[Sca-cooks] Dutch oven question

[Stefan li Rous]

Marian Rosenberg declared:
> The biggest ultra super problem I've ever encountered with dutch ovens
> (or any fire cooking) is convincing people that you can't have a camp
> bonfire if you want to cook on it.  If you have ridiculous quantities of
> wood, bonfires are wonderful warm things to sit and watch.  But you
> cannot cook on them, and you cannot even cook very efficiently near
> them.  Last Pennsic, Mike had to dig out an extra fire pit and take
> coals from the camp bonfire so as to cook with the dutch oven.

Actually, I think what this points out is that when you are cooking
over an open fire, you need to coordinate between the person overseeing
the cooking and the person(s) tending the fire.

The cook needs to be able to specify whether they need a hot fire to
roast meat, or a cooler one for simmering a stew or a lot of coals
for baking in a dutch oven.

There should be no expectation that you can get the fire you want
for baking your own independant experiment in the dutch oven if the
camp cook has already specified that they need a hot fire for that
evenings meal.

In that case, if the camp allows you to build your own fire area
and to get coals from the main fire to power it, don't whine and
complain. They are indeed being helpful and courteous beyond call.

You don't walk in to the feast kitchen where feast is being prepared
and demand the use of an oven and then complain because the one they
let you use was too close to the stove.

--
THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****