What is a Dutch Oven?

In the simplest terms, a Dutch oven is a small, thick metal cooking pot with a tight lid. In the Australian outback it is generally referred to as a camp oven. Cast iron Dutch ovens typically rest on three legs and have a flat lid. A Dutch oven's rimmed lid allows for coals to be placed on top of it so that the inside can be more uniformly heated throughout. This allows the user to reap the benefits of oven cooking in a campfire setting. Though cast iron Dutch ovens are the most commonplace, some Dutch ovens are made from aluminum.

Dutch ovens today

The original design of Dutch ovens hasn't changed much over the years. Today's Dutch ovens still feature a cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid, although not all come with legs to stand on. There are a variety of uses for Dutch ovens in modern cooking such as slow cooking or browning and searing meat. Their versatility allows them to be used on both the stovetop and inside the oven itself. They are great for casseroles and just about anything else you can imagine.

Dutch ovens are also still used in camping, manufactured specifically for outdoor use and typically feature the heavy lid that was prominently featured on the earlier designs in order to hold hot coals.

Dutch oven recipes

Dutch ovens allow your creative culinary juices to flow wildly, even in the outdoors. The ingenuity of a Dutch oven's design virtually makes it into a portable baking oven. Just about anything that you could imagine baking in your kitchen oven at home can be baked using a Dutch oven over an open fire. The trick, of course, is maintaining the proper temperature throughout the duration of the cooking time. As previously stated, outdoor, cast iron Dutch ovens are designed with legs to stand on so that hot coals can be placed underneath.

Dutch ovens are also equipped with a tight-fitting, rimmed lid that allows you to place hot coals on top of it. For greater accuracy in cooking, many Dutch oven recipes specify the exact number of coals that should be placed both over and under the oven to ensure precise heating.

More information on dutch ovens