I'm planning on using it like a Dutch oven. And a bean pot. Not so much deep frying for safety and logistical reasons.
You can still invert that lid and cook on it as you would a steel skillet. PLUS the price is so low that if you decide you don't like it you've not dropped much coin. I ordered mine from Wally World.
Hang on...my Dutch isn't that good. What's a potjie?
It's probably more of an Afrikaner term, but their old style cast iron cauldrons that continued to be used in Africa and of course are now made in China.
Hi Dave, Thanks for the offer, I'll probably take you up on it some time, as I could use some sage wisdom on getting everything together for Forts Fredrick and Louden next year. I have a flat bottomed 10' Lodge Dutch oven and a collection of cast iron in various states of use or disrepair. So I have a pretty good modern selection for campfire cooking.I've been doing hearth and campfire cooking for three decades, and have done my fair share of cooking demonstrations and taught campfire/hearth cooking.
So you want to cook a stew/soup/boil a game hen, and you want to bake something like cornbread and/or biscuits or a bannock? Right? AND you would like to do both in one object? I'm stating the premise to make sure I give you the proper response. Because, you can do both those things with a brass trade kettle (which is a small brass pail), and a steel or iron frying pan, which are a lot lighter. You just have to learn the techniques, so there is a bit of a "learning curve".
I also agree, there is some merit to keeping things as simple as possible.
What you Do Not Want is a potjie. They are very tough to bake in. You will need a pie tin or plate that will fit inside the opening for the potjie and a trivet to rest that upon within the potjie because the bottom is round not flat. PLUS my Scottish frugal side is showing and they are too expensive.
That leaves the classic Dutch Oven. (Now the classic Dutch Oven that everybody thinks about is a 19th century thing, IF that matters.)
But we're keeping it simple. So you're looking at a classic Dutch Oven with the raised edge on the lid and legs. Stay away from the big name brands; you don't need to overpay. You should be looking (imho) at a 5-quart Ozark Trail Dutch Oven, for under $30. (My Scottish frugal-genes are showing)
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The price is very good. The drawbacks are the modern bale, and that handle on the lid isn't cast onto the lid. (Probably a way to keep cost down.) A "legged" Dutch Oven or a cast-iron pot with legs means that using a grill instead of placing it on the ground or hanging it from a tripod can be a problem. All proper Dutch Ovens can have their lid inverted and used as a skillet of sorts. Just watch the grease if you do pork especially bacon, as get much grease and it spills over and you get a flare up of flames on the campfire.
I have one of these, and as mentioned, in the one that I own the handle is not cast but is attached with a steel screw from inside. Also, it's a "5-Quart" but NOBODY fills them up to the brim, so no matter what you see in any brand name's ad, they hold less when being used for cooking The above one is actually 3-quarts of usable cooking volume.
Now you might see one of these if you look at all the cool cast iron at Wally World. It's called a "Double Dutch Oven", and it runs about $20 more than the Ozark D.O. This is great for folks cooking at home on a stove, as it can also be used for camp use. The ads show it being used to bake in both the lid and the lower portion (obviously having been in a modern oven). I prefer to think of them as "Double" because you can use them at home on the stove top, or in the oven, or in camp. (The legs on a classic Dutch Oven or a potjie mean they cannot be used on a home stove.)
View attachment 366701 No legs means it works very well on a grill with folding legs, and pretty much needs something like that. That's how you will see this used in camp. The lid is much deeper than on a traditional 19th century Dutch Oven, so it's great when inverted if you do something like fried chicken, or deep fried potatoes/french fries. The lid, however with it not having a centered loop for lifting, means the cook needs to use a pair of hot-pot-pads to lift the lid to check on anything baked, and there is no raised edge to hold coals. So when one lifts the lid when baking, one knocks off the coals first. When done checking, the lid is replaced, and fresh coals are then shoveled on top. Some folks have no worries with this as they would be refreshing the coals no matter what, so it is manageable. Further, when keeping it simple, a grill or grate with folding legs is pretty easy to transport and store.
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So those are pretty much your options to be as simple as possible and not break the bank.
You're in Chestertown, and I'm in Damascus, so if you need some first-hand tips, send me a PM and I can show you how to use some of the stuff.
LD
Buy a small brass or tin lined copper kettle, if you want to save weight and be authentic.
Cool. I can tell everyone that I found it in a ditch.
Find a friend with one shoulder lower than the other and get them involved. You can tell visitors to your camp that the pot was found in the ditch and your friend carried it
I use a wok here at home very often, but don't think it would do well for baking.
I've seen pictures of round bottomed spider skillets. Not sure if they where original or contemporary, but I thought a wok would be a good start for replicating one.
