Introduction

There is just something inexplicable about cooking out of doors.  I can still remember the first time we took our family camping and found ourselves lusting after the breakfasts of our fellow campers.  Being a “smart” mom, I knew my young children would not want anything more than their typical cold cereal, sugary sweet and lacking in any essential ability to nourish.  As I passed out the plastic bowls and poured the first serving of neon-colored rings, I was blindly distracted by an enticing aroma.  I sniffed deeply as the cereal overflowed the bowl in my hand.  What was that?  I wondered as I scooped up the spilled cereal.

“It’s bacon,” my husband stated, a scowl lining his face as he glared at the cereal box.   He seemed to be reading my mind as I covertly scanned each of the neighboring campsites for the source of such an amazing essence. 

“It can’t be regular bacon,” I quipped. “They must have done something to it to make it smell that, that…” I was at a loss for words for the first time in my life.

We ate in silence, the cereal tasting like sawdust as we continued to be lambasted by new scents.  Mark actually moaned when the maple syrup flowed over the hotcakes in the campsite across the lane. We finished our cereal and I threw the box in the trash as soon as breakfast was over.

“I’ve got to go to the camp store,” I announced as I stuffed the cardboard box under the other offensive trash. “Do you think they carry hickory smoked bacon?”

Many months later, on Christmas morning to be exact, I opened what turned out to be one the most precious gifts my husband has ever purchased.  The box, so heavy I could barely lift it, was a cube about 12 inches in each direction.  When I pulled out the 10 inch Dutch oven, my right eyebrow instantly rose in suspicion.  I had a staunch “no kitchen items” rule that I had put in force the previous Christmas when I had received a crock pot from the love of my life.

I thanked him tersely and tucked the heavy pot into the pantry, determining to return it when he wasn’t looking. I hated to hurt his feelings, but what in the world was I going to do with a cast iron pot that out-weighed my firstborn?

Less than a week later, I came home to find Mark making a batch of spicy hot chili.  There went any hopes for returning the blasted contrivance. The chili was good, but not enough to convince me.  Back in the pantry, hidden behind the ice cream maker, went the Dutch oven.  There it remained until Memorial Day almost two years later. 

When Mark planned a rustic camping trip with his family, I smiled and said, “No thank you.  You guys have a nice time.”

“Dad and I are making dinner later.  Why don’t you come out to the wood-lot and eat with us?”

When I arrived almost six hours later, I was still skeptical.  The moment that I spotted the now infamous cast iron pot hanging over the open fire, my cynicism doubled.  When Mark pulled the lid off to check his steaming concoction, I was surprised by how good it smelled.  A spicy chicken stew was simmering happily.  Then something sweeter wafted by.

“Upside down cake,” Mark stated.  “Pineapple, your favorite.”  I was a goner.  We feasted on stew, biscuits and of course, that wonderful upside down cake. I could barely walk back to the car that night. 

From that moment on, it was my mission to learn as much about cast iron cooking as I could.  There was surprisingly little available providing recipes that involved cooking over fire or even charcoal.  You can jumpstart your own cooking experience with these super simple recipes.  And yes, my family has happily tested them all.  Enjoy!