasoning.
Let the spuds cook 35-40 minutes depending on how much heat you want, you can tell when they're tender. When done I grate 1 1/2 pounds of cheese, your choice over the top, let it melt & sprinkle the crisp bacon pieces over the top.........then quickly get out of the way, you could get trampled in the charge, you'll never taste a better batch of spuds, ever.
I'll share the other recipes tomorrow if there's any interest. :eek:

This is a large loaf of bread, #12 dutch oven I baked today, about the size of 3 normal loaves, we were having a family outing & there were many hungry mouths to feed. :lol:

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Same loaf, sliced.

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One of the plates of chicken I did in the dutch oven, cooked 4 large chickens in one #14 oven.

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This is a #14 oven filled 3/4 full with dutch oven spuds.

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Enjoy! Dick
 

keby

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
5
I love cooking with a dutch oven. I have my cast iron one and then my enamel cast iron. I'm a big fan of one pot cooking and anything slow cooking. But then again I'm a cook so I love all sorts of cooking. But dutch oven cooking is definitely some good eating.
 

mb111263

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
452
Location
USA
Now that's eatin'! Can't wait to eat some more of those spuds next year!
 

Jeff Hoover

Blackhawk
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
919
Darn it, Dick....... I almost short-circuited my laptop with drool !!!!!! :lol:
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,142
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
I'm definately gonna have to make a trip to Idaho if the food is like that!
I do enjoy dutch oven cooking even though I don't do as much as I used to. One of my favorites is a peach cobbler we'd do with our scouts. Both of my dutch ovens have the legs,, so using them on the stovetop isn't an option with an electric range. But I actually prefer to use mine outdoors with coals,,,!
Lets see, chicken, spuds, bread,,, dernnn I'm missing a great feast!!!!!!!
 

sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
1,835
Location
soda springs, idaho
Dutch oven cooking is a real mainstay around the west, almost everyone has a coule of ovens for family gatherings, other areas I've been in have no clue how to even find a dutch oven, much less cook with one.
I have one large oven thats rectangle shaped, its maybe 10" wide, 6" deep & 18" long, it can easily cook 2 large roasts or a leg of lamb! :D
I forgot to finish the directions for burying a dutch oven so we'll do that first.
If you have a big back yard where you don't mind digging a hole, that works great, or if you're out in the mountains its very easy to do. First you dig a hole 20-24 inches deep, don't go shallow or you'll lose the heat. The hole needs to be half again wider than the oven you select. We like to "burn" the hole out, that means build a good size fire in it & let it burn for a few hours, this can be done the day before, you are getting all the moisture out of the ground around your oven.
OK, build a nice big fire in your fire hole & let it burn down to a good bed of coals, you don't want an open flame, too hot! :wink: Have your dutch oven ready with a nice roast including the taters, carrots & onions, of course the roast has been browned good on both sides & seasoned to your liking, you will want a fair amount of water included in the oven.
I tie a piece of heavy wire to the dutch oven handle, maybe 3 feet long, nestle the oven down into the hot coals, shovel coals all around the oven & place a liberal amount on top of the lid. Now pack down at least a foot of dirt on top & go hunting, when you come back that evening grab hold of the wire you attached to the bail, dig the dirt off the top & ease the materpiece out of the ground, its a good idea to have a layer of tin foil between the lid & the oven before burying, this keeps the dirt out of the food. Also I like to add 2-3 packets of mushroom gravy mix to the whole thing before it goes in the ground, makes a wonderful thickner!
The meat will be as tender as jello. :lol:

OK, dutch oven bread, this will be equal to about 2 1/2-3 loaves of bread.

place 1 1/2 cups of hot water in a mixing bowl
add 1 whole stick of margarine, can be melted first in the mircowave
1 1/2 tbl spoons of yeast
1 tbl spoon salt
2 tbl spoons of sugar

add these together, make sure the margarine is melted, then let it set for 15-20 minutes to let the yeast get bubbly.
add 2 1/2 cups of flour & stir with a big spoon or a mixer, you will have a thick, sticky batter, now start blending in additional flour, it usually takes about 1 1/3 cups for me to ge the right texture, roll in out onto a floured bread board, etc & knead it a couple of minutes, working it into a nice round loaf.
I have my dutch oven oiled & slightly warm, also oil the lid, place the round loaf in the oven, clank the lid on top & set in a warm place until it doubles in size. If you are using a #12 oven (I do) the dough will be almost touching the lid. Place the dutch oven in your pre-heated kitchen oven (best to begin indoors) at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid & bake an additional 30-35 minutes, you will have to experiment on the time, I use a toothpick to make sure the loaf is done.
It will come out a beautiful golden brown, slap on the butter & jam & prop your feet up!

Dick
 

callshot

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
963
Location
Pocatello, Idaho
Sounds like you had fun. You always do. I was up the mountain picking huckleberries again. I'll give you enough for a peach cobbler sometime. We'll have to have a huckleberry milk shake again soon. Steve (Can'tshoot)
 

sixshot

Buckeye
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
1,835
Location
soda springs, idaho
Jim, you rascal, always showing those big old trout, tempting us working folks, oops, I'm retired, guess I better do a little fishing. Was that your motor home in the background? We went a lot bigger this spring, 35' 5th wheel, it makes my Hemi strain a little.
I can pop one of those big boys in the dutch oven, little seasoning salt & some lemon, some spuds & fresh tomatoes, yippee!
We had planned on going to Bandera again but my mom's bad, we'll do Arizona again in case we have to dash for home, she's 89, we'll see.
Was really looking forward to making it over to Richmond. I'll have to settle up with you this week, I have your addy.

Dick
 
Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
7,095
Location
Richmond Texas USA
Hey Dick,
Real sorry to here you are not coming to Texas this year.
We will get together sometime.
We are going to leaving CO. for home in about an hour.
Yes that is our motorhome. Here is a pic from last year on the White River in Arkansas. And moreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Trout
Take care Pard,
Jim
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Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
7,095
Location
Richmond Texas USA
contender":y5p4as9h said:
Looks like he followed the stocking truck around to get those,,,!

Well now,
Any certified died in the wool Trout fisherman can tell that those are WILD CAUGHT Trout :D :D They are at least one week out of the truck. Therefor that qualifies them as Wild :roll:
You NC guys just don't know about Trout. Want to use dynamite when ya should be using hand grenades :roll: :roll:
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh well.
Jim
 
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