Dutch Oven Cooking

This is about cooking in a cast iron Dutch oven. The ones designed for
charcoal cooking usually have three legs on the bottom and a flat lid
with a raised edge. The legs are intended to raise the bottom off the
coals and the lid is designed to hold the burning coals on top and not
let them slip off.

The rules of thumb that we've been given by a caller to Middays are as
follows:

*** How many coals to use to start cooking in the Dutch oven?

* For the lid: measure the width of it and add 5. If you have a
12-inch lid, it means 12 + 5 for a total of 17 coals.
* For underneath the Dutch Oven: measure the width of the body (should
be the same as the lid) 12 and subtract 3. So it would be 12 - 3 = 9
coals.

This gives an internal temperature of 350F.

*** How to raise or lower the temperature?
* Add or subtract 2 coals on the lid for a 25F temperature change.

    Using the above example:
    To make it be 325F inside, remove 2 coals from the lid.
    To make it be 375F, add 2 coals to the lid.

The 2/3 Rule:
*** After 2/3 of the cooking time, remove all coals from the bottom.
It helps to prevent scorching.
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Happy Dutch Oven Cooking...
Bob Pastorio

For more information about Dutch oven cookery, check these URL's:
http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/
http://papadutch.home.comcast.net/dutch-oven-cooking-tips.htm#Temp
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/beattie47.html