Joe’s Top Ten Dutch Oven Tips

#1. Keep your Dutch ovens hot! Keeping the Dutch ovens hot by using them regularly is the best way to keep them seasoned, and the best way to get better at Dutch oven cooking.

#2. Clean your ovens right after the meal. The easiest time to clean is right after you are done eating. If you wait, the job gets way harder. Make it a habit to clean them right away.

#3. Buy a small shovel for handling briquettes. Tongs are great for making rings, but when you need to move several briquettes at a time, a small shovel (like the ones that come with a wood stove set) is very handy.

#4. Keep the lid shut! When you open an oven to check your food, you lose a lot of heat. Until the recipe should be close to done, just trust your oven, and let it cook!

#5. Check the lid and legs before you buy. The brand of the oven doesn’t matter much, the quality does. Check for a tight seal on the lid, no matter which way you turn it, and check for good solid legs. Thick walls are important too.

#6. Watch the wind. If you are cooking outside, wind can really change the way your food will cook. It can burn on one side and not finish cooking on the other. If it is windy at all, rotate the oven every fifteen minutes, and block the wind any way you can.

#7. Start with the “Diameter minus 3″ rule when baking. If you are wondering how many briquettes to use for a baking recipe, take the diameter of the oven you are using and subtract three. This will give you a starting point to know how many briquettes to put under the oven. You will put the briquettes in a circle that will be the same size as the bottom of the oven, evenly spaced. For example a 12 inch Dutch oven would have 9 briquettes under it. Then always rim the top, plus three more in the middle of the lid. Some recipes need more or less, but this is a pretty good starting point until you perfect your recipe.

#8. Buy a pre-seasoned oven. If you are going to buy an oven, buy one that is pre-seasoned. They do not cost much more than the others, and you do not have to mess with seasoning it at home. I have bought both ways, and can’t see any reason not to let someone else season them!

#9. Use propane to start your briquettes. I use a briquette starter, instead of using newspaper under it, I use the propane stove to start my briquettes. It is much faster, and when you are cooking with a lot of ovens at once, it is much easier to keep up.

#10. If you can cook it in an oven in the kitchen, you can cook it in a Dutch oven outside. Try your favorite recipes outside in the Dutch oven. It can be done! It may take some creativity and a little practice, but don’t be afraid to try new things. Start simple, but once you are comfortable, try all of your favorites.