Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Whether the Dutch invented the Dutch oven isn’t exactly clear. What is clear…says Tim Spice…is using one of these cast iron pots simplifies outdoor cooking.

And you can cook anything that you would at home, on a fire, outdoors, while you’re camping with your family or friends.

Spice is in education and outreach at Texas Parks and Wildlife. Dutch ovens are cast iron pots that have been in use since the 1700s.

Today the Dutch oven has legs on the bottom and a rim on the lid sop that you can put coals under it and on top of it and cook as you would in your oven at home.

The key to Dutch oven cooking success is temperature control. Without the luxury of a thermostat when cooking al fresco, you have to get creative – and daring.

You hold your hand six inches above the coals…thousand one…thousand two….thousand three…if you have to pull your hand away sooner because it’s uncomfortable from the heat – it’s hotter than three-fifty. If you can hold your hand longer than three seconds, it’s colder than three-fifty. And, since most food is cooked at three hundred and fifty degrees in the oven, that’s where you’ll want to start gaging your heat.

As always, you’ll find more information about this and other topics at passporttotexas.org.

Don’t be intimidated by that Dutch oven. Grab one and take it home and practice. And then, take your folks out to the state park and spend the day and have a great meal at the end of a great day outdoors.

That’s our show for today… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti

September 1, October 6 & November 3, 2007 — Mission Tejas SP — Dutch Oven Cooking — See what’s cooking as the Tejas Chapter of the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society meets in the picnic area of the park, or the Pavilion in case of rain. 9 a.m.-noon (936) 687-2394.

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