Camp Chef DOG and a Demo

by Keith Fisher

I couldn't make it to the DOG at Campchef last Saturday, but my wife did. Thank You, to Steve and all the CampChef guys and gals for providing one of the best events of the season. I especially want to thank the man who helped fill her Girls Camp cook needs. She didn't remember your name, but she really appreciated your time and help.

The DOG (Dutch Oven Gathering) was held on the lawn in front of the CampChef plant. As I mentioned, it's the premier event of Dutch oven gatherings. Everyone is there and the food is great. Afterword, Campchef offers great deals on some of their products.

Mark your calender for next year. It's always held the first Saturday in June.

Emergency Preparedness

I had the opportunity this week, to teach and demonstrate Dutch oven cooking at our Church as part of the emergency preparedness fair. It had been awhile sinch I did a demo, so I scrambled for handouts. Digging through the old stuff brought back memories. I made a run to the copy store and put a drawing together. I made barbecued hot dog pieces and dairycase bread, and gave a Dutch oven candle away.

The Demo went pretty well. I made a short stack of Dutch ovens, with a 16-inch on the bottom, then 14, 12, 10, 8, and 6. I showed many differt types of other ovens. along with myriad lift lifters, lid holders, and charcoal starters. I showed some to the needed tools for Dutch oven and made hot dogs in my CampChef lifting grill (Simular to a volcano). There was fascination over the fact I was cooking in the building on a plastic table, with charcoal. The aroma brought people to my table. It was great.

I made Bread outside on the table from Pop n Fresh biscuits. Turn them on end side by side and fill the middle. great bread, easy and tasty. I like to bake it in an Ultimate Dutch oven. That way the cone in the center makes an interesting shape.

I find it fascinating that every time emergency preparedness is discussed, many people tell me, in an emergency, they're coming to my house to eat. I always tell them fine, but you bring your food storage. Yes I can cook outdoors, but if I don't have anything to cook . . . well, you get the idea.

In my demo, I built on the premise of what if the power goes out? Can you cook? I have been driven to the carport to bake bread when the kitchen oven broke down. My neighbor is happy to tell about the time they were making a birthday dinner and the power went out. I had been teaching him about Dutch oven cooking so he dragged out his gear and finished making dinner on the deck. the party was saved.

There are many, different types of emergency cooking gear, including a solar oven. If you already cook outdoors, you've won the battle. you can be the one who people talk about cooking durning disaster. Don't forget to tell them to bring their food storage.

Note: The writer has not recieved products for endorsements.

A Full Pot

By Keith Fisher

Have you ever seen a MACA twenty-two-inch Dutch oven? I compared my three-year-old once. She could’ve taken a bath in it. MACA, a casting company out of Springville, Utah, makes thick, deep, Dutch ovens. They offer many smaller sizes too, but they never made a shallow pot. The size and thickness of the casting is great for even heat, but every one is heavy.

I own several MACA’s. From eleven-inch to fifteen, with an oval thrown in, I don’t need a home gym. I could go outside and get a great workout lifting Dutch ovens. I love using my fifteen, because I can cook large roasts and feed many people, using one pot.

Which brings us to the point. Several years ago, while attending a Dutch oven gathering, I watched a man attempt to roast a large piece of beef. It was about 20 lbs with the bone inside. He placed it in a big MACA oval at five p.m. We waited most of the night for it to cook.

A few years ago, while cooking at girl’s camp, I attempted to make a big pot of spare ribs in my fifteen-inch. Because it was taking so long, I ended up using two smaller pots and transferring them into the big pot, to simmer in the sauce.

The thing that neither of us took into account is mass. Sometimes it’s better to use more, shallow pots, in order to get everything cooked right. Big pots are wonderful, but it’s hard to stir several pounds of spareribs. And the larger the piece of meat, the longer it will take. Even at home on the range.

Every spring, we make beef stew, corn bread, and cobbler for the fourth grade in the school where my wife works. As part of their American history unit, the kids study the nineteenth century migrations and finish up with a day of period games, crafts, and Dutch oven cooking. It’s a great honor for us to be part of it.

Because of the number of kids, I’ve learned to appreciate large ovens, but I’ve also learned to make the stew in layers. I start with the onions, when they are done, I add meat chunks. Sometimes I use extra pots because I don’t want to overwhelm the oven. When the meat is done, I set it aside and start cooking the vegetables in the juices from the meat and onions. When the pot comes back up to temperature, I put the meat back, and add spices and make a roux, if needed.

The points are, I try not to let cold ingredients cool off the pot, and I cook in stages. Then, in the final step, the stew simmers for the better part of an hour. (The longer, the better.) The flavors blend just as well as if they had been sitting in the pot together the whole time.

A word of caution, however, If your guest list is small, you might want to cook less food in a smaller pot. That is, of course, unless you want to build up your muscles and have a freezer for the leftovers.

And yet another word, CampChef and lodge make a sixteen-inch, shallow pot, that can fill the need. The capacity is similar, and the area exposed to the heat, allows you to cook several pieces of meat at the same time.

A Dutch oven Thanksgiving

By Keith Fisher

How was Veterans Day? I hope you turned to all the veterans in your life and told them thanks. At the very least, I hope you said happy Veterans Day.

As I promised last time, we’re going to start getting ready for the big day when your family loosens their belt and says, "Okay, pass me some more." For the next couple of blogs before Thanksgiving, I’ll talk about ways you can steal the glory of a fantastic meal, well prepared. You’re family will praise you for cooking it outdoors, and you will learn something new.

First, we need to deal with a main course. By tradition, we will be looking for turkey. I’m going to talk about two ways to cook it and maybe talk about everybody’s alternative-ham.

How many of you remember the deep frying craze? A few years ago, Campchef introduced deep pots and paraphernalia for cooking in oil, on top of a Campchef stove. Many folks tried it, and wowed their holiday guests. After a while, a problem surfaced. People were putting the burners too close to walls, on flammable decks, and weren’t allowing for oil displacement when lowering the bird into the pot. The resulting fires made many fearful. Campchef offers very specific instructions now, and a disclaimer, begging people to act responsibly.

Deep frying poultry is still an option, but please pay attention to the directions. In an effort to offer their customers a better way, Campchef developed the Ultimate Turkey Roaster. It offers the speed of deep-frying with none of the cholesterol or extra fat. It’s safe and you can use it on the burner or over charcoal. The way it works is simple. The bird goes in upright on its haunches, like it’s going to church. Open the cavity so air and heat can pass through and drape the bird over the cone in the center.

You’ll notice the cone has holes that draw heat from underneath and deposits it directly on the inside of the bird. (You can also use flavor-enhancing charcoal or smoke chips.) Life is great. The cast-iron exterior, and the heat from the inside helps you roast a 20 lb. turkey in half the time. I’ve cooked 15 lb. birds in 100 minutes.

Prepare your bird by injecting with any number of substances, like juices, and commercially available marinades. After using a flavor injection needle, massage the hole you made so the marinade doesn’t leak out. The final step is to use a rub. You can use anything you want, but I’m partial to Emeril’s poultry rub. If you prefer crispy, brown skin, you may want to use a red or brown rub. It will give a golden brown appearance.

The last step in preparation is to insert the thermometer in the breast (not near the bone). The groove provided in the flange of the lid will allow you to use the thermometer without opening the lid. Put a half-inch of moisture in the bottom, under the grate. The steam helps in cooking so you might want to use something aromatic. Also, remember to keep it moist. If it dries out, the residue will be hard to clean off the pot.

When the temperature reads 165, the bird is done. Take it out, place it on a platter, and sit back. Your guests will be amazed at how moist and tasty the turkey is. It won’t have a crispy skin, but who cares. After tasting the white meat, they will dub you the master of Thanksgiving. You will have stolen the honor from Dear Old Mom. But I’ll bet she’s okay with that. She might even learn to watch football.

Here's another way to make a turkey dinner, using a traditional Dutch oven:

Stuffed Turkey Breast

12-inch Deep oven

Turkey
8-10# Turkey breast, legs and
wings removed
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 1/2 inch water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Stuffing
1 1/2 cubes butter
1 small onion, cubed
2 cups sliced celery
10 slices white bread, cubed
2 1/2 - 3 cups raisins
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Wash Turkey breast and season with sage and garlic powder. Place in the pot and sprinkle with rosemary. Add water to the sides of the breast. (Don't wash off seasoning) put on heat with 10-11 coals on the bottom and 16-17 coals on top.

One hour later, inject the breast with the moisture from the pot. Then use the injector with out the needle to collect some more juices and using the holes that you have just created with the needle, carefully baste the breast. When you have finished, change your coals out for new ones and adjust the temperature as necessary. You will want to do the basting again.

Make stuffing by melting 3/4 cube of butter in a hot Dutch oven on bottom heat only. Cut up your onion and celery and place in the Dutch oven with the butter and sauté until soft. Cube your bread slices and toss together with sage, salt thyme, pepper and raisins. Stir in with the onion and celery until bread cubes are coated with butter. Take off heat and put in the rest of the butter in pats. Let stand in the warm Dutch oven until you are ready to stuff the roast.

When the roast is done, at least 165 degrees, take it out of the juices and stuff the cavity with the stuffing. (Sometimes the butcher cuts the backbone, which can make it hard to stuff) put the turkey back into the pot with the juices removed. Arrange the rest of the stuffing around the sides of the roast. And rub the roast with oil. Put the lid on and load the lid with coals (none on the bottom) in broiling fashion. Leave on top heat until skin turns golden. (You may wish to skip this step because it dries out the turkey). Before serving you may wish to heat a cube of butter and inject it into the bird.

Take out of the oven and serve on a lid with stuffing. Garnish with parsley and green onions. Or other vegetables. Serves approx. ten

You might want to use the juices for gravy. Or the base of a turkey soup. Also, stuffing a hot bird is easier if you use a pair of cotton gloves with latex gloves over.

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