Let's Talk About Dutch Oven Cooking: Update

[Deuce]

First things first. The National Dutch Oven Gathering takes place October 18-20 at DeGray Lake State Park. Here's the link. http://www.ndog2013.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. This will be a great opportunity to learn about all things Dutch Oven and will be a LOT of fun. I hope you'll make plans to attend.

Now, I'd like to throw something out there. I've been asked why there's so little participation in the Dutch Oven cook-off, and the truth is I don't know, so I'd like to hear from you guys. I know Dutch Oven cooking isn't for everyone, but it's part of our heritage and it's a lot of fun. It needn't be intimidating or gear intensive. Sure there are very inolved recipes that require quite a bit of skill and equipment, but there are also thousands of great dishes that require nothing more than a garage sale find, a few cans of pie filling, a cake mix and some charcoal or a campfire. I've lost count of how many people I've told this after they've expressed to me their fear that they'd "never be able to cook anything like that".
The truth is, if you find any enjoyment in camping, and most paddlers do, you're missing out big time if you don't cook in a Dutch Oven. Surely those Jetboil Ramen noodles get old eventually.

Some of the old timers and I really want to keep this tradition going, so talk to me. If you're not even a casual Dutch Oven chef, why not? Lack of equipment? Intimidation? Lack of interest? What would it take for you to become one? A class at Rendezvous in lieu of or in addition to the contest? Chapter events? I'm all ears.

[onewhopaddles]

Deuce,

I threw down my skills at whitewater school with 2 batches of late night peach cobbler. I can certainly say that folks do like eating out of a Dutch Oven. Your lucky the stars didn't align and I couldn't make it to the vous . As far as smack talking goes, Beer Bread from Scratch at 11000 elv. and 19 degrees is my most amazing Dutch Oven feat. I say keep it, if not just swing by my camp and I'll be doing it anyway. Hated I missed it!

Richard

[okieboater]

Baking anything at 11,000 feet altitude takes a lot of skill, my opinion.

Impressive!!!!!

I have a good book on successful baking at high altitudes and it tops out at 1o,ooo feet.

"Pie in the Sky" by Susan G. Purdy is the baker and she has all sort of good recipes from scratch.

Highly recommended.

Dave :myday"

[okieboater]

Deuce,

DustBowl Chapter has sponsored a Dutch Oven Gathering AKA DOG every November for a number of years now.

We do a weekend camp out at a local state park. Everyone shows up and we cookers show off what ever we want to cook. Normally, at least twenty DO's going. We usually have 50 to 60 plus people show up and invite local Boy Scout Patrols to learn about dutch oven cooking. Normal drill is to start cooking around Noonish on Saturday, line the DO pots up on the tables around 3 and chow down. We do clean up. Take naps. Have a big white man's bonfire and finish off left overs around the camp fire. It is a hoot. We have main dishes from pot roast to cajun dishes and cakes out the yeng yang. What ever the chef's want to cook up.

[Tim Eubanks]

Deuce,

DustBowl Chapter has sponsored a Dutch Oven Gathering AKA DOG every November for a number of years now.

We have main dishes from pot roast to cajun dishes and cakes out the yeng yang. What ever the chef's want to cook up.

Dave, are cakes out the yeng yang as good as cakes out the dutch oven?

[okieboater]

Laughing big time as he types this, Tim, probably a bad choice of words on my part. Dave

I will say I made a DO rum cake year before last and the slices were restricted to the adults. Put it on the table and it was gone in less than 5 minutes under one of the watchful eyes of one of the Mom's at the DOG. I also made a couple other cakes that I thought were good but were not snatched up till dessert time.

Maybe yeng yang is not a good way to describe it, but the Chapter has been doing this event a bunch of years. I have been there for most of them (unless on a river trip) and can say from my sampling of the food, every DO Pot on the table tasted really good.

[Tim Eubanks]

Yeng yang, wazoo, all good choices. Just felt like giving you a poke today.
My first real introduction was at the Ozark Society's event out in Colorado a few years back. You were in the other kitchen so I didn't get to see you at work. Really enjoyed the food and the process.

[Moniker]

Perhaps Vous attracts more of the Hotel/Motel/Resort type campers then the roughing it type.This was my impression at the one and only Rendevous I attended about ten years ago.
I had been a member for a couple of years but I did'nt feel like I had much in common with most of the folks there.I enjoyed Canoe School a lot more.I have always been sort of primitive.
I was'nt in the Dutch Oven competition but I did cook Sauerbraten in a Dutch Oven.Aside from myself and my daughter it went untouched.Anything I cook in a Dutch Oven at Canoe School gets scarfed up immediatly.
I know there is'nt time for a Dutch Oven cookoff at the"Arkansas Canoe Club School of Whitewater Paddling"but one thing for sure is there would'nt be any leftovers.

[sig]

Perhaps Vous attracts more of the Hotel/Motel/Resort type campers then the roughing it type.

If you are the type to bring a DO camping then you really aren't roughing it either. :)

[darkaly]

Crash has spent nearly forty nights in a tent so far this year. Before she left for school this morning, we told her she didn't REALLY camp out because she didn't cook with a Dutch oven.

There are as many ways to camp are there are people who camp. As a family, we tend toward the faster-and-lighter approach, because we don't like to sacrifice the time and weight to cooking gear. I don't like to cook in a pot because its difficult to keep it clean for multiple days on trails in the backcountry. boiling water is plenty for me. You see what I mean. I don't want to give up hiking time in order to cook. When we're out, simpler is better.

That may be true of others in the Rendezvous group, too. We may not have the equipment and recipes and experience to participate in something like the Dutch oven cook off, not because we don't camp, but because we camp light.

[Deuce]

Perhaps Vous attracts more of the Hotel/Motel/Resort type campers then the roughing it type.

If you are the type to bring a DO camping then you really aren't roughing it either. :)

Sig, I've never seen any resort type campers at Rendezvous so I'm puzzled by those comments too. However, I think what constitutes roughing it is open to interpretation. There are backpacking Dutch Ovens, and one can head out on a float trip with nothing but a light tarp, DO and food in the kayak or canoe. I can promise you that's rougher than Mrs. Deuce would ever be willing to roll , but if that's not roughing it to you, fair enough. We all gots our ways. My goal isn't to disparage anyone's outdoor style but to encourage those who might be interested in DO cooking to tell us what we can do to get them involved. I know they're out there because I've encountered them personally. For those who aren't interested that's cool too. Sorry the conversation took a detour. It happens.

[737driver]

Everyone has their own idea of roughing it. Whether you spend 40 days in a tent with the luxury of boiling your own water or 60 days hunkered down in a hotel in Oakland only venturing out once a day to Wendy's while trying to avoid getting shot. One thing is certain. We all like to eat! Whether you pack it in, carry it in the trunk, or a fellow camper brings it, COOK and THEY WILL COME. I was unable to attend, but I say keep it. I would love to learn how to cook different things in one. I've only cooked cobbler and that was because my son showed me how.

[darkaly]

I'm not sure we took a detour at all, Deuce! You asked why people aren't too interested in DO cooking, and for our family, that's the reason - we just don't camp with one. I think this may be the same for others.

You also asked about why there's not more participation in the DO fun at Rendezvous, and the answer may be similar: everybody has to make choices about time. I know that for many people, the slow downstream floats and the Saturday afternoon nuttiness at the ledge are big, big parts of why they enjoy the event. Since we can't be at the ledge playing at the same time as at the chapter house cooking, well...

All that said, I do think you have a great point. Dutch oven cooking is a part of our heritage as outdoors people. I don't want to see it go away either. I like the idea of a weekend campout or even a Sunday afternoon/evening DO cookout on a chapter level. I promise to eat dutch oven cobbler if somebody else cooks it!

[Deuce]

I'm not sure we took a detour at all, Deuce! You asked why people aren't too interested in DO cooking, and for our family, that's the reason - we just don't camp with one. I think this may be the same for others.

You also asked about why there's not more participation in the DO fun at Rendezvous, and the answer may be similar: everybody has to make choices about time. I know that for many people, the slow downstream floats and the Saturday afternoon nuttiness at the ledge are big, big parts of why they enjoy the event. Since we can't be at the ledge playing at the same time as at the chapter house cooking, well...

All that said, I do think you have a great point. Dutch oven cooking is a part of our heritage as outdoors people. I don't want to see it go away either. I like the idea of a weekend campout or even a Sunday afternoon/evening DO cookout on a chapter level. I promise to eat dutch oven cobbler if somebody else cooks it!

Thanks Aly. That's the kind of input I'm looking for. Keep it coming everyone.

[Tim Eubanks]

I've had a dish in the DO cook off for the last 3 years and it does mean cutting play time at the ledge short but that's not a big deal for me as it is for many.
Also means doing quite a bit of prep work ahead of time. We cooked 3 trial desserts the week before Vous as we don't typically eat dessert, we needed practice. Gotta bring a lot of stuff, clean up your mess, etc. Worth it to me but probably not to lots of folks.
You might not think so to look at me, but I like to cook, just don't eat much. Lots of folks just don't cook these days, not enough time in busy lives.