ChickenSense

Adobe / Cobb Ovens / Hornos

Adobe, or cob, is basically a sun-dried mud. It has been used throughout the world, in many different times. Several buildings, hundreds of years old, still stand." -- www.velacreations.com

Dutch Ovens

Dutch Oven Cooking by Trina Burns, Outdoor Campus Volunteer

When cooking in a Dutch oven, there are a few things you must remember. First, it takes at least 30 minutes for the charcoal to get hot enough to use. The benefit of charcoal is that it burns a long time and needs little refueling. Each briquette burns at 25-35 degrees, which makes it fairly easy to judge how many briquettes to light. In windy or very cold weather, you will want to add an additional 2-8 briquettes. After filling the Dutch oven and covering it with coals you do not want to "peek," as this lets the heat out and causes food to take longer to cook. If possible, pre-heat the Dutch oven by placing a few coals under it before adding food. One quarter of the coals should be underneath with the remaining on top of the oven. Dutch ovens cook from the top down. After cooking in the Dutch oven, you NEVER clean it with soap or scouring pads. If food is baked on, simply heat water in the oven and if scraping is necessary, use a wad of aluminum foal. After washing the oven, you should ALWAYS season it for the next use by wiping a small amount of cooking oil around the bottom sides and in the top. This keeps rust from forming in the cast iron ovens.

Almost anything you bake at home can be baked at the campground. With experience you will be baking meats, cakes and even breads and biscuits. The Dutch oven can become the most versatile cooking implement you will have. It can be used for beanhole and hayhole cooking, with charcoal and even on a fire or gas stove. Some people don't put their Dutch oven away when they get home, but use it in their home ovens. The pioneers left behind many possessions when finding their way out here, but the Dutch ovens were ALWAYS kept!

#8 oven = 10" -- Bake 8" pan recipes in oven
#10 oven = 12" -- Bake regular size recipes in oven
#12 oven = 14" -- Bake large mixes or double recipes
#14 oven = 16" -- Bake triple recipes in oven

The size of the oven can help to determine the number of hot coals needed:

On a calm, warm day, use the same number of coals on top as the number on the oven and half as many underneath
If it is cold or windy, put a few more on top
Dutch oven with legs can be stacked on conserve briquettes
If Dutch oven doesn't have legs, use 1 1/2" balls of tightly crumpled foil
If Dutch oven has domed lid, put a crumpled foil collar around the edge to hold coals, or invert lid
Generally you will bake biscuits, corn bread, cake mixes, etc. according to package directions