Finally got a chance to christen my Ronnie Sunshine's Dutch Oven this evening - rather than start off gently I decided to throw caution to the wind and cook a proper family meal. Part of the reason I bought a 12" oven was so I could cook roasts etc rather than just stews (which work just as well in a casserole pot over a gas burner).
As I'm new to cooking with a Dutch Oven I want to try a few recipes in the garden under more controlled conditions - there's a time and a place to find out a recipe doesn't quite work, but a chilly campsite with a hungry family is not that time!
I decided to cook a roast chicken with a bacon and cider sauce. I figure if I can get that right then the same principles should apply to pork and beef joints, with endless variations in the sauce options (red wine, white wine, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes etc).
Ingredients list:
- a 1.2kg chicken (about 2.6lbs)
- streaky bacon
- two red onions
- sunflower oil
- garlic
- lemon
- creme fraiche
- 500ml organic Herefordshire cider
- herbs (oregano/marjoram from the garden)
I normally buy free-range chicken but for this inaugural meal I went with a bog standard Waitrose bird for £4.00 (just in case I cremated it!).
The chicken was stuffed with the garlic, lemon and herbs then wrapped in half the bacon to keep it moist. I also sprinkled some salt, pepper and mixed herbs on top to add some seasoning.
I added a couple of tablespoons of oil into the oven and heated it over approx. 24 briquettes; then I sauted the onions and remaining bacon until soft and golden (about 10-15 mins).
Once the onions are soft and the bacon is cooked through in goes the chicken and the cider, along with some extra bunches of herbs.
You can see the 12" oven has plenty of room with no danger that the chicken will touch the underside of the lid.
Rather than buy a lid rest from Ronnie Sunshines I used three strap hinges held together with a nut and bolt - very strong and cost less than £5 from the local handyman shop!
It folds up nice and small too.
Once the chicken's in the lid goes back on and I moved 15 coals onto the top, leaving 9 underneath.
For cooking over charcoal a good rule of thumb seems to be to take the width of your oven in inches and double it to get the number of briquettes needed: so in my case a 12" oven needs 24 briquettes for a 160c / 325f temperature.
At some point I'll try with a wood fire but I think that's slightly harder to gauge the temperature.
I found this guide on one of the American Dutch Oven cooking sites which might be useful:
I gave it 2hrs cooking time - when I finally removed the lid the bacon was crispy and the chicken was perfectly cooked through.
Smelled fantastic too!
The chicken was lifted out and put on a plate with foil over it to rest for a bit, and I then added a good couple of dollops of creme fraiche into the cider sauce and gave it a 10-15 min simmer over all 24 coals.
Sauce poured into a bowl to serve alongside the chicken.
All ready to tuck in! I ended up retreating inside to eat as the rain was just starting to come down!
Honestly, it tasted immense - the chicken was falling off the bone and the sauce went really well with it. On camp I'd probably throw in some new potatoes to cook alongside the chicken to bulk it out a bit, but for a light mid-week supper the veg was fine.
Overall I'm really pleased with this first attempt. The chicken was cooked beautifully with no risk of raw meat and the temperature seems to be spot on to avoid drying out the meat.
In terms of timings I started preparation at 6.30pm (lighting charcoal, preparing ingredients) and had the chicken in by 7.15pm. It was ready by 9.15pm but I reckon I could have got away with 15-20 mins less cooking time.
I popped a couple of extra briquettes on (2-3) towards the end of the cooking time but with a better brand of charcoal this might not be necessary.
The use of charcoal briquettes also makes this suitable for visits to non-bushcraft camping sites, as all you need is a metal tray placed on some bricks to cook on (rather than a wood fire which many sites do not allow).
So there you go - if you've been wondering about getting a Dutch Oven, or moving beyond stews/casseroles, I'd really recommend giving a roast chicken a try.
And thanks to everyone who's taken the time to post their advice on buying / seasoning / using Dutch Ovens... it's great to browse these forums and follow in others' footsteps when it comes to trying new techniques.
Just to finish here's a cheesy shot taken by my 4 y/old midway through cooking
As I'm new to cooking with a Dutch Oven I want to try a few recipes in the garden under more controlled conditions - there's a time and a place to find out a recipe doesn't quite work, but a chilly campsite with a hungry family is not that time!
I decided to cook a roast chicken with a bacon and cider sauce. I figure if I can get that right then the same principles should apply to pork and beef joints, with endless variations in the sauce options (red wine, white wine, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes etc).
Ingredients list:
- a 1.2kg chicken (about 2.6lbs)
- streaky bacon
- two red onions
- sunflower oil
- garlic
- lemon
- creme fraiche
- 500ml organic Herefordshire cider
- herbs (oregano/marjoram from the garden)
I normally buy free-range chicken but for this inaugural meal I went with a bog standard Waitrose bird for £4.00 (just in case I cremated it!).
The chicken was stuffed with the garlic, lemon and herbs then wrapped in half the bacon to keep it moist. I also sprinkled some salt, pepper and mixed herbs on top to add some seasoning.
I added a couple of tablespoons of oil into the oven and heated it over approx. 24 briquettes; then I sauted the onions and remaining bacon until soft and golden (about 10-15 mins).
Once the onions are soft and the bacon is cooked through in goes the chicken and the cider, along with some extra bunches of herbs.
You can see the 12" oven has plenty of room with no danger that the chicken will touch the underside of the lid.
Rather than buy a lid rest from Ronnie Sunshines I used three strap hinges held together with a nut and bolt - very strong and cost less than £5 from the local handyman shop!
It folds up nice and small too.
Once the chicken's in the lid goes back on and I moved 15 coals onto the top, leaving 9 underneath.
For cooking over charcoal a good rule of thumb seems to be to take the width of your oven in inches and double it to get the number of briquettes needed: so in my case a 12" oven needs 24 briquettes for a 160c / 325f temperature.
At some point I'll try with a wood fire but I think that's slightly harder to gauge the temperature.
I found this guide on one of the American Dutch Oven cooking sites which might be useful:
I gave it 2hrs cooking time - when I finally removed the lid the bacon was crispy and the chicken was perfectly cooked through.
Smelled fantastic too!
The chicken was lifted out and put on a plate with foil over it to rest for a bit, and I then added a good couple of dollops of creme fraiche into the cider sauce and gave it a 10-15 min simmer over all 24 coals.
Sauce poured into a bowl to serve alongside the chicken.
All ready to tuck in! I ended up retreating inside to eat as the rain was just starting to come down!
Honestly, it tasted immense - the chicken was falling off the bone and the sauce went really well with it. On camp I'd probably throw in some new potatoes to cook alongside the chicken to bulk it out a bit, but for a light mid-week supper the veg was fine.
Overall I'm really pleased with this first attempt. The chicken was cooked beautifully with no risk of raw meat and the temperature seems to be spot on to avoid drying out the meat.
In terms of timings I started preparation at 6.30pm (lighting charcoal, preparing ingredients) and had the chicken in by 7.15pm. It was ready by 9.15pm but I reckon I could have got away with 15-20 mins less cooking time.
I popped a couple of extra briquettes on (2-3) towards the end of the cooking time but with a better brand of charcoal this might not be necessary.
The use of charcoal briquettes also makes this suitable for visits to non-bushcraft camping sites, as all you need is a metal tray placed on some bricks to cook on (rather than a wood fire which many sites do not allow).
So there you go - if you've been wondering about getting a Dutch Oven, or moving beyond stews/casseroles, I'd really recommend giving a roast chicken a try.
And thanks to everyone who's taken the time to post their advice on buying / seasoning / using Dutch Ovens... it's great to browse these forums and follow in others' footsteps when it comes to trying new techniques.
Just to finish here's a cheesy shot taken by my 4 y/old midway through cooking
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