Fired up the new ditch oven

[Eloy Santa Cruz]

I broke in my new dutch oven last night. I seasoned it the night before even though Lodge says you can use out of the box. I had never cooked in a dutch oven before and it was a sucessful learning experience. I decided to do a roast. I started with a 3 1/2 lb roast seasoned with kosher salt and coarse ground pepper. Next I seared the meat in olive oil, added 4 cloves chopped garlic and cabernet wine. then I added onions, sliced mushrooms and baby carrots. Cooked a little over two hours, flipping the meat every half hour. I turned the oven 1/4 turn counter clockwise and the lid 1/4 turn clockwise every 15 min. Everything turned out wonderful and my wife loved it. I was surprised at how fast and how much I went through coals.

[Cary Kid]

I really don't know much about Cast Iron cook ware, that's a world unto it's own.......I do have ample experiance indeed of scrubbing my Mom's Black Iron frypans and such........A Georgia Girl always makes chicken in a Black Iron Skillet..............
The "Official" moderator of this thread is a Black Iron Guru...........But, he's busy trying to get a new home to the liveable level, got his hands full right now, don't post much................
I'm very happy that your meal turned out so well...........See, it ain't all that tough..............

I remember my Mom getting a crust on her chicken in a black iron pan, that that's all I wanted to chew on, the burned parts...........
It's a shame I haven't any black iron cookware........well, what I have is ceramic coated..........it's different..............

[FenceFighter]

 Surprising just how many Dutch Oven dinner recipes start out, just the way you did yours. I'd toss a few red pepper flakes in with the oil and garlic, but I do that with most everything I cook.  Scrubbing out those black iron pots can get a fella a passel of trouble in these parts. Years ago my pard brought a cast iron skillet along on our annual  Steelhead fishing trip. I started to make the mistake of getting soap and water on that skillet, and he liked to have a conniption fit. Seems his wife had made it clear he wasn't to come home, if that skillet didn't come back as seasoned as it left. Well I've run into quite a few practitioners of the cast iron arts that feel the same, and these days, I tend to agree with them. A proper seasoning in the first place and a swipe with paper towels thereafter, is about all that should be needed. I cheat a little and use period correct foil where possible. I mostly bake bread and biscuits in my kettles, and can't remember cooking anything sweet in them, but intend to try upside down cake and scones. I went on a several days rafting trip, where the cooks turned out the greatest cakes, breakfast rolls and pies in their Dutch ovens. Course everything tastes better outdoors & 100 miles away from civilization.
                                                Cordially,
                                                                Fence

[Eloy Santa Cruz]

Hey guys. Did another chuck roast this weekend. It went alot smoother now that I have an idea what to expect. I tweeked the ingrediants a little - adding a little more of this, a little less of that. The red pepper flakes in the garlic is something I definitly want to try. I'm going to start experimenting with stews and chili. Clean up was a little easier this time, just rinsed the oven in very hot water and a little scrubbing with a brush. After drying thoroughly, I applied a light coat of olive oil inside and out. I feel this oven will only get better with age. I've got some ideas for cobbelers and want to get a 12" 6 qt. for baking. The dessert can start baking while dinner is finishing cooking.