Why We Love Dutch Oven Cooking
Cast iron Dutch ovens have been used for centuries because they distribute heat evenly and can be used almost anywhere. Whether you're camping, living off-grid, cooking at a historical reenactment, or simply enjoying a backyard fire pit, a Dutch oven makes it possible to bake bread, biscuits, cobblers, stews, chili, soups, and even cakes without electricity.
One thing I've learned is that Dutch oven cooking teaches patience. Building a proper bed of coals often takes longer than preparing the food itself, but there's something incredibly satisfying about slowing down and cooking the way many of our pioneer ancestors once did.
Today was a sunny 65 degrees, and just perfect for outdoor cooking. As you can see, I'm playing SMOKE OUT while trying to get the fire started. We had some drizzle this week and even some ice, so all the wood is a little damp.
I sent the girls to fetch some water so we could have hot tea, water for the recipe, and also for clean-up.
I selected a nice cast iron pot to hang from the hook.
I love how I can adjust my temperature by raising or lowering the pot over the fire.
Pamela made us a batch of country biscuits. Nothing fancy.
COUNTRY BISCUITSMix in just enough warm water to dampen and shape dough
We're using the dutch oven for our baking.
Biscuits are placed in the iron pot.
Shoveling the embers, we placed the dutch oven on top of ashes, and covered the lid. The red hot embers heats the inside of the pot just like an oven. We can raise or lower our temperature by adding or taking away embers from the bottom and top of the pot.
The biscuits were good slathered with creamy butter and honey.
Cooking biscuits pioneer style sure placed things into perspective. By the time we got the fire good and ready (with enough hot ashes) and cooked the biscuits, it took over two hours.
Like they say, food tastes better cooked outdoors, but I sure do appreciate my INDOOR kitchen! Imagine all you had was this outdoor kitchen, like some of our ancestors. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, food needed cooked!
Imagine laundry day back then... that's another story.
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