Cooking with a Dutch oven is a lot of fun when you are camping. But you will need to season it properly before you cook your first meal in it. Always check with your Dutch oven manufacturer for specific seasoning requirements for your model but the following is a general guideline.
Step 1 – Wash your Oven with Hot Water: Most manufacturers will have you wash your new Dutch oven with hot water to remove the coating from the factory.
Step 2 – Coat the Oven with Oil: Next you will want to thoroughly coat the entire oven with a heavy coat of a good olive or vegetable oil. Do not use an animal fat such as lard because this can become rancid over time. Use a paper towel to apply the oil. Make sure you cover the inside, up the sides, outsides, bottom, the feet, and the lid including both sides with the oil.
Step 3 – Fire you Dutch oven: Now it is time to place your Dutch oven and the lid in your kitchen oven or on a barbeque grill for one hour at 350 degrees. You will want to remember to check with your manufacturer for the time and temperature for your model. Place the coated Dutch oven upside down on the rack with the lid beside it. If you are doing this in your kitchen oven you will want to place tin foil on the bottom of your oven to catch any oil that may drip during the seasoning process. If you do the seasoning out on your barbeque grill it will not heat up your kitchen if you are doing this process in the summer time and you will not have to worry about any smoking due to oil dripping on the bottom of the oven.
After you have completed step 3 allow the Dutch oven to cool thoroughly. When it is cool, the season process has been completed and you are now ready to cook your first meal in your new Dutch oven.
Step 1 – Wash your Oven with Hot Water: Most manufacturers will have you wash your new Dutch oven with hot water to remove the coating from the factory.
Step 2 – Coat the Oven with Oil: Next you will want to thoroughly coat the entire oven with a heavy coat of a good olive or vegetable oil. Do not use an animal fat such as lard because this can become rancid over time. Use a paper towel to apply the oil. Make sure you cover the inside, up the sides, outsides, bottom, the feet, and the lid including both sides with the oil.
Step 3 – Fire you Dutch oven: Now it is time to place your Dutch oven and the lid in your kitchen oven or on a barbeque grill for one hour at 350 degrees. You will want to remember to check with your manufacturer for the time and temperature for your model. Place the coated Dutch oven upside down on the rack with the lid beside it. If you are doing this in your kitchen oven you will want to place tin foil on the bottom of your oven to catch any oil that may drip during the seasoning process. If you do the seasoning out on your barbeque grill it will not heat up your kitchen if you are doing this process in the summer time and you will not have to worry about any smoking due to oil dripping on the bottom of the oven.
After you have completed step 3 allow the Dutch oven to cool thoroughly. When it is cool, the season process has been completed and you are now ready to cook your first meal in your new Dutch oven.
Thank you. I appreciate your videos on cast ironware and the Coleman stoves. They're very thorough and informative.
ReplyDeleteDo you recommend any specific Dutch Oven brands, and features to look for? I have read some commentary on Amazon where reviews claimed their new cast iron would begin to rust, so it concerned me.
Also, one model I saw had a large lid that had feet also, so you could flip it over and use it as a shallow pan as well. Ever seen/used one, and is that a worthwhile feature for a starting cast iron oven? What do you look for, if anything specific?
Thank you again,
James