Recipes

Over the Fire  (Dutch Oven Cooking)(Pie Irons)(In the Coals)(Smoking)(Grilling)(BBQ'ing) 

Dutch Oven Cooking

Your ovens are not seasoned well if you are getting rust. IDOS and all of the DOG cooks will recommend that your oven be seasoned 3 times before even cooking. Also you should fry or deep-fry 3 times before cooking a stew or high liquid meal in them.

Each time you cook in the oven you are removing the oil which you baked in to begin with. This same patina (oil coating) will break down and cook deeper into the oven. That is why you also coat every surface, outside, lid, rim, bail, legs.

Clean the oven well and do a seasoning prior to storage whether it is 1 month or over winter. Give it a water only cleaning when taking it out of winter storage and do a seasoning. The more you season your oven the better it will cook and become a nonstick surface.

When using a sticky recipe heat the oven and give a swipe or spray with a liberal amount of oil then add your ingredients. If you still find sticking to be a problem feel free to use foil.
I will use a metal scratcher on my oven with heavy buildup. Just gently scrub as if you were scrubbing teflon. After using a metal scrubber I always do a seasoning to repair the damage the scrubber has done.
The best thing I found to clean the oven with is the bamboo brushes used for cleaning a wok. Right after removing the food pour in a cup of water and scrub. Dump out water dry over fire and swipe all surfaces including outside with oil. This only takes 5 mins turn oven upside down on fire grate. After eating your meal remove oven and set aside to cool.

Love my Camp Chef Ultimate Turkey Dutch Oven and we use it for smoking turkey (8 min per pound and no oil to dispose of), ribs, and cooking beef and pork roasts.

The Ultimate Dutch Oven looks like an angel food cake pan with a center cone to push the heat through the center of the pan.

Basically, it is simple:

Line the oven with foil (helps with the cleanup)
add a handful of wood chips (hickory or mesquite)
put in the grate
Add the meat and cook
I keep the heat on for about 8 minutes per pound
I use a 30K BTU camp stove

Because you basically make charcoal in the oven I use hot water and little soap to clean it. I then dry it on the stove and re-season it with vegetable. 

Purchase two of those rotisserie chickens at your big supermarket (the more herbs used the better).

Now, either hot or cold, get all the skin off of them. Cut the legs, and wings off (save), and trim off the extra bone and fat (toss). Allow to cool overnight in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook the meal, just dump all these chicken bits in to a preheated 12" DO. Pour 1 or 2 jars of your favorite BBQ sauce in. Then add one 24oz bottle of Coke or Pepsi, and stir it all up. Cook this a 350º with 2/3rds coals on bottom, and 1/3 coals on top. Allow it to simmer until the rest of the meal is complete.

Here is a recipe that works out great in my Dutch Oven. When I make it in the Dutch Oven I cut down a little on the butter and oil a bit. 

1 whole chicken cut up
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup oil
1 cup flour 1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon marjoram

Melt butter add to cookie sheet with sides, add oil. Add spices to flour in a bag. Dip chicken in the butter/oil then in flour. Set back in pan with butter/oil. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Flip chicken and bake 4 to 10 minutes longer. Makes good gravy.

Good recipe. But if you need to limit your fat intake, instead of dipping it in the butter mixture, just roll the wet chicken from washing it in the flour mixture and put place on a Pam sprayed pan. Then, spray Pam across the tops of the chicken pieces. It will cook well and brown - and - no fat! Some fat will naturally cook away from the chicken even if you think you have all of it off.

My recipe is very similar-- Bisquick instead of flour, add 1/2 cup parmesan, some onion powder, thyme, paprika, pepper. i spread some ranch dressing on the chicken first, or a mix of egg and ranch dressing, dip chicken in, then in bisquick mixture. It's great. Pretty easy too.

But wait there's more!

After you dip in liquid mixture, and cover with first layer of flour/bisquick, ya dip it again in that liquid, and roll it in dry potato flake/corn flake/herb bread crumb mixture. Then bake or fry.

Mucho mo' crunchy!

one whole chicken
bacon
whole green chilies
6-8 garlic cloves
potatoes

pot the bacon across the bottom of the pot. stab holes in the breast & legs of chicken. push peeled cloves of garlic into them to your taste. and a few inside the cavity. place on top of bacon in pot. place green chili's and more bacon across top of chicken. cut potatoes into 1 1/2 cubes or so. put in pot. put enough water in to fill 1" of bottom of pot. roast about 40 min.

Here's a quick and easy chicken recipe for you to try --- it was new to us until tonight (by the way, it's AWESOME!).

Chicken (one whole fryer cut up, or whatever . . . we used a big package of thighs).
One can Cola
One jar BBQ sauce

Put chicken in oven (lined with foil), pour soda over, add BBQ sauce. Let cook for about 1 hour -- (coals on top and bottom -- I just put a bunch on top and set the oven over the coals underneath).

I'm still learning . . . but we like DO cooking enough that we've been doing it at home, too! Just made that chicken dish tonight at home, and it got RAVE reviews! I'm not sure what the Coke does, but it sure beats adding water to thin the BBQ sauce!

Make thisthe night before and let it stew overnight.

Put about 2 cups of water in the bottom of a Dutch oven and add a cheap cut of beef or pork and some pickling spices.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the meat is just falling apart.

Use a fork to shred the meat and remove obvious fat and gristle.

Add a bottle or 2 of your favorite BBQ sauce and let simmer forever.

This is HARD CORE CHEATING. I wouldn't even call this real BBQ, but it's good, it's easy, it's cheap and it feeds a lot of people with very little fuss.

Dug up this old family recipe, On vacation, bored, and hungry.

3 lb. pork rib/pork fingers, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup raw rice
3 cups water
1/4 cup bell pepper chopped
cooking oil
salt, black and red pepper
onion tops (shallots), and parsley, optional

   Get a thick black pot, (Dutch oven). Put in enough oil to cover the bottom. Heat the oil till hot, stir in sugar and brown it.
Season ribs/fingers and brown in hot oil. Sauté the onion and bell pepper until wilted.
   Add raw rice to pot along with the water. Cover and cook low and slow until tender done. Add onion tops and parsley and cook for 15 minutes longer. If mixture cooks down too much, add a little more water. The sugar helps cut the onion flavor and adds a unique taste.

Lube the bottom of the Dutch oven with some vegetable oil first. Layer the Dutch oven with spaghetti sauce (I use canned sauce on camping trips), lasagna noodles (the no bake kind works best, but I've used both, ground beef, mozzarella cheese, sauce, etc. till the oven is almost full. I make sure there is plenty of sauce in the oven so it doesn't get dry. I don't put the last layer of cheese on the top until it's almost done. Rotate the oven over the charcoal base and turn the lid (with coals on top) every 1/2 hour or so. It's done when the noodles are soft and its hot all the way through. We make garlic bread over the fire, too.

My favorite recipe so far is Barbecued Pork for Sandwiches

2 lbs country style pork spare ribs
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 package of your favorite sandwich rolls

Place ribs in cold DO. Pour sauce over ribs, turn to coat thoroughly. Cover. Place DO in oven then set oven to 300 degrees. Cook for @ 2-2.5 hours. Meat should shred easily with two forks.

After shredding meat, mix thoroughly with BBQ sauce and replace cover. Let stand for @ 5 minutes. Spoon onto roll to serve.

Try this sometime in your DO.  Cut a pork loin in half, with a sharp knife roll out kind of jellyroll fashion, about an inch thick, season and place chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, and a little minced garlic, roll it up, tie it and brown in hot oil. add a couple of inches of water cook on low heat till fork tender a couple of hours. Let the water cook down till it makes just enough gravy for you about 1/2 inch. Slice and serve with rice and use the gravy it made.

We usually camp in the mountains where it's cold in the morning so a nice hot meal is nice. I cook this in a dutch oven over coals, but you can make it on a stove also.

I cut a pound of bacon up into small pieces, cook it until just about done.   Add one chopped up onion, finish cooking. If I use a dutch oven over coals I cook the bacon in the lid, if you use the dutch oven it is harder to clean. I prefer sliced potatoes, but you can use frozen hash browns. Just add potatoes until it looks like you have enough in, when I use frozen hash browns I use a bag full. Mix it all together and stir it up with salt and pepper.   If using a dutch oven I put about 7 coals under and then line the rim of the lid with the rest.

We never have any left over and my kids can wait for them.   One option is to add some beaten eggs when it is done, just pour them on and let if finish cooking.

On a morning when I'm not in a hurry for breakfast (most mornings while camping) I do the mountain man breakfast found in the Lodge Dutch oven recipe book. Basically it's sausage, hash browns, eggs, and cheese. The sausage and hash browns are cooked ahead, cheese mixed in, eggs poured over the top, then baked in the Dutch oven about 30 minutes - enough to warm it up, cook the eggs, and melt the cheese.

Found another good one I wanted to pass along:

1/2 lb bacon (or pre-cooked sausage)
Med onion
2 lb. bag of hash brown potatoes
1/2 pound of grated cheddar
1 doz. eggs
Small jar of salsa (optional)

The following requires 6-9 bottom coals and 12 -15 top coals:

Pre-heat 12" Dutch oven. Slice bacon and onion into small pieces and brown in the bottom of the DO until onions are clear. Stir in the hash brown potatoes and cover; remove cover and stir occasionally to brown and heat potatoes (15-20 minutes) Scramble the eggs in a separate container and pour the mixture over the hash browns. Cover and cook until eggs start to set.(10 - 15 minutes)

Sprinkle grated cheese over egg mixture, cover and continue heating until eggs are completely set and cheese is melted. Optional: cover cheese/egg mixture with a small jar (about 1 cup) of salsa. Cover and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes. Slice and serve like quiche. (Real men don't eat quiche but I sure get lots of requests to cook up the Mountain Man.) Cooking times will vary with the weather and your state of awake but its almost impossible to screw up. Serves 6.

12 ears of tender fresh corn OR 3 cans drained whole kernel corn.
1 large chopped onion
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1/4 cup Ro-tel brand tomatoes
1 clove minced garlic
cooking oil
Seasoning

Cut corn off the cob and scrape cobs to get all the juice Or
in a large skillet, black pot, Dutch oven. Add 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add 3 cans drained whole kernel corn or the corn you scraped. Add 1 chopped onion, and chopped bell pepper and garlic, Season to taste, but I like it hot. Cook on medium until corn starts to brown. Add a little water and Ro-tel tomatoes. Cook down for about 30 minutes, Stirring often.
This is great with everything!!

1 can peach pie filling
1 can lite sliced peaches
1/2 box of white cake mix
1/2 stick of butter.

Heat Dutch oven over bottom coals.
Pour in pie filling and canned peaches. (do not drain peaches)
Mix well.
Sprinkle cake mix over the peaches.
Slice butter into pats and spread evenly over batter.
Put lid on DO and put coals on top.
Rotate lid 1/2 turn in 15 minutes and rotate DO 1/2 turn over bottom coals.
In another 15 minutes lift lid and check. If you smell it sooner, check sooner. When top is golden brown you are done.

While crisp is baking make homemade vanilla ice cream in hand crank maker. It is well worth the work.

Filling   
10 cups granny smith apple slices
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 – 12oz Jar caramel sauce
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon   
3/4 tsp. grated nutmeg   
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter; melted

Topping
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour

Prepare Filling: In a 12" Dutch oven add apples and lemon juice; stir to coat apples. Pour caramel over apples.   In a separate dish combine remaining filling ingredients and stir to mix. Pour dry ingredients over apples and stir until apples are well coated.

Prepare Topping: In a separate bowl combine brown sugar, flour, oatmeal; stir to mix. Using a fork, mix in butter. Spread topping evenly over apples.

Bake: Cover Dutch oven and bake using 12-14 briquettes bottom and 16-18 briquettes top for 60 minutes.
Serve topped with whipped cream.

I made this during our 4th of July trip and it fed 18+ people, with some to spare. Great with a hot cup of camp coffee, or ice cold glass of milk.

10" DO (Dutch oven)
21 charcoals (14 top/7 bottom)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teas cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine
6 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1. In bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in margarine until crumbly.
2. Oil DO and set up to cook with 7 charcoal on bottom.
3. Spread apple slices in DO and sprinkle oat mixture evenly on top.
4. Cover and bake for 40-45 minutes with 14 charcoal on top lid. Check and see if apples are tender. If necessary bake longer, checking every 10 minutes.
5. In conventional oven bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes at 350*.
6. Serve warm with whipped cream, ice cream, or slices of cheese.
7. This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 12" DO using 25 charcoal. (17 top/ 8 bottom)

Line your Dutch Oven with foil and do these cakes.

Into foil lined DO add crushed or pieced pineapple with juice
sprinkle on top a yellow cake mix
drizzle 1 cup melted butter
and sprinkle with 1 cup pecans
Bake till brown or done. This can be done in reg. oven at 400 for 45 to 50 mins.

Line your Dutch Oven with foil and do these cakes. 

Into foil lined DO add fruit cocktail or any canned fruit (not pie mix) must have juice.
Mix yellow cake mix with 1 can 7up or like
bake till brown or done. This one too can be done in oven at 400 for 35 to 40

remove these cakes and invert onto plate and peel off tinfoil. Don't leave in DO as they will overcook. You can use any fruit combination. I used 2 lrg. cans of chunk pineapple and only the juice from one in a 13 x 9 last night and the guys loved it. No Ice Cream but they thought it was good enough without. I figure if they want Ice Cream with this they better start practicing the coffee can method. After all we are roughing it.

1. Put 8-10 coals under pot
2. I use a small pad of butter maybe a teaspoon
3. Once melted add the pie filling and warm it up a couple minutes
4. Add the cake mix (DRY) you don't use any oil, eggs whatever..
5. Stir lightly
6. Add the Sprite/7UP (only one 12 once can)
7. Again stir very lightly as you want it to bubble up to be fluffy
8. Put the lid on and add about 6 - 8 coals on the lid
9. Check every once in awhile to see if the cake is done
10. Once done I sprinkle a little sugar on top of the cake to taste

The cake should be a little brown on top (not burnt)

Making the cake takes a little under 5 minutes and cooking time varies as to how much heat you have and size of pot I think I usually am finished between 30 and 45 minutes. This will feed 4-6 people.

I hope you like it. Have fun and don't be afraid to try anything and everything with dutch ovens. Accidents are the most fun usually.

1 bag of Ore Ida hash browns
1 chopped onion
1 stick butter/oleo
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small block Velveeta or pkg of shredded cheddar
salt and pepper
1 cup sour cream

Blend all and bake

Brown some ground beef with chopped green pepper, or use hot peppers if you like, some chopped onion, maybe celery or mushroom (either in the Dutch oven or not - I usually do mine ahead when we camp) and cook some macaroni (kids like it when I vary shapes - had shells this time). Mix this with a small can of tomato sauce - I don't like mine too tomatoey, so maybe you'll want 2 cans. I also add a little water. Salt and pepper are a must, other spices optional - I like to add some Canadian steak seasoning or some oregano. Sometimes I mix in grated cheese, sometimes I top with cheese, sometimes I don't do cheese. Bake about 30 minutes (I use about 10 coals on the bottom and about 25 on top of our large Dutch oven). For our family of 6 I use the following amounts:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2 cups of uncooked macaroni (more if I use shells or something)
Half a green pepper
1 small onion (probably)
1 stalk of celery (usually)
1 Portobello mushroom cap (sometimes)
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1/2 to 1 cup of cheese (maybe more if I'm in a cheesey mood)

Here we are making the "Cowtown All Day Breakfast" from the funky but fun book "Log Cabin Campfire Cookin" by Colleen Sloan:

6 potatoes
1 large onion
2 tbs. seasoning
1 cup diced ham or sausage
8 eggs

Grease oven, add onions potatoes and seasonings. Cook till tender. Break the eggs over the potatoes and pour meat on top. cover and cook 7 to ten minutes. Makes a yummy mass of breakfast you can cut like a pie. I add cheese also. Usually 10 briquets on the bottom and 5 - 7 on top.

The dutch oven makes breakfast so easy and fun as you can cook all those foods in one utensil.

Try raspberry-pear, mandarin orange, peach-cherry, just about anything

Two big cans of peaches. (three if you want)
The juice from only one of the cans.
1 package white cake mix- pour over peaches
stick of butter, cut in to slices on top of cake mix
12 oz of sprite poured on top of everything.

DO NOT STIR- no matter how much you may be tempted.

Cook in Dutch oven with more heat on top, until cake is golden brown.

We make this every time we go, with different fruit. the raspberry pear is our current favorite. (raspberry pie filling) and canned pears.

This is the best (IMHO) way to do it. People that think they make a good cobbler always ask me how I do it. They never believe me when I say DON'T MIX IT.
Put the fruit in, dump the DRY cake mix on top, put butter and sprite on and viola'. The best cobbler north of the equator.

Line the oven with foil (and I don't use the Ultimate Oven)
Take two cans / jars of fruit -- drain most of the juice off
Dump in the middle of the pan
Add a cube of butter (NOT margarine) chopped up
1/2 cup to 1 cup brown sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit used
Take a regular white cake mix (cheaper store brand works great)
dump into a bowl and add 7-Up or any fruit flavored soda (no diet)
and mix until the mixture is the consistency of pancake batter

Pour the batter over the top of the fruit/butter/sugar mixture and put it on the fire. Put 7 to 10 briquettes on the lid and bake for 45-60 minutes. I rotate the oven 90 degrees every 15 minutes and turn the lid 90 degrees the opposite direction to prevent hot spots.

Great served warm with home-made ice cream and we like it the next morning cold as well.

I use the small cans from pineapple slices. I spray the cans with Pam spray. Sprinkle the bottom with brown sugar and place a full pineapple ring in the bottom. Add a maraschino cherry to the middle. Mix up a package of yellow cake mix according to the directions on the box. Fill the can to about 1/2" from the top. Each kid can make one of these. To bake: place a cooling rack in the bottom of your Dutch oven and place the cans evenly spaced. You can also use Mason jar lids to sit them on. Bake with 6 to 8 charcoal on bottom with 12 on top. When done, turn cans over on serving plates and serve with whipped topping or ice cream. I usually use a 14" or 16” oven for this one to accommodate all the kids or just bake it over the fire on a rack. Kids will enjoy making there own dessert. 20041003

It is super easy and always really delicious. We always line the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil when we make this for easy clean up.

2-3 cans pie filling (pick a fruit)
1 white cake mix
1 cube butter
Cinnamon if you like it

Pour the pie filling in the oven, pour the cake mix on top (you may or may not want to use the whole box). Slice the butter in thin slices and spread them around the top. Add cinnamon/nutmeg or any other such spices you like, sprinkled on top. I will usually put 7-8 coals underneath and 15-16 on top and cook it for 30-45 minutes or so. I just check it a lot until the top is a golden brown. I like to whip some cream to go on top, or sometimes we make some homemade ice cream to go with.

Make your own lasagna, the usual recipe you use, but in the DO. For instance, I use a jar of Ragu, some ricotta mixed with an egg, parmesan, and mozzarella, some browned Italian sausage, and water. Break the dry noodles up, and layer all ingredients in alternating layers. Add a little water (because the noodles are not cooked first). Use a charcoal or wood fire, and put charcoal or wood "embers", the red glowing fragments of wood, under your DO, and on top of the DO lid. cook for about an hour, or longer if your fire is not as hot. I just eyeball it and assess if the noodles are cooked soft, and the cheese is somewhat set. No strict recipe, just your own regular recipe in the DO.

12 inch DO
6 slices bacon
6 medium potatoes
1/2 onion
1 stalk celery
1 head broccoli
3 or 4 carrots, I used a bag of those baby carrots
1 lb of your favorite polish sausage

Put enough coals under DO to cook bacon crisp
Remove bacon and leave all the drippings
Slice potatoes thin, cut carrots and celery small enough so they will cook easier
I like the onion in small pieces
Cut up the broccoli, take the skin off the stalk and cut up
Dump the potatoes, carrots, celery in bacon fat and cook until they start to get tender but not done.
Add the broccoli and onion.
When the vegs are almost done cut up the meat bite size and put it into the pot, cook a while longer
Stir often so things will cook even.
Salt and pepper to taste.
I used coals on top and bottom after I started the vegs.
cook a few more minutes and you have a great meal.
crumble up the bacon on top after it is done
Have a pan of cornbread ready and dig in,
Taste even better if you take off the heat and let it set a while
Enjoy

Cut up pieces of chicken (I use boneless, skinless breasts)
A frozen pack of mixed veggies (or a couple cans)
Cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
Bisquick topping.

If you like, you can brown the chicken ahead of time. Put the chicken, veggies, and soup (without water) in the DO and mix. Make the Bisquick recipe and use as a topping. Bake until browned on top. (I use 8-10 under and about 20 on top of my deep 12)

One box of chocolate cake mix
One can of cherry pie filling
One can of lemon-lime soda

Mix the above ingredients and bake - yummy!

Open 2 cans of apple pie filling, put in a foil lined DO, pour on top a white or spice cake mix dry. Put on top of cake mix half a cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces & scatter around the dry cake mix. 10 coals on bottom of DO & 15 on top. Cook for about 45 minutes. If you have time cut up your own apples, season them like you would do for apple pie & use theses instead of the pie filling.

There are a lot of variations on this recipe.  I just copied this one, it seems close enough, but sometimes we have used fruit cocktail, cherries, apples, etc. and A LOT more cinnamon and of course, during the winter more charcoals. I think something like 18 on top and 12 on bottom. It is hard to goof this one up.

Note: We like cinnamon so we sprinkle ALOT on top. DO NOT stir!

2 cans (30 oz.) of sliced peaches
1 box of cake mix - yellow or white
½ cup of sugar
1 dash of cinnamon
1 stick of margarine (optional)

Put the fruit in the bottom of a warm Dutch oven with juice. Dump the cake mix, sugar, and cinnamon in a plastic bag or pot and mix. Pour it over the fruit. Drop pats of margarine onto the top of the mixture. Bake on moderate heat with plenty of coals on top for about 40 minutes. Adjust cooking as necessary.

This can be modified dramatically and still come out edible. Almost any fruit or fruit mixtures works well except pears. Fresh fruit like 5 apples or 1 quart of Brazos berries or black berries works great. The addition of a banana or maraschino cherries is an interesting change. You can use chocolate chips, cherry pie filling and chocolate cake mix. If you want you can just dump it all in the Dutch oven and stir a couple of times. I once made a cobbler with 2 apples, an orange, a banana, pancake syrup, and pancake mix. We ate it.

On your DO put 18 coals on top and 12 on bottom . (Put aluminum foil in the bottom of your Dutch Oven and clean up will be quick!)

2 cans (30 oz.) of sliced peaches or other fruit
1 box of cake mix - yellow or white
½ cup of sugar
1 dash of cinnamon
1 stick of margarine (optional)

Put the fruit in the bottom of a warm Dutch oven with juice. Dump the cake mix, sugar, and cinnamon in a plastic bag or pot and mix. Pour it over the fruit. Drop pats of margarine onto the top of the mixture. Bake on moderate heat with plenty of coals on top for about 30 minutes. Adjust cooking as necessary.

2 cans peach pie filling (or equivalent fresh peaches)
1 cake mix (we used a vanilla cake mix)
1 stick margarine or butter
2 cups water

Empty pie filling into greased Dutch oven. Sprinkle dry cake mix over. Cut up margarine and dot over cake mix. Pour water over all. Don't stir. Bake at 350 for an hour, over campfire or in oven. Serve with whipped topping or ice cream if desired.

I actually made a half batch of this. Turned out great!

You can use any kind of pie filling with any complementary cake mix flavor, such as cherry filling with German chocolate cake. I'm going to attempt using a can of mandarin oranges and a can of pineapple bits with a lemon cake mix. Don't know if it'll turn out, but it sounds good to me!

 Serves 6
1 pkg yellow or white cake mix
1 can fruit cocktail
1 can cherry pie filling (or other fruit filling)
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 stick Butter Preheat Dutch Oven to 400 degrees. Pour cans of fruit into bottom of Dutch Oven. Sprinkle the cake mix on top of the fruit, DO NOT STIR! Sprinkle with cinnamon and drop pads of butter on surface. DO NOT STIR. Cover and bake until bubbly and top is lightly browned, about 30-45 min.

Put a soft tortilla on the upside down lid of Dutch oven & sprinkle with chocolate chips and a couple cut up caramels. Heat till the chips melt.  Roll and eat.

4 cans of biscuits
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 tbs. cinnamon
1 stick margarine

Cut biscuits into quarters. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Drop biscuits into bag and coat well. Place into a 12" Dutch oven.

Melt margarine and pour over biscuits; sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake with 25 coals, 1/3 on bottom, 2/3 on top - until center springs back like a cake would.

Now for the twist!

I had the wife get the ingredients together while packing for our trip this last weekend. When she got to the cinnamon, she used something called "Cinnamon Plus" from Pampered Chef.
This Plus has cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground orange peel, cloves, and ginger. Almost a pumpkin pie smell to it.

Anyways, prepare the pieces as directed with the sugar/spice concoction, but keep them aside for the moment in another pan or plate.

Heat up the Dutch oven with ALL the coals on bottom and no lid.
Drop in the entire stick of butter, and melt completely. Then slowly add what is left of the sugar/spice mixture until it melts and just starts to turn into a caramel. Remove the DO from the heat, and add a few hands full of Monkey bread into the caramel goo. Stir gently to get some of the goo off the bottom of the DO. Then just plop in the rest of the dough pieces.

Cover the DO and place 2/3rds of the coals to the lid, leaving the rest at the bottom.

Allow this thing to go until it smells done. I ended up setting mine in the fire pit with the days worth of coals (no flame) for about 10 minutes at the end to make sure it was good and done. It actually bubbled the caramel up the insides of the DO. From there, just place a large cookie sheet or aluminum pan on top of the DO and flip it over (without the lid on of course), and there you go; Sticky, Monkey Bread.

It worked out so well that I am going to do this everytime this way.  It is even better cooled in the AM with hot coffee. MMmmmmmmm

Here's an easier version of the "Monkey Bread with a Twist Recipe" to make when camping. Use those cinnamon rolls that come in the tubes (like Pillsbury). It already has the cinnamon and sugar. (Add walnuts if you gotta have 'em.) Add your butter. When it's done baking, dump over and spread on the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls. So, all you need are the cinnamon rolls and butter. Yummy and easy!

Pan de campo (camp bread), long a favorite of cowboys in South Texas, has become a trademark of outdoor chef Ruben Hinojosa, who has garnered top prizes in several competitions with this recipe.

2 cups flour
2 level tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/8 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup cold milk

Mix all the ingredients, but don't knead the dough too much. If it feels dry, add a few drops of milk.

Roll the dough into a circle about 1/2-inch thick. (Thinner if you want a crisper loaf.)

Place into a well-greased, preheated 14-inch Dutch oven, and poke a few holes in the dough with a fork to allow steam to escape. Bake 10-15 minutes, turning the bread over after about 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Some cooks prefer shortening instead of oil, others use water instead of milk. Experiment to find the version that suits your taste. (Folks cooking in regular ovens will want to set the temperature to 400 degrees.)

1 pk. country style ribs
salt & pepper
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
Layer apples slices in the bottom of D/O, and add water.   salt & pepper ribs and lay on top of apples. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of ribs. Bake at around 350 ( use 9 colds on bottom and 16 on top of a # 12 Dutch oven. bake for 1 hour, turning 1/4 turn ever 15 minutes. Any thing you can bake in a oven at home, you can cook in a Dutch oven.

Ingredients: Two can's apple pie filling, one white cake mix, a little water, brown sugar, cinnamon.

Dump the cake mix into the Dutch oven, dump the apple pie filling in, mix it up, add enough water to make a very thick batter (1/4 cup, maybe a bit more), throw half a cup or so of brown sugar on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake in the Dutch oven (don't forget a cake mix will about double in size when baked). I use charcoal, 8-9 coals underneath and about the same on top. Serve with ice cream and you'll likely get some new friends!!

10" Dutch oven
21 charcoal briquettes( 14 top/7 bottom)
2 cans (16oz) whole green roasted chilies
sliced Longhorn cheese
sliced Monterrey Jack cheese
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
4 large eggs

1. Split green chilies, remove seeds, and drain on paper towels.

2. Lightly oil Dutch oven. Place 1/2 of chilies in layer on bottom of oven. Cover with slices of Longhorn cheese.

3. Layer remaining half of green chilies over Longhorn cheese and cover with slices of Jack cheese.

4. Beat flour, salt, and garlic salt with small amount of milk to make paste. Slowly beat in the remaining milk and then the eggs. Pour mixture over chilies and cheese.

5. Set up DO to cook with 7 briquettes on bottom. Cover and bake for 45 to 60 minutes with the 14 briquettes on the top lid, until egg mixture is firm, but not too dry.

6. In conventional oven, bake uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes at 350*.

Well, here it is.....Open Up The Windows Chili aka 3 Bean Chili

1-2 pounds of lean burger
1-2 pound of boneless beef short ribs (or stewing beef)
1 large onion (diced)
1-2 cans chili beans (I kind of like the ones in the zesty sauce)
1-2 cans pinto beans
1-2 cans dark red kidney beans
1-2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1-2 packets of chili seasoning...
1-2 cans of beer
(optional) if you like jalapeno, or serano, chop them up and add with the onions..

Cook the burger in a frying pan, and add the onion when the burger is about done, cook until the onions are translucent, drain and toss in the Dutch oven. Cut the beef into cubes, and cook in the frying pan with a little beer, (if you're thirsty take a swig too). In the meantime add all of the canned goods into the Dutch oven and stir. Don't drain the beef, just add it all into the crock pot. Place 8 hot coals under the Dutch oven, and about 16 on top. Add 5 or 6 to the bottom, and 10 or 12 to the top every hour or so. Pop the lid off every once in a while and give it a stir. The longer it cooks, the better it is. I generally try to cook mine about 5-6 hours. The second can of beer is for the cook. Serve with whatever you have, cornbread, rolls, biscuits. My only advice is after having this for supper, sleep with the windows in the camper open.

We made the best Arm Roast in our DO last night,

Added the arm roast
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 dry package of lipton onion soup
1 can of water,
***Watch water sot hat it doesn't dry out during cooking time.

1 small bag of baby red potatoes
1/2 bag of baby carrots

Cooked over the fire for 2 hours and man it was sure good. One of the best I have had in a long long time!

This is for a large group of people or a few really hungry ones.

Ingredients:

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 cup water
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
6 pound beef rump roast (trussed) (Gage size of roast by how large your dutch oven is.) Mine is a 14 inch pot.
2 medium onions (sliced) don’t chop
2 banana peppers (seeded and sliced into thin strips)
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (minced)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can beer
1 cup water
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. red pepper flakes
1 t. ea dried mustard and thyme.

2 t. salt

Directions:
In large Dutch oven, bring beans to boil in 1 cup water for 1 hour. Discard water and set beans aside. In same Dutch, heat olive oil and brown rump roast on all sides. Add onion and cook until tender. Add rest of ingredients except salt. Cover and cook using 24-28 coals for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until beans are tender and meat is done. Add salt to taste.

Makes about 8 - 10 servings.

To cook this in a regular oven, heat oven to 350 degrees and cook for same amount of time.

A tip I learned the hard way. If you see steam coming from around the lid of your Dutch oven while cooking, you’re using too many coals.

Line the inside of the Dutch oven with foil. Melt a stick of butter and set aside. Mix together 1/2 a packet of vanilla or butterscotch pudding mix (not instant) 1 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and equal parts brown and white sugar (about 3/4 cup each). Take a bag of the frozen dough balls used for dinner rolls, dip them in butter and roll in mixture, then make a layer in pot. Pour remaining butter on top, then remaining mixture. I let mine thaw in the fridge until morning, but setting out while the dough thaws is sufficient. To cook I put about 6 coals on top and 5 on bottom and rotate the lid and pot a quarter turn in opposite directions every 10 minutes. Careful of the cook time, as I usually just do it by eye!

Prepare Cake Topping: Melt butter in bottom of a 12" Dutch oven. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter being careful not to touch the sugar once it has begun to dissolve into the butter. Carefully place pineapple rings on top of the brown sugar, 7 around the outside and 1 in the center. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.

Prepare Cake Batter: In a mixing bowl combine cake mix, pineapple juice, water, eggs and oil; mix well. Spoon cake batter carefully over the top of pineapple rings. Spread batter evenly to edges.

Bake: Cover Dutch oven and bake using  10-12 briquettes bottom and 14-16 briquettes top for 45 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched.

While cake is still hot, turn out onto a foil lined board.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream as topping.

Serves: 8-10

My kids love this:
submitted by Strgazr-Tiger Cub Leader

1 Box Chocolate Cake mix
1- 16 oz can cherry pie filling
1-12oz can Sprite

Combine all three ingredients in a Dutch Oven-in the order listed above and mix until blended. Put lid on the oven and set over hot coals. Put about six coals on top of lid and let cook for about 15-20 minutes. Serves 8 Prep. time 30 min.

Ingredients: Two can's apple pie filling, one white cake mix, a little water, brown sugar, cinnamon.

Dump the cake mix into the Dutch oven, dump the apple pie filling in, mix it up, add enough water to make a very thick batter (1/4 cup, maybe a bit more), throw half a cup or so of brown sugar on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake in the Dutch oven (don't forget a cake mix will about double in size when baked). I use charcoal, 8-9 coals underneath and about the same on top. Serve with ice cream and you'll likely get some new friends!!

The way we always make Campfire Pizza  in the Boy scouts is with the Dutch oven. We buy the pre-made crust in the tube and spread it in the Dutch oven with bread crumbs under it. Then cook for a little bit until the crust is starting to cook. Then we add sauce ingredients and cheese. Cook until done..

1 cup - Cornmeal
1 cup- Flour
1 tsp. - baking powder
1 tsp. - salt
3/4 cup- sugar
1 cup- milk
1/4 cup - honey
1 lg. egg slightly beat
Mix all ingredients in the order listed. Pour into a greased 10 or 12 in Dutch oven. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min. and have the butter ready because this stuff won't last long.

(2) #2 ½ cans sliced peaches; drained 1 can Sprite or 7Up
1 yellow cake mix; dry   ice cream of your choice

Into a 12" Dutch oven add peaches and spread out. Pour cake mix over peaches then pour the soda over the cake mix. Stir to mix completely. Place lid on oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour using 12 briquettes top and 12 briquettes bottom. Rotate oven and lid every 15 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream.

Serves: 8-10

Pie Irons  (Back to Category)

We've been having a great time making goodies in our Tonka Toasters (or Pie Irons). What are some of your favorite Tonka Toaster recipes? My kids love "Smuckers" (we can never remember the real name for this - the recipe was on the Tonka Toaster wrapper): Spread a bit of peanut butter on 1 piece of bread, add 3 chocolate squares and 1 big marshmallow, toast it and enjoy!

We also tried "Taco Tonkas" this weekend - ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, put that on bread with your favorite taco toppers such as cheese, tomatoes, black olives, etc. and place in pie iron. Mmmmm!

The pizza ones have always been a big favorite with our family. Place pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni and/or mushrooms, and whatever toppings you choose on a piece of bread and place in pie iron.

 Hubby and I enjoy these.

Place a spoonful of canned lemon pie filling topped with a marshmallow on a piece of bread and put in the pie iron.. sort of reminds us of lemon meringue.

Daughter's favorite was sliced up hotdogs and a slice of cheese on a piece of bread. Place in the pie iron.

Kaiser rolls cut in half, center removed. Butter all 4 sides and add cherry or peach pie filling. Place over fire till done, edges of bread stick together, and serve w/favorite beverage.

We will typically plan to grill chicken breasts early in our trips out. Always make a couple of extra. You can cut the left-overs, add a spoonful or two of your favorite salsa and cook them in a pie iron for some really great fajitas fixin's

Try this grilled banana variation with pie irons:

butter a slice of bread, lay on heated iron
place a 4-5 slices of banana over bread
crush 1-2 Reeses Peanut butter cups
crush 1 square of a Hershey chocolate bar
place large marshmallow in middle
top with another slice of buttered bread
Close iron

place into coals, watch closely. Only takes 2-3 minutes. It's very Sweet

Our favorite is pizza - or maybe they should be called Stromboli. Anyway, we buy the pizza dough that comes in a canister like biscuits. We spread it out but don't roll it or anything. Cut it to size, put on piece on the bottom, put on your favorite pizza ingredients, and put another piece of dough on top. Close up and cook on each side 3-5 minutes, depending on the heat. Yummy! Kids can't get enough of these.

Our favorites are: Pizzas w/all the toppings; grilled cheese; scramble Egg Beaters at home, put in zip-lock bag, fry & crumble bacon at home & put in zip-lock--add some onions--make egg sandwiches for breakfast over the fire. Son-in-law likes to use deli roast beef, mushrooms & onions. All of us like chocolate pudding (the prepared in the can kind) pies sprinkled with powdered sugar...a marshmallow in that is also good. Have fun!

We fry up some bacon, set it aside.
Fry some eggs in our pie irons.
Then we use cooking spray on the inside of the pie irons, put two pieces of bread on the pie irons.
The comes the goodies, eggs, bacon, cheese, onions whatever.
Close up the pie iron, put them in the coals to melt the cheese and brown the bread.
Remove the sandwich from the pie irons, let cool some..

Chomp away, not alot of dishes to clean and plenty nummy..

If we have some brats or sausage left over from the night before we will cut them up and throw them in too.

Try using large flour tortillas to make a version of a breakfast burrito...scramble some eggs, fry some bacon, cook some sausage, onion, tomatoes, cheese, green, yellow, and red peppers..........mmmmmmm makes me hungry just thinking about them....

Butter two slices of bread, place buttered side down on pie iron, and add a slice of American cheese (or other favorite cheese) close lid, trim off access bread and hold over campfire for several minutes, grilling on both sides. Let your imagination go wild with all sorts of breads and cheeses. Add some ham or other lunchmeat before grilling (optional).

This recipe is fun for the kids to do and is easy to put together. Your kids will love them.

Use canned biscuits. Mash two together. Roll in mixture of sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Spray pie iron with butter flavored Pam. Cook 1 minute per side over hot coals or until done.

Butter two slices of white bread (thin sandwich bread is best). Place buttered side down in pie iron. Add a couple of tablespoons of canned apple pie filling. Close lid, trim access and grill for a few minutes on each side. Sprinkle with a little powered sugar or cinnamon (or both) before serving. Hey how about topping with some ice cream. Yum 

Applesauce works well too and of course you can use any other flavor pie filling. Hmmm, I wonder how raisin bread might taste.

Butter two slices of white bread (thin sandwich bread is best). Place buttered side down in pie iron. Add a little bit of pizza or spaghetti sauce, a little bit of cheese and your favorite meat topping (optional). Close lid and trim off access. Grill over a hot fire on both sides for a few minutes.

In the Coals  (Back to Category)

3-4 lbs. boneless roast
1 med onion, quartered
2 celery stalks w/out the tree at the top
1-2 c. baby carrots (depending on how much you like these)
3-4 red potatoes, quartered
1 c. hot water
1 packet onion soup mix
1 beef bullion cube
sprinkle of flour
1 reynolds oven hot bag

sprinkle flour on the bottom of bag
dissolve bullion in water, add the soup mix
throw the roast, carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery in to the bag.

Pour bullion/soup mix on top of all other ingredients.

Seal it up well.

Choice Prime Rib – Bone in or a well trimmed beef rib eye roast, small end (size to be determined by the number of people you decide to feed)

Seasoning:
Schilling Grill Mates – Montreal Steak or your favorite rub.
2 to 3 tsp. cracked black pepper

Salt Crust Ingredients:
Grey Poupon Country Dijon Mustard 4 oz size
Rock Salt 5 pound box
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c. water

To prepare:
Trim excessive fat from prime rib or rib eye roast and do not remove all of it, leave at least ¼ to ½ inch layer of fat. As the fat melts it bastes the meat and keeps it moist and tender. If your prime rib came with a cap, dispose of it. The night before barbequing, sprinkle the roast with the rubs and seasonings over the entire meat with your fingers. Cover and let stand in refrigerator overnight.

When ready to barbeque, prepare grill as to allow enough charcoal to slow cook roast for approximately 3 to 4 hours depending on grilling temperature in barbeque, size of roast, and doneness. Ideal slow cooking is about 200 degrees. Form the heat zones by raking the coals into 2 piles at opposite sides of the grill, place a drip pan in the center below the barbeque grill as this will help minimize flare ups. You will also need to add 12 fresh coals to the sides every hour.

To complete the preparation of the roast for cooking: Line a shallow pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. The foil should be large enough to eventually wrap the entire roast. Combine salt crust ingredients; mix well. (Mixture may appear dry but do not add additional water.) In the shallow pan, pat 1-1/2 cups salt mixture into a rectangular shape approximately 1/2 to 1-inch larger than the size of the roast. This base salt layer should be about ½ inch thick. Now starting on the bottom side of the roast spread mustard onto it’s exterior with your hands and smooth out like frosting a cake. Center the roast-fat side up- on the base salt layer. Starting at base of roast, pack remaining salt mixture onto sides, while bringing the foil up to encase the sides of the roast. Now do the same to the top of the to finish encasing the roast in salt and foil. The salt layer should be about ½ inch thick.

Remove the foil wrapped roast from the shallow pan and place on barbeque – fat side up. Place a barbeque thermometer in end of the roast leaving it sticking out ½ inch from touching the roast. Cover thermometer so the barbeque smoke does not fog it up. Tip: take an empty coke can or beer can and cut the bottom off about 2 inches up and insert the bottom end of the can over the thermometer. This will protect it from the smoke and allow you to remove it to check the temperature for doneness. You can also use an instant read thermometer to check the roast.

Remove from barbeque when meat thermometer registers 130 degrees for medium rare; 145 degrees for medium. Remove roast from barbeque to cooling rack; let stand 10 to 15 minutes. (Temperature will continue to rise approximately 15 degrees to reach desired doneness.)

Remove and discard mustard/salt crust from roast, brushing off any remaining salt. Carve roast.

1 Reynolds® Hot Bags® Foil Bag, large size
3 to 3 1/2 pound boneless beef chuck roast
2 cups peeled baby carrots
1 large onion, sliced
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup Bloody Mary mix or spicy vegetable juice
1/2 cup red wine or water
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

PREHEAT grill to medium or oven to 450°F.

OPEN foil bag. Place roast in foil bag. Arrange carrots, onion, and celery around roast. Combine Bloody Mary mix, wine, onion soup mix, flour and pepper; spoon over vegetables.

TO SEAL, double fold open end of foil bag. Place in foil bag in a roasting pan at least 2 inches deep.

TO COOK, slide foil bag onto grill or leave foil bag in supporting pan and place in oven. The edges of the foil bag should not hang over the sides of the pan. GRILL 1 1/2 hours on medium in covered grill OR BAKE 2 to 2 1/2 hours in supporting pan in oven.

USE OVEN MITTS to cut open foil bag with a sharp knife. Carefully fold back top of foil bag, allowing steam to escape.

I decided to do something a little different so I cooked a pork roast on the pit and it was terrific. I built the fire on one side so I could cook it slowly and not directly on the fire.

1) inject roast with seasonings
2) brown roast on the pit
3) place in foil pan with onions and cover
4) cook for 3-4 hours or until tender.

You are lucky today, this is the all time, greatest, fantastic, quickest, pork and bean recipe from my (cajun microwave) CD. Well at least I think it is, Ha Ha.

2 large cans of Pork N Beans.
1 lb. ground beef lean.
8 slices of bacon cut in half.
2 tbs. prepared mustard.
2 tbs. Jalapeno peppers (opt.)
1/2 cup brown sugar.
1/2 chopped bell pepper.
1/4 cup ketchup.
2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce.

Brown and drain ground beef and bacon.
Add peppers and cook 10 min. longer.
Add beans, mustard, and brown sugar, Ketchup and Worcestershire.
Heat on low stirring occasionally for 30 min.

Put the following in each aluminum foil package [wrap well]

1 boneless chicken breast
½ cup baby carrots
½ cup cubed potatoes
¼ of an onion, chopped
3 Tbsp Italian dressing
1 Tbsp butter
seasonings to taste

Cook on top of grill or buried in hot fire ashes for
appox. 45 minutes.  Mmmm, mmm good, Enjoy

Take a 3lb coffee can... around the bottom of can around the side about 1/2 in. up take a nail and punch about 15 holes around the side of bottom. This is to let air in to the charcoal.
Take enough charcoal briquettes to cover the bottom of the pan and get them started separately..
Take a whole chicken and season it however you like.
Wrap in heavy duty foil so as the chicken is totally enclosed.
Put the hot charcoal your can, stuff the chicken down in the can but not touching coals. Make sure the bottom of your chicken is wrapped so the juices will stay in foil and not put out the coals.
You want enough foil around the chicken to seal the can and so chicken will not go all the way to bottom.
Cook 2 hrs or a little longer. You don't have to do anything else, it will cook itself.

Take one trimmed brisket, slit pockets, stuff with garlic, onions, peppers, etc. whatever you like. Place in Reynolds oven bag with one bottle of tiger sauce and one bottle of Pick-a-peppa sauce. Seal tight put it in your (Cajun microwave oven) light the fire and like magic in (4 hours) It will be the most tender and flavorful brisket you ever had. This works well with other meats also.

Note: A Cajun Microwave Oven, is a homemade, wooden, metal lined, charcoal heated, very portable, box used to cook meats and other things, outdoors. If you do a Google search you can get plans to make your own. You can get them in S. Louisiana but the cooker and shipping cost seem to be kind of expensive.

Peel, quarter (not all the way through), place a bouillon cube in center and them smear butter down into the crevices. Wrap in foil, throw on the fire and cook for about 45 minutes. Need to serve in a bowl, though, because it's like eating French onion soup -- VERY GOOD. (idea from Paula Dean, Food Network)

Peel Vidalia Onions, cut in quarters. Put a spoonful of chopped garlic, and butter in center, and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt.

Wrap each onion in foil, cook directly on hot coals of campfire, or cook on the grill.

Easy for campsite cooking, get a large Vidalia and cut out the core. Fill up with a butter, salt and pepper and wrap in foil. Toss on the grill or in the coals. Rotate now and then to keep from burning. Yum Yum! Great with steaks and chicken. Real mild taste.

A great camping snack or for breakfast..

Put an unpeeled apple on a stick.
Roast over coals until it whistles, then usually it pops and the skin cracks, peel off the skin and roll in brown sugar...Yummy!

You can use cinnamon & sugar also a juicy apple works best I like Macs.  

12" Dutch oven - 25 coals on bottom

Couple of cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls

1 medium sized bottle of oil. (20oz I think) Enough to make it about 2" deep.

Pop those cinnamon rolls 3 at a time in to the hot oil and flip with a fork or tongs until browned. Encourage the rolls to unroll (facilitates the cooking process).

Take them out and drain on paper towel.

Apply icing that came in the can.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoon dry onions or fresh onions
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
salt and pepper
chopped garlic (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together. Form into a loaf shape, pour one can of either, cream of onion, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, or cream of tomato soup over the top of meat loaf. I bake mine in a 12'' Dutch Oven using 21 briquettes, 6 on the bottom and 15 on the top. It will cook in about 45 minutes to an hour.
This makes an excellent meat loaf. If there is any left over it will make good sandwiches the next day.

Either purchase pre-made meat loaf mix or...mix 1 pound lean ground beef, 1 egg, salt and pepper to taste. Cut 3 medium onions in half, remove centers, chop finely, add to meatloaf mixture, to taste. Pack meatloaf mixture into onions, press halves back together, wrap VERY tightly in foil, place in coals 15 to 20 minutes each side. Kids love helping with this one.

We do the same thing with bell peppers and onions. We dice some of the pepper and onion, and mix them with the meat. We stuff the cleaned onions and peppers and wrap them in foil. We cook them in a campfire or in the oven. They are very tasty, and so fast.

2 large potatoes or more
1 or 2 onions (brown or red depending on tastes)
Butter or Pam type spray
Aluminum foil

Take the potatoes and cut up into cubes; also dice the onions then mix the two piles together. Take a large square of the aluminum foil and make sure the shinny side of the foil is inside and spray with Pam. Place a hand full of the mixture in the foil and season to taste. Then take the 4 corners and pull them up and twist into a Hershey's kiss shape; try to seal off the foil so the mixture is fully enclosed in the foil. Place on the BBQ and cook; usually it will take 20-30 min depending on the size of the potato cubes.
We also have variations like adding diced Ortega chilies or jalapenos; quick and easy to make and if any are left over they are great with breakfast!  Goes good with a grilled steak or chicken.

We cooked a trash can turkey. 10 gallon trash can, 10lb turkey and 10 pounds of briquets.

Cover a space on the ground with tin foil, maybe a foot or so bigger than the base of the trash can. You're gonna put the turkey, or chicken-whatever, on a stake. Put the stake into the ground. Clean the turkey (duh) maybe filling with oranges, apples or whatever you like. Skewer the bird on the vertical stake. Place the trash can over the staked bird, ensuring a good seal to the tin foil at the base. Heap the briquets against the base of the can and heap whatever you can on the bottom, now the top!, of the can. Light( probably be self starting) 'em up. 90 minutes is the cooking time.

Just awesome!

We use the base of a turkey deep fryer, but you could do it over charcoal, and put the garbage can on top of that. We have baby potatoes, carrots, onions, cut up sausages, and ham slices that go into individual mesh bags. They get layered in the can in the order listed and a little water is added. Cook and then remove everything and enjoy! Of course the can and mesh bags are only used for the food and are washed before use.

They put a couple six packs of beer on bottom opened and then put a grate on top. Then fill it with potatoes-ham-carrots. Then put the lid and tie down with wire and leave over pit fire about 6 hours. Very very good. Then in another can do the same thing with just sweet corn. Just not as long.

Take heavy Al foil and place onion slices on the foil, then add sliced carrots and potatoes, next a patty of ground beef, top it with onions. Tightly fold and seal the edges of the AL foil. Throw the foil directly on the coals. Cook for about 20 minutes per side.

Take heavy aluminum foil and place Grouper, tomatoes, onions and peppers. I  like to add pick-a-pepper sauce to my Grouper. Tightly fold and seal the edges of the aluminum foil. Throw the foil directly on the coals. And if Emeril was coming to dinner you'd HAVE to bam it up with garlic. Yummy.

Boneless chuck roast or Boneless Breast of Chicken
Teriyaki marinade

Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Green Peppers
Onions

Cut meat into cubes 2" squared
Put meat in marinade OVERNIGHT - DO NOT PUT BEEF & CHICKEN IN SAME MARINADE USE SEPARATE CONTAINERS.

Skewer meat alternating meat and vegetables.
Cook over HOT coals for about 10 min. Brush vegetables with marinade occasionally towards the end to give a little more flavor.

Serve over a bed of long grain and wild rice.

I cut up the meat and throw it into marinade the day before we leave and have all the veggies cut up as well and individual. This is really fast and GREAT! Plus the kids have fun skewering their own dinner

We cook on coals all the time and never have a problem with it. We also cook corn on the cob, take your corn and soak it in water let it drain. (DO NOT HUSK IT) put it in heavy foil but let the top open to vent, place them right on the hot coals. When you see steam coming from the top after about 15 to 20 minutes they are done. Husk away all the silk will just fall off, watch it cause they are real hot. Best corn we ever had.

Maybe you should refine your technique. My suggestions (from an old Scoutmaster) Build an adequate, nice-sized fire or cook a good bit of charcoal in a chimney. While the fire is working , prepare your meal, 1/4 lb of ground beef, slices of potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. Season with salt, pepper, butter. Wrap in a pouch of foil with the shiny side in for reflection, overlap and crimp the seams tightly. Now use a camp shovel to form a bed of coals apart from the camp fire or spread charcoal evenly. Use hot gloves with the long cuffs to gently place your meal on the coals. Cook for about 10 minutes and roll the pouch over gently. About another 10 minutes will do it. While waiting you might prepare the Scouts dessert. Core a good sized apple. Place on a square of foil. Fill the hollow center with red hots and top with a pat of butter and sugar. Wrap, twist the top of the foil, and cook until soft- about 15 minutes. Its good!

Many of you will say you heard of it while others will say "What?"

20 lb UNSTUFFED FRESH/THAWED Turkey
20 lb Charcoal
20 Gallon Galvanized Trash Can
Favorite Rub
String
Spit
Aluminum Foil
Shovel/Rake
(Bundt pan optional)

Prepare the turkey by trussing it up with string leaving the opening open for the spit. The turkey will fall apart and hit the ground if you omit this step. Apply your rub and do not stuff.

Pre-position the spit. A bundt pan underneath is optional and will save juices. Burn the charcoal near the spit until hot. Mount the turkey on the spit with the bottom 6 inches from the ground. Cover with trash can (upside down of course). Put one shovel full of charcoal on the top (okay, okay, it's really the bottom!). Put lid on the top. Rake remainder of charcoal around the base of the trash can. Let cook for 2 hours. As the temperature outside gets further below 50 degrees, you will need to add about 10 pounds of charcoal about half way though.

After the two hours, disassemble. Here are a couple of tips. First, don't pull the charcoal too far from the can than necessary as you will need to reach over it to get the turkey. In fact, making a path on one side is recommended. Second, wrap the turkey with tin foil to separate your hot mitts from the turkey.

The trash can is used to transport other things like firewood. We get a lot of turned heads from others in the campground.

Try apples cooked in foil, its simple and no utensils. Core an apple, place on a square of foil, fill the hole with red-hots, add a pat of butter and twist the top. Place on a bed of coals and cook about 10 minutes until soft. yum yum

Follow the directions on a box of Bisquick for biscuits. Take a small handful of dough, about as much as you would for one biscuit.

Roll the dough into a 5" long rope. Wrap around a GREEN stick in a spiral shape, pinching top and bottom so it will stay put. Roast over a campfire until golden brown.

Slip off the stick; eat warm with some butter and or your favorite jelly.

Smoking  (Back to Category)

No ovens or dehydrators for me only the real thing. I have two Brinkman BBQ smokers . Things that are "gotta haves" for jerky.
Real smoke , cheap red wine , seasoned salt , pepper black and red flakes, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, real lean meat, add other stuff as you like.
TIPS Use zip lock type bags to soak meat and stuff for 2 or more days in the reefer. Turn and knead bag to mix stuff twice a day. Smoke on top rack of brinkman. Arrange charcoal in a almost full circle around the outside edge of the pan in a thin line. reason for almost circle is you only light one end of the charcoal ,like a fuse it will burn around that line slowly. sprinkle your chips over the line of charcoal. It will smoke for hours. CHIPS you can buy them in a bag or make your own. oak or hickory work but I like cherry and apple wood best. I go to the orchards in early spring when the farmers are pruning the trees.
They let me have all the limbs I want. I take them home and run them through my garden chipper. about 1/2 hr= a years supply. I also BBQ steaks and chicken using the chips for smoke/flavor . If you don't have a chipper borrow one or rent one. It's worth it.

For those of you with a smoker, it should be no problem. The trick is in the prep. I usually soak apple or cherry wood chips (beer or water) for at least 24 hrs before I start the process. I then use premium mesquite charcoal to start a cool fire in the side fire box. Wait until the charcoal in burning evenly, then add the wood chips in a metal box or wrapped loosely in aluminum foil. For best results, I keep the smoker under 200 degrees for beef. Use your favorite marinade, mine is teriyaki and red pepper, and slow cook until cooked to your liking. I make about three pounds a batch in my side by side smoker this way and have never had any complaints.

I got a smoker and make my own. The Boston Butt has a lot of fat, renders out when slow smoking around 225 deg or so for a long long time. Lose near half the weight to fat when cooking and while separating or pulling it when done.

Due to the fat content, I prefer to cook it so I can get rid of most of the fat, but its sort of self basting.

I have a Brinkman smoker that I fire with charcoal and I throw in some hickory or mesquite chips to help the smoke. I use the "Boston Butt" cut from my local butcher which is boneless and tied with butcher's twine and we keep the cooker at 200 deg. Generally, I will smoke the butts for 5-6 hours, and check the internal temp. It will usually be around 135 or so at that time, so the butts get wrapped in aluminum foil and finished in the oven or on the gas grill 'till we get 170 degrees.
Then, and only then, do we apply the "sauce." I use a simple (North Carolina) sauce which is 1/2 gal of apple cider vinegar, 1/2 C sugar, 1/4 C salt, 6 oz of crushed red pepper. Mix together a day or two prior to the cooking. The sauce is applied generously while processing. I chop or mince my BBQ with a meat clever and hold it in a double boiler until serving. The whole deal takes about 8 to 10 hours. Sometimes we use "long cut" shoulders and that can push the time into the 12-15 hour slot.

Rinse the meat.

In my pan I use a mixture of water a nice red wine, pineapple juice, crushed garlic, pepper, salt, a 1/2 bottle each of A-1-----your favorite BBQ sauce
You mix this all together-----you can heat it or just put it in the smoker cold----soak your wood chips-----cook by the cooker instructions-----if you don't watch they will over-cook-----

note-----I use 1 inch thick chops
enjoy!

1-10 to 12 lb cured ham. I have never used a whole ham just the shank or butt.
Brown sugar
1-bottle of cheap wine (berry flavor)

Cover ham w/brown sugar and fill water-pan with water and cheap wine.
Fill with coal and smoking chips and make sure temp gets to ideal on the smoker.
Start ham at 10 to 12 pm. at night then go to sleep.
Wake up at 6 to 7 am shake coals a little and/or remove ham from smoker.

Never fails and very tender, every time.

I use a charcoal water smoker for these ribs. They are very tender and explode with juice off the bone. They are not fall off the bone ribs, though. If you like them this way, finish them in the oven at very very low heat for a long time.

1.5 Litre Coke
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 onion coarsely chopped with one clove pressed in
1 tsp ea. black pepper, coarse kosher salt, whole coriander
1/2 tsp nutmeg, whole allspice
store bought or invented rib rub (usually a mix of the above spices, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika)
your favorite barbecue sauce (i like kc masterpiece if I'm feeling too lazy to make one)

Mix the coke, garlic onion and spices and marinate the ribs (I prefer baby backs) overnight or up to 3 days in the fridge. Remove and pat dry, allow to come to room temp. sprinkle generously with the rub and smoke at low heat with hickory, pecan and apple wood chips according to directions (I do it overnight with 2 charcoal feedings). Remove ribs and finish on the grill turning every 5 minutes and basting with barbecue sauce. Engage in carnivorous frenzy.

Dry rub and cook on a SMOKER with Hickory wood or chips at low heat for 5 to 6 hours. Add sauce if you want but dry rub is enough with the smoke flavor to me. Will fall off the bone. Secrete to ribs is slow cooking in a smoker.

Rub the meat with a mixture of equal parts of salt, black pepper, red pepper, and brown sugar. Let sit in refrigerator over night. When cooking, put some green wood in with dry to get a good smoke. Every 15 minutes, swab the meat with apple juice or coke. As crust forms, let fire burn down. Be sure to check meat temp for done. Takes about 4 hours.

The key I think is to get lots of smoke and cook at a fairly low temp. I start the fire with charcoal, then add chucks of hickory (roughly 3" square) that have been soaked in water overnight. Smoker I use is a Weber that allows the meat to be about 2 ft. over the charcoal, it has a temp gauge on it and I keep it in the middle. Not sure the exact temp cause I do not have it here. Think it is probably 300-325. I do a rub like others do (pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, red pepper, etc. Baste periodically with a apple cider vinegar mixture (this vinegar mixed with the above spices).

The slow cooking and constant smoke is what gets that flavor. Takes me about 6-7 hours to get it done, and when I do the bone comes out clean and the pork is easy to "pull" with a couple of forks. If the flavor is not quite right I will sometimes mix with the pulled pork a bit of apple vinegar, salt, pepper and a few spices to liven it up a bit.

There is a place in my old hometown that boils their pork for a while before smoking. It is fantastic pulled pork they have. Not sure if that helps the smoke flavor to get in or not. Have not tried it as they will not tell me how long they do it for etc.

I have used almost all of the techniques listed with good to great results with each. But the smoker is the ultimate method.

I have a Bandera smoker and use the 3-2-1 method.
3 hours on the rib rack at 220-240 degrees.
Wrap in heavy duty foil and cook for 2 more hours.
Remove from foil and cook one more hour. Add mop (sauce) if desired, but most of us serve sauce on the side.
All of this is after pulling the membrane and setting in a rub overnight.

Ribs will literally fall apart. Too done for competition smoking, but to die for on the table.

True BBQ smoking is a lot of work and time, but what a way to spend the day. Well worth it if you have the time, patience, and want the best ribs, briskets, pork, chicken, sausage, etc you ever ate.

6 - Salmon Steaks quartered (makes 24- 1/6 lbs. chunks)
and 1 lbs. of Albacore filets quartered (makes 8- 1/8 lbs chunks)
Made 32 appetizer sized pieces.

Smoking Brine preparation:
1 gal. bottled water in a non-reactive container.
2 cups salt Non-iodized or Kosher
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tbs. garlic juice or 1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 tbs. allspice
1 tsp. white pepper
Mix well using a hand blender until ingredients are dissolved.

Soak fish completely covered in prepared Brine for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, refrigerated.
Lightly rinse brine from fish with fresh water. (how much you rinse will determine how salty the end-product will be).
Place fish on elevated racks to dry for about an hour to allow the Pellicle to form. Needs good air flow.
Use the same racks that you're going to cook on and spray with Pam.
Meanwhile, soak Alder wood chips in water for 20 minutes, and
fire up Smoker to about 190 - 200 degrees F.
Add wet wood chips to the heated smoker. When chips start to smoke, put in the racks with the dried fish.
Add more wet wood chips at about 45 mins.
Remove fish from smoker when the internal fish temp reaches 150 degrees F. ( about 2 hours)
Let cool for 30 mins. before tightly wrapping in foil or by vacuum sealing in plastic. (keeps 50% longer)

Took a little work, but was well worth the effort. This was tasty!!

I smoke my briskets for 12 to 15 hours over hickory, I then seal them in heavy duty alum foil (wrap them twice), and freeze them. When camping out, set foil pack over low fire and warm to serving temp. (Allow them to defrost first). Taste just like they came off smoker.
You could cook them in the oven with liquid smoke and then freeze if you like.

I much prefer to smoke my brisket. I use a water smoker and cook about 45 minutes per pound. I like dry rub for seasoning but marinade is good also, however it will block the smoke flavor. For the smoke, I use corn cobs that have been soaked in water and placed on the charcoal. Only need to use them the first hour or so of cooking because as the meat starts to crust, the smoke can no longer penetrate the meat. I got the corn cob idea from a book that was written by the guy who did all of the cooking for LBJ when he was president and entertained at his ranch. I've used all the different kinds of wood and I much prefer the corn cobs, nice smoky flavor.

If you are using the oven, I suggest marinade, and there are several god ones out there. We always cook slow all night long and then let cool before cutting. If possible, get one that has not had the fat trimmed off. Make sure the fat side is up when placed in the oven and then tightly wrapped in tin foil, you will have a nice moist, tender piece of meat.

I cook my brisket kind of like I do a pork shoulder. Rub spices on it like a combo of black pepper, salt, garlic powder, paprika, crushed red pepper, dry mustard and a bit of dry thyme.

Need top cook on a charcoal fired grill with a top to trap the smoke. Do not cook directly over the coals but off to the side. Every once in a while place a chunk of oak, hickory, apple wood, mesquite of other hardwood to keep the smoke going. Baste the brisket every 20 minutes with a apple cider vinegar mix (2 cups apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1/2 T garlic powder). Slowly cook at about 200 degrees (give of take 10) for about 7 hours. The outside will get crusty and hard. Inside will stay moist and infused with a smoky flavor. Most of all: Practice, practice, practice.

When I smoke a brisket I boil it in water for about 30 mins before putting it in the smoker. I then add my sauce or rum and smoke for about 45 min a pound. It comes out real tender and very easy to slice after it cools for a while.

From Robb Walsh's Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook (Chronicle Books, 2002)
Packer's cut (untrimmed) USDA Select beef brisket, 8 to 10 pounds
1 cup Tony Chachere's Original Seasoning [available at tonychachere.com], or the dry rub of your choice
6 cups John Northington's Mop [search Recipe Archive for]

Rinse the brisket and pat dry. Sprinkle it on both sides with the dry rub. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Set up your smoker for indirect heat with a water pan. Use wood chips, chunks, or logs, and keep up a good level of smoke. Maintain a temperature between 210°F and 250°F. Place the brisket in the smoker, as far from the heat source as possible. Mop every 30 minutes, rotating the brisket to cook it evenly, keeping the fat-side up at all times. Add charcoal and/or wood every hour or so to keep the fire burning evenly.
After 4 hours, wrap the brisket in heavy-duty aluminum foil with what's left of the mop sauce, including the onions and lemons. Seal and continue cooking over low coals for 4 more hours. (Or put it in a roasting pan in a 250°F oven.) The meat is done when a thermometer reads 185°F at the thick end or when a probe goes through with little resistance. Serves 10 to 12.