Al's feral outback camp oven cooking

[ozwinner]

Al's feral outback camp oven cooking.

There is nothing I like better than going outback and going feral for a couple of weeks.

When you have had your camp fire established for a few days its time to break out the cast iron camp oven.

The fire needs to be a coupla days old the get the heat into the ashes and ground so the food cooks properly.

On the first day of using the camp oven I usually cook a roast, chicken or lamb as a rule with veggies.

Chuck all ingredients into the camp oven with a little oil, place lid on the camp oven and bury the whole lot on the hot ashes, you need hot ashes, not flames.

I have done this as early as 6.00am.

Go away for the day, fossic, frolic, do what ever but dont peak at the roast.

At about 5 or 6 pm, uncover the camp oven from the hot ashes....hmmmmm.

Its a roast to die for.

Dont clean the pot, just put the lid back on.

Day 2, same at 6.00am, chuck in some snags and veggies, stock etc, go away, come back eat.

Day 3, same as day 2, only this time aim for a soup like meal, I can guarantee that you wont have to wash the camp oven for you entire trip as all the goodness is carried over for the next meal.

Al :2tsup:

[Landseka]

On at least one day you have to toss in a young roo leg with some veggies, same method same result. Mouthwatering.....<drool>

regards

Neil

[Geoff Dean]

I'm with you Al.

I own 3 camp ovens.
2 x 14" heavy duty Furphys for roasts, veges etc and a 10" light weight cheapie that I used to take when traveling by horseback.

Still one of the best ways of cooking a roast known to man.

2 Mates and myself have catered for 36 people for 4 days 4WD and camping, all out of camp ovens. Highlight was Roast Pork and Veges for dinner followed by pineapple upside down cake with icecream on second day. No-one knew it was coming.

Don't go camping without them.

[Cliff Rogers]

Have any of you blokes that can use a camp oven tried one of them new fangled Tagines?

They work very similar to a camp oven 'cept you stick them in your regular oven at home.

They look real flash murry & they make the house smell like you are an ace cook. :2tsup:

Just about any receipe that you would use in a camp oven will work in a Tagine as well.

The down side is, you could buy 2 or 3 new camp ovens for the price of one Tagine. :rolleyes:

[Buzza]

I got myself a Dutch Oven again recently, after going for years without one. I seasoned it, and then cooked the bread rolls pictured. I cheated by doing them in the Dutch Oven, inside the kitchen gas oven. Ive fashioned a pot lifter from some 1/2 inch square tube, got myself a bag of heat beads and so I'm all ready to cook outdoors. :2tsup:

We were recently given a kitchen cook pot called an airCore. This pot has two lids, and the pot itself has two skins (for want of a better explanation). However, one cooks as per normal for making a stew or a soup or whatever recipe, then after putting the lids on, you wait until the temp guage on top reaches the required zone. This is done at low temperature, so it's about 10 - 15 minutes. Having reached the high zone, you turn the heat off and leave the pot to its own devices. In about three hours, you meal is done and ready to eat. Saves on energy use. :U

[Iain]

A fair dinkum oven can accept the lid upside down so youse can put hot embers on top too.
And Cliff, them new fangled Tagines have been around in the middle east for a couple a thousand years:D

[Bluegum]

After reading the thread i am going to have a serious look at buying a camp oven. I have never even thought about it till looking at what can be created in one.:2tsup:

[ozwinner]

After reading the thread i am going to have a serious look at buying a camp oven. I have never even thought about it till looking at what can be created in one.:2tsup:

Al's nasty bread.

Take some self raising flour, knock the top off a stubby, drink some, but not all of it, tip the rest into the flour and make a dough, if the dough is too dry repeat until the dough is doughy.

Stick in the camp oven, bury in the ashes, go away for the day, return to some beeaaauuutiful bread, eat with butter and some beer.

Al :2tsup:

[Buzza]

There are Dutch Ovens made of cast iron (or Ally) and there Bedourie Ovens spun from sheet metal. Dutch Ovens will break if not handled with care, and the Bedourie will/should not. I think they both get called Camp Ovens. :)

Camp Cooks can be found lurking near these devices in the bush, as well as on TV cooking shows. :wink:

[jaspr]

A fair dinkum oven can accept the lid upside down so youse can put hot embers on top too.


Oooohhhh NO - You don't put the lid on upside down - how would you get it on and off without getting ash in your food?

Some have an upturned edge which holds the coals on top as you lift it off. But even the ones without this are designed for coals on top, especially for baking. You just have to be careful when you lift off the lid. You do this using a lid lifter in the handle of the lid - which is central on the top. I just can't see how you would do it with the lid on upside down.

I've got four camp ovens - 3 cast iron ones, in various sizes - one of which has the upturned lid - plus a steel one called a Bedourie. (the iron ones are the best for baking - the steel one good for roasting and stewing - and lighter and less brittle.) They are brilliant - I love campfire cooking!!

Why haven't I found this part of the forum before??

jaspr

[Iain]

Oooohhhh NO - You don't put the lid on upside down - how would you get it on and off without getting ash in your food?

jaspr

I was shown this by the high country cattlemen, just brush off the ash before removing.
These blokes lived out of these for months at a time and always had about a dozen of them in the 4WD that made the camp ahead for them.

[BJP]

Check out this web site, http://www.aussiecampovencook.com/ this bloke is right into camp oven cooking. He does demonstrations at weekend functions or club meetings. Lives in the Riverina area of NSW

[jaspr]

Yeh - always have to brush off the ash/coals around the edge - using a natural fibre brush.

But I still don't get it - they must have to use gloves to pick up the upturned lid and then replace the coals if they need to keep cooking. Why would you bother when they work fine right way up - and you can use the handle. And you don't have to clear all the coals and replace them

Off course, you can use the lid upside down ON the coals when you want to use it as a frypan.

Strange habits- in the high country!:) I've got many, many multi-course campfire meals under my belt and I've never seen it done that way. I guess you do learn something new every day!

cheers
jas

[HappyHammer]

We have camp oven meals at the IL's farm and the best bit is lighting the fire and then standing around drinking beer and talking s..t until it's burned down to coals. We then add the camp oven to the side of the fire to warm up and then drink more beer. Eventually the women folk bring out the lump of marinated beef and we toss it in and seal it then chuck the lid on and stand around drinking beer until the wonderful smells start coming out. Then the women folk bring out veggies and we chuck them in then stand around drinking beer while it all cooks.

Once it's ready we work our way back to the house çause it's now pitch black with hot campoven full of dinner and unsteady legs due to the beer. Once in the house the women folk start dishing up while we crack open a bottle of red and drink some using the rest with the juices to make the gravy. During dinner we consume a few more bottles of red.

Once dinner is over we crack open a port or muscat, drink half the bottle and then just prior to going to bed we have a cleansing ale.

Can't wait to go back and do it again.

HH.

[Iain]

the best bit is lighting the fire and then standing around drinking beer and talking s..t until it's burned down to coals. .

According to Al that is about three days, must be pretty weak beer over there:D :D :D

[ozwinner]

According to Al that is about three days, must be pretty weak beer over there:D :D :D

When I go feral its usually for about 2 weeks at a time, the fire takes just about that long to retain the heat. :D

Al :)

[Bluegum]

Al's nasty bread.

Take some self raising flour, knock the top off a stubby, drink some, but not all of it, tip the rest into the flour and make a dough, if the dough is too dry repeat until the dough is doughy.

Stick in the camp oven, bury in the ashes, go away for the day, return to some beeaaauuutiful bread, eat with butter and some beer.

Al :2tsup:


Sounds graet Al, Reckon its going to hav to be a camp oven then. Hve you ever done pork in one as that would be the go? Closest i have come is the weber, but a camp oven this time of year sounds the way to go.:2tsup:

[ozwinner]

Hve you ever done pork in one as that would be the go?

I usually take lamb and chicken but pork would just be the best, maybe next time.

Al :cool:

[Geoff Dean]

I usually take lamb and chicken but pork would just be the best, maybe next time.

Al :cool:

Pork is the best.

My method is to dig a hole slightly bigger than the oven an place a layer of hot coals in the bottom (1-1.5 shovel full for 14" oven).

Pork in oven on a wire cake rack, rub olive oil all over pork and rub some coarse salt (I use sea salt) into crackle. Bit more oil in bottom of oven.

To start also place a layer of hot coals on the top as this will drive a lot of heat quickly into the top and makes the crackle crisp up beautifully.

DO NOT OPEN LID for about 1.5 hrs and brush of coals off top after about 1 hr. (this depends on size of oven and size of meat, you eventually get the hang of it).:U

More coals can be added to bottom of hole if cooking starting to slow down, only needs a shovel full.

Pork generally done after 2.5 - 3 hrs, once again you get the hang of it after a few tries.

Very important to crack a few cans during the above process, I find Jim Beam works best...and you have to hang around and make sure that all the amateur camp oven cookers (the ones that have never seen it done but know everything about it) :(( don't keep opening the lid to check, or keep adding coals as they don't think you could possibly cook anything with only that much coals.

I prefer a hand full of good size stones to throw their way..they get the idea after a while.:oo:

Sit back and soak up the accolades:2tsup: