robertwilliams Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I would like to experiment with some dutch oven cooking. Do you have any ideas about what I could build a charcoal fire in, other than a regular fire pit or charcoal grill? I'm looking for something fairly cheap, since I'd like to have two or three fires going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdidochas Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I've heard of people using metal washing machine pans to build fires for dutch ovens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANBOW Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I agree. A wash tub works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goheelz Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We use hog feeding pans ($7) from tractor supply company on top of bricks for dutch ovens. works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkrod Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 A Scout is thrifty.... A 55 gallon drum cut in half and two old truck rims make a great pair of dutch oven cooking rigs. Drop the bare steel wheel on the ground and place the solid side of the drum on it and it is off the ground, won't burn the grass and keeps the wind from killing the coals. We use them camping and at home. Try and get some newer wider steel wheels as older wheels tend to be narrower and allow the heat to scorch the grass. I made 4 of these for $25. Hawkrod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle007 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 All this talk of using the old dutch oven is making me hungry and wanting to get out in the cold air and fire one up with some good recipies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertwilliams Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Thanks everyone. I was not sure if a regular metal tub would work or if the fire would burn through it and then I'd be in trouble for messing up the driveway. :-) I will give this a try! I'm taking my Webelos over to ADL's house to work on Pinewood Derby cars next week and would love to have some cobbler or chili or something going while we work. So this will work for that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twocubdad Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 At a UofS session once I did D.O. cooking on a piece of corrigated steel on a few concrete blocks. I put sand on the steel just to even out the corrigations and help hold the heat. One warning, sand stays hot a LONG time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoutfish Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 We have used big wasgtubs and put about 6 inches of sand in the bottom and then built the fire on that. The sand insulates the ground underneath and the tub doesn't burn away. You can also build a fire box. Wooden table made of 2X4 and plywood. Make a 2' by 3 ' flat table with legs about a foot and a half to two foot tall. Used more 2X4's to build up the sides on top of the table. You can cover this with galvanized flashing otr just leave bare. Again, put sand in te bottom to protect the wod from the heat and to last way, way longer. We built one out of scrap wood you can pick up from any construction site. I think we maybe bought $3.00 worth of nails to hold it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolesrule Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I use some bricks that I pulled out of our yard when we redid some landscaping. Glad I saved them. We didn't have any DOs in the house when we did the yardwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbender Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Yeah, I saw the hog pan deal (aluminum, with like a 3 inch lip) at Scouter's Academy here in 09, and said: I'm in. Double them up (one upside down below), and you can almost cook on a lawn (if I was, I'd probably put a few rocks in between the two pans). When I double without insulation, often there is no charring on the grass underneath. Ordered mine from www.hardwareworld.com since I didn't have a Tractor Supply nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdclements Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Not a wash tub, like you would wash clothes in, but the drip/drain pan you put under a washing machine to handle leaks. Go to lowes.com and search "water heater drain pan". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertwilliams Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Doubling them is a great idea. That way I don't need to haul around sand or bricks or anything. Looks like I can get hog pans for $4.00 from TSC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanRx Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I use a flat oil drip pan from the local Napa store. Cost me $7, I use a charcoal chiminey starter to get the coals good and hot, then spead them out on the pan, I can cook with 2 ovens on this set-up. If it need to be off the ground, I support it with a series of 6 to 8 patio paver bricks, I've seen cinder blocks used as well. However, if its on concrete without any type of stamping or coloring in the concrete - you can place it directly on the ground. you'd have to get uber hot to damage the concrete surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allangr1024 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 If you are on a driveway, just put some tin foil down and put your charcoal on that. I would use the charcoal chimney starter and pour the charcoals out on the foil when they are lit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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