Canyon Extravaganza and Dutch Oven Cooking

We were invited to attend a Canyon Extravaganza last weekend that included a Dutch oven dinner, entertainment and fabulous company. Of course we accepted the invitation. Being together with family and friends up Big Cottonwood Canyon on a Saturday evening, eating delicious food and singing around a real campfire and capping it off with some great s’mores. Honestly, life’s simple pleasures are really the best.

The head chef, Joe, together with his favorite sous chef, Marianne made some mighty fine main dishes in their 12 inch deep Dutch ovens. Joe pointed out to me that both the braised short ribs(which were absolutely fabulous) and the chicken bouillabaisse were recipes that were written for regular ovens. He simply cooked them in a Dutch oven.

Cooking in a Dutch oven doesn’t need to be scary. You just have to be thoughtful about timing your coals, where you put them on and below your oven and how long it takes to actually cook the specific dish you’ve chosen to serve. It's a math problem, and not a difficult one.

My assignment for the evening was bread. You haven’t lived until you’ve had Sheepherder’s Bread with honey butter from a Dutch oven. I got this recipe from a class I took several years ago at Thanksgiving Point from Lori Bennett.

I’ve found that with any cast iron cooking one of the most important things you can do to insure a positive experience with a Dutch oven is to have an easy and quick clean up. It might sound strange, but not if you’ve ever had to clean one up. I have 10 steps to cleaning a Dutch Oven on a separate post, it’s worth your time if you’re headed out to do some great outdoors cooking.

What is your favorite Dutch Oven dinner or memory?