What are your favorite DO Side/Dessert Dishes?

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forluvofsmoke

Smoking Guru
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2008
5,170
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Hi all!

A little back-ground here, so you have an idea where I'm headed:

I'm about 3 grams of trigger-pull away from ordering 2 or 3 camp-style CI DO's in the 6-qt 12" size for family gatherings and home/camp use. I've reseached the techniques used for charcoal briquette firing, and have found a gold mine of recipes as well. I'm also familiar with the seasoning/care of CI, having to re-surface and re-season a badly rusted 15" Lodge skillet...lesson learned there was: cook in it regularly and store it properly, or plan on spending countless hours to reverse the damage. All things cosidered, I'm about to become a more well-rounded outdoor cook, and I'd like a little help with deciding where my first few months of DO experiences should begin.

I'm curious about the various sides and desserts you would/have cook(ed) for breakfast/lunch/dinner, and what you feel are the easiest (least time-consuming) to prepare (while being good eating, of course) for larger numbers in a tent camp site environment. Just the basics would be on-site such as canned fruits/vegetables/pie fillings, boxed mixes for cakes/pancakes/bisquits, a bag of A/P flour, corn meal, eggs, milk, and maybe yeast, baking soda, baking powder...what would your plan be to use these items for creating some tasty DO sides and desserts?

I really like the idea of freshly baked DO breads, upside down cakes, cobblers, and possibly rice pudding, which can be made in deeper profiles in the DO to accomadate for larger numbers of hungry souls. Of course, baked beans and/or chili will be on the menu at some point as well.

Cornbread for breakfast is a must...nothing like a good cornbread to bring everyone down to earth level and remind us of how great life really is...that's my idea of what comfort food should be like.

What would your first choice for a side and a dessert be?

Thanks for your insight!

Eric
 
I have done cobbler and its good. Used canned apples pie filling and box of yellow cake mix then a 7up.

Put the canned apple down then the cake mix ontop. Then pour the can of 7up on top and let it cook. Came out great.
 
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Now that sounds good to me there Eric. I would do just what brian said to. Anyway as for us here at our house the food is so good that all we are usually so full of the main course all we need is a pillow and a beer and then the remote. It's food coma time
 
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My favorite dessert is a crisp. Apple,pear or blueberry.

 A crisp you don't mix like you would a cobbler.

2 cans of fruit.

One white,yellow or spice cake.

One stick of butter.

Line the oven with tin foil. (Easier to clean)

Put the two cans of fruit in first.

Cover with the cake mix.

Thin slices of butter to cover the mix.

 No mixing.

Coals on top and bottom.

Easy and great tasting.   Crunchy top.

Use the apple with spice cake  and put some cinamon on top then coconut. Yum.

As an assistant Scoutmaster I have made hundreds of Dutch Oven meals. Won a few Scoutmaster cookoffs.

You will love it once you get rolling. Look at the macsouter site and  http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/~papadutch/dutch-oven-recipes.htm  

We have made wonderful Jambalaya,souffles and paella.

To keep it from rusting, oil it then put a chunk of burlap in and over the side so the lid doesnt shut all the way.

Put the lid on the fire upside down and us it to make pancakes or fry eggs.
 
Eric

My name is Leonard Sanders and I own Chuck Wagon BBQ Co Catering out of Oroville, CA. I have been cooking in dutch ovens in large quanities for over 20 years, and love talkin with up and coming dutch oven cooks.

You have asked about desserts  and I can help with the simplest:

"Spotted Pup Rice Pudding"

2 cups sugar

2 cups rice

3 quarts whole milk

1 cup raisins or other dried fruit

nutmeg to taste

cinnamin to taste

put all ingredients in a # 8 stove top dutch oven or a #12 camp dutch oven. Requires no top heat---heat contents with low bottom het--stirring occas.  Heat until contents are thickened and ready to serve

If you google this recipe you will find a cowboy poem with this recipe----I am the author and I encourage you to cook this recipe. If any questions email [email protected] and I will answer
 
Great thread Eric, lots of good stuff!

I just bought a tripod to hang a dutch oven from and plan to do some cooking outside. Woohoo! My neighbors ask me why I even have a house, I should sell it and put up a tent. LOL! I've done a small amount of research so far and as expected when camping use as few ingredients as possible. Some of my best meals have been when I was camping. So with that said I would expect that if you use the highest quality ingredients you would get a better product. That doesn't  necessarily mean most expensive either. If you can get canned fruit that you or someone you know has put up, say like peaches or pears and premix a cobbler topping like this one:

1 cup bisquick

1 stick cold butter chopped or grated

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup brown sugar

Mix it all together, put in a ziplock and keep in the cooler. Put fruit in DO, top with this and have at it! I would even take a pint of heavy cream and pour a spoonful on top when serving.

I have used dried fruit in cobblers before with good results. Good luck and I hope we can keep this thread going!
 
I have done cobbler and its good. Used canned apples pie filling and box of yellow cake mix then a 7up.

Put the canned apple down then the cake mix ontop. Then pour the can of 7up on top and let it cook. Came out great.
Similar to what I've done for  "pineapple  upsidedown cake" 

heat the oven add pineapple and some brown sugar

place pineapple slices add pour on the cake mix  and bake away.....

BTW  make sure you have a plate and a strong helper to flip the cake rightside up.....
 
Aah, man, this is awesome!!!!!! Thanks for the tips and recipes...it all does look pretty simple and easy.

fpnmf, it'a funny, I actually was refering to that website when I mentioned the gold mine of recipes...I could stay busy for 6 months trying them! LOL!!!!!

Squirrel, I never thought of pre-mixing the dry ingredients ahead of time...that's a great idea!

I have a really good feeling about jumping into DO cooking...it's gonna be a blast!

Thanks again to everyone!!!!!!!!!!

Eric
 
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