dutch oven tips

[mashmaster]

Random dutch oven thoughts, I am sure there are many many more

• parchment paper liners can be easily made from 18" wide parchment paper.  I have to buy that length on amazon.  technique, make a 18" square of paper from the roll, fold diagonally 4 more times, put the point in the center of the dutch oven, measure to the side and up a 3/4 of the wall and trim the wide edge, unfold it and you have a round liner sized for your dutch oven. 
• For stuck on food first use the rubber square scrappers to try to scrap it clean
• for stubborn stuff get the 4" square of chain mail to lightly scrub,  it knocks everything off, if too aggressive you might knock of seasoning as well.
• For carrying bags, buy a 12" dish that is made to go under plastic planter pots.  That way the legs of the dutch oven don't poke holes in the bottom of the bag
• Make a metal tag for your dutch oven so you know which is yours,  lids too

 

[Saltface]

• Do not use Harbor Freight welding gloves, they will fail on you.

[mashmaster]

16 minutes ago, Saltface said:

• Do not use Harbor Freight welding gloves, they will fail on you.

ouch

[Saltface]

Just now, mashmaster said:

ouch

indeed

[69RoadRunner]

Charcoal with lighter fluid in it seems to require more briquettes than the charcoal without.

You can buy pre-formed parchment paper at REI and I'm sure Amazon.

[Saltface]

Drizzle olive oil onto wadded-up newspaper and put it under your charcoal chimney. Use that as your fire starter and you won’t need lighter fluid at all. 

[BlondieJim]

Man, I'm definitely learning a lot from this thread. Will keep these in mind.

[Eagle94-A1]

If you are making something with a sauce, especially an acidic sauce like tomato sauce, instead if parchment paper, buy the aluminum DO liners off Amazon.

[malraux]

On 6/1/2018 at 2:44 PM, mashmaster said:

For carrying bags, buy a 12" dish that is made to go under plastic planter pots.  That way the legs of the dutch oven don't poke holes in the bottom of the bag

I always store mine with the lid on the bottom, with the legs resting on the lid top. Keeps everything open so it doesn't hold moisture.

[mashmaster]

2 hours ago, malraux said:

I always store mine with the lid on the bottom, with the legs resting on the lid top. Keeps everything open so it doesn't hold moisture.

I have multiple dutch ovens so I stack them which is why I don't do that.  I do put a thick canvas glove over the lip under the lid so there is some airflow.  Not as much as your method.

[mashmaster]

4 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

If you are making something with a sauce, especially an acidic sauce like tomato sauce, instead if parchment paper, buy the aluminum DO liners off Amazon.

Yeah, you need to be careful, the your probably aren't very careful 🙂

[qwazse]

Restaurant supply and cake decorating stores carry wide rolls of parchment and foil.

The also have very good cast-iron cleaning products.

While we're talking welding gloves. I need to restock, but finally in my size. (XXXL ... no I can't palm a basketball ... yes I can span an octave and a half ... no I can't play stride piano.) Any recommendations?

[MattR]

On 6/12/2018 at 9:05 AM, Saltface said:

Drizzle olive oil onto wadded-up newspaper and put it under your charcoal chimney. Use that as your fire starter and you won’t need lighter fluid at all. 

One step further: skip the paper and just put it over a burner for about a minute, then remove it so the ash doesn't fall into the burner. It still takes 20 minutes.

Put aluminum foil on the ground if there is any moisture in it. Any water will put the coals out. 

If it's at all windy we put our DOs in fire barrels.

I modify the dia +/- 3 for cake-ish things. It needs much more top heat. Rim the lid with briquettes plus 2 or 3 in the middle. Only put 7 or 8 underneath. 

Now I'm hungry.

[awanatech]

On 6/12/2018 at 11:05 AM, Saltface said:

Drizzle olive oil onto wadded-up newspaper and put it under your charcoal chimney. Use that as your fire starter and you won’t need lighter fluid at all. 

You should never use lighter fluid in a charcoal chimney anyway. They are very efficient without it and they specifically say do not use lighter fluid.

[walk in the woods]

On 6/29/2018 at 10:54 AM, qwazse said:

Restaurant supply and cake decorating stores carry wide rolls of parchment and foil.

The also have very good cast-iron cleaning products.

While we're talking welding gloves. I need to restock, but finally in my size. (XXXL ... no I can't palm a basketball ... yes I can span an octave and a half ... no I can't play stride piano.) Any recommendations?

My unit used to get gloves the local FPD was retiring that worked reasonably well.