[Spit-Project] open fire cooking experiance

[jbjt30 at juno.com]

Greetings Just Gunthar and all,
Gunthar > thank you for your handout on period drinks I am looking forward to trying them.  (Heh heh!) My teenage son is going to be my experimental subject. (Cackle!) >evil grin<
You asked for others experiances with outdoor cooking so I thought I'd share what I learned so far.  I just started this summer with Dutch Ovens and wow you are so right Gunthar and those others who said Dutch Ovens are the fast and easy way to go.  I had watched many Cee Dub shows on PBS and I thought for sure it was too complicated but I finally took the plunge and found some recipes on the net. (Not period ones unfortunatly but thats what I'm trying to rectify now.)  I was really surprised at how much easier it was than I thought.  I tried a Chicken in Cola and Ketchup sauce not bad the sauce was a little odd certainly not period but my was the chicken tender and moist.  But don't leave the sauce in the cast iron for very long because I think the acid in it started to react with the iron.  All I knows is that the next day the sauce had a very strong metalic taste. (Ick) Tried a pork roast with a savory seasoning and apple juice.  That turned out all right but I learned you have to watch it and make sure it doesn't cook dry.  Then I tried Au Gratin Potatoes and learned you should always take the coals off your lid or hold on tightly when checking on your dish.  I dumped about half the coals and ash into the pot.  I seem to learn the hard way best! >grin< The last thing I tried which I've now made about 4 times because of popular demand is an applesauce spice cake.  The first time I tried it I learned it cooks much faster then you would expect so keep an eye on it or it drys out.  Something else I learned from that website with the applesauce cake is that they recommend lining the Dutch Oven with a pie pan or tinfoil to avoid sticking and easier clean up.  All in all I was impressed by the improved flavor everything seemed to have.  I have a lot of fun cooking over an open fire (bed of coals)!  I'm very excited to try some more!
Fa'rissa of the Outlands