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About Charcoal
It is not necessary
to use charcoal at all when cooking with a Dutch oven.
Feel
free to use coals from a wood fire, but keep in mind you are going to have to
keep a close eye on the food so that it gets cooked but not burned.
Cooking over wood ember fires is best left for the purist outdoors cook as it
requires more skill and attention.
Newbies to Dutch oven cooking are encouraged to
start with charcoal briquettes for they are consistent,
and reasonably reliable heat sources.
How do I figure out
how many briquettes (bricks) to use?
Here’s
a table for a 12” Dutch oven (created by the Lodge Cast Iron Manufacturing
Company).
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Degrees
|
325◦
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350◦
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375◦
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400◦
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425◦
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450◦
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Bricks
top
bottom
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23
16
7
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25
17
8
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27
18
9
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29
19
10
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31
21
10
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33
22
11
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For example
– you need a 350◦ oven temperature. Looking at the chart, you’ll see you need 25 briquettes – placing 17
on top
and 8
on the bottom. It’s a good practice
to light up about 20% more briquettes than needed in case a few turn out to
be duds.
Not all charcoal
briquettes are created equal.
Some are
clearly superior to others. The
national brand “K” is the best, most consistent and reliable on the
market. It’s also the most
expensive. Discount store or grocery
store brands can save you money and some like brand “WM” not only save money, but also are
very good.
Unfortunately, there are some off brands available that are of so poor a
quality you will be lucky to get them lit at all. Any money saved from buying these duds is
more than offset by the hassle and headache.
Experiment BEFORE you go to camp.
Placement of the
briquettes is important.
The proper
layout for briquettes under the oven is circular. They should be approximately one inch apart
in a circle under the oven.
Never place coals directly under the center of the oven. If you do, you will
create a guaranteed hot spot and burn whatever you are cooking.
By placing the coals in a circle, the natural conductivity of the oven will
distribute the heat evenly and effectively.
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