Dutch oven saves dud of a deer hunt
Dutch ovens cook slow and steady when surrounded by glowing coals. This one yielded roast pork and vegetables on the last day of deer season. None of the diners had killed any venison.
In this photo a Dutch oven is shown baking bread. Aside from a coffee pot, cooking in hunting camp demands only one thing: a good Dutch oven.
I无毛视频檝e never read the novel, but last month无毛视频檚 weather brought to mind John Steinbeck无毛视频檚 无毛视频淭he Winter of Our Discontent.无毛视频� If you had looked forward to skiing, ice-fishing, snowshoeing or hunting deer and grouse on fresh snow this early winter, you were discontented.
But outdoors you can always cook. That无毛视频檚 what we did on the last day of deer season when the temperature nudged 70 and chasing whitetails felt like mere going through the motions. Who wants to hang a deer on the pole when you无毛视频檙e uncomfortably warm in shorts and fluorescent orange T-shirt, wondering why you didn无毛视频檛 pack sunglasses?
I knew the weather would be 无毛视频渘ice无毛视频� so I did pack a thick pork shoulder and my Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is that ponderous cast iron vessel you see swinging from the back of covered wagons in western movies. Mine hangs from a nail in the basement, unused sometimes for years. That无毛视频檚 a mistake because the Dutch oven is a versatile appliance that can roast or bake anything you can make in a modern electric range 无毛视频� only better, with the added satisfaction of outdoor accomplishment.
I无毛视频檇 already rubbed the roast with black pepper and smoked paprika, then stowed it in the cooler. After half-hearted hikes through the warming woods at dawn we all returned to our informal base camp and started a fire. For Dutch oven cooking you need fire, of course, but not the eager flames of early ignition. A cooking fire needs time to burn down to glowing coals.
While we waited for coals I got the oven just hot enough in the early flames to brown the meat. I then rested the roast on a slab of clean firewood and sliced onions, apples, parsnips and garlic, a natural combination to complement pork. These got browned too, before I deglazed the oven with warm beer (we无毛视频檇 long since unloaded and cased the rifles). Beer is said to be an effective meat tenderizer. That must be true because, with regular consumption, it tenderizes the human midsection. By the way; never pour cold liquid into a hot Dutch oven, as the sudden temperature shock can crack the iron.
By the time I无毛视频檇 nestled the roast back among the vegetables we had our coals. We dug them out of the flames with a spade and built a glowing radiant mound off to the side of the pit. The Dutch oven squatted on its legs over the mound and we used the spade to ladle more coals onto its lid. After that we re-built the fire 无毛视频� more for affect and bug repellant than for warmth 无毛视频� and relaxed.
After a couple of hours the oven could no longer contain the aroma. The titillating blend of roasting meat, savory garlic, sweet apple and wood smoke piqued everyone无毛视频檚 appetite so that we forgot about the deer we 无毛视频渟hould have无毛视频� been hunting. 无毛视频淥nly about another hour,无毛视频� I announced and the impromptu party continued. When we finally savored the meal, everyone declared it a memorable triumph. The meat was tender, moist and permeated with complex tastes. We enjoyed it with the shared reassurance that, likely, we无毛视频檇 have better weather in flintlock season.
But that campfire success can无毛视频檛 be attributed to inspiration or even luck. On a writing assignment a few years back I had attended a seminar on Dutch oven cooking at Raccoon Creek State Park in Beaver County and learned some tips from an expert. Bill Boyce of Pittsburgh did the cooking that day for 15 participants. Boyce has been cooking outdoors for 40 years无毛视频搘ith scouts, in the Marine Corps, for work and recreation. When Boyce gets a taste for something good in the woods, or at home, he reaches for his Dutch oven. Naturally, I kept notes.
To get the best performance from Dutch ovens, Boyce cautioned, they need the right care. 无毛视频淭he key is to season the oven before you cook,无毛视频� Boyce said. 无毛视频淚f cast iron is properly seasoned, nothing will stick to it.无毛视频�
Lodge Manufacturing of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, makers of Dutch ovens and other cast iron cookware recommends seasoning by hand-rubbing the oven无毛视频檚 interior and exterior with a good grade vegetable oil or shortening, then baking the oven, empty, at 350 degrees in a kitchen range for at least one hour.
Boyce无毛视频檚 other iron-clad rule is: Never, ever, clean it with soap. Soap destroys an oven无毛视频檚 seasoned surface and soap molecules embed themselves in the iron, imparting an off-taste to food. If you season the oven correctly you can clean it after cooking with a wipe from a damp paper towel.
A Dutch oven无毛视频檚 only drawback is its weight but that robust construction also allows for the steady heat that Boyce says bakes or roasts food so well.
无毛视频淎 Dutch oven is versatile but it无毛视频檚 heavy. If you have one at a permanent campsite or where you can camp from a car, it无毛视频檚 great,无毛视频� Boyce advised. 无毛视频淏ut for backpacking无毛视频揘o way.无毛视频�
He has, though, taken his oven along on canoe trips.
无毛视频淎 friend and I take a Dutch oven canoe camping,无毛视频� Boyce said. 无毛视频淲e catch fish, frogs, whatever. As long as we have a bag of potatoes and onions along and can start a fire, we can cook up something good.无毛视频�