Dutch oven chicken

[mtnbiker]

I cooked some full (not cut up) chickens in the Dutch oven (cooked with charcoal) today. First time trying that. I got a recipe for a rub off the internet, and it tasted pretty good. We had 3 large chickens, and they wouldn't all fit in the oven, so I cooked the 2 smaller ones (4.5 lbs each) together, then pulled them out and put the larger one in (6.4 lbs). I cooked each for 2 1/2 hours. I didn't put any water or anything in the oven; just let the chickens cook and make their own juice. And they made a lot of juice. I had an inch or so left in the bottom, and that was after cooking a bunch of potatoes with the bird for the last hour. My wife made gravy with the juices, and didn't have to add any water at all. My son particularly liked the hint of cayenne pepper in the rub.

I didn't think to take pictures for CUF until after we'd already started digging in, but hopefully you can see the browned skin (a little charred where I put a few too many charcoals on top) and beautiful meat, just falling apart. My wife also made a tasty Dutch oven jumbleberry pie, mixing blueberry, black raspberry, and red raspberry pie fillings.

Here's the rub recipe. I doubled it, and it was just about right for the 3 birds.
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

[YOhio]

Dude! That looks awesome. I've never used a dutch oven, but have thought about getting one this summer. This post made the decision easier.

[TripletDaddy]

mtnbiker, awesome stuff. we busted out our dutch oven to do cobbler a couple of weeks back. we make it on our patio in the back. It had been a couple of seasons since I had used it so I re-cured it prior to using it. Good as new.

Would you mind posting the recipe for your D.O. berry pie? how much coal top and bottom for heat? sounds delish.

[mtnbiker]

Would you mind posting the recipe for your D.O. berry pie? how much coal top and bottom for heat? sounds delish.

I guess there's kind of a rule of thumb about charcoal count. Double the diameter (in inches) of the dutch oven, and add 1. That's the number of charcoals to use. So a 12-inch dutch oven gets 25 charcoals. Put half - 2 on the bottom, and the rest on the top to get to 350 degrees. So, for a 12-inch oven, put 10 on the bottom and 15 on top. I admit that I don't always follow that exactly. In fact, I just found a Lodge manual, and they say 8 on bottom, 17 on top. Add or subtract 1 charcoal top and bottom for a 25 degree temp change. So I guess I haven't been following their standard, but it works for me.

Ok, here's my wife's recipe for the crust.
4 cups flour
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold milk

Mix flour and salt together, then cut in butter and shortening. Add cold milk until you can make a ball (may need a little more milk).

And her instructions for the pie:
Divide dough into 2 parts. Roll out one part to 1/8 inch thick. Line the bottom of a 10 or 12-inch dutch oven. Be sure dough comes up the sides of the oven at least 3 inches. Brush the dough with egg wash (1 beaten egg and 1 tbsp milk or cream).

Add fruit filling, then roll out pie crust top to 1/8 inch thickness. Cover fruit filling and pinch and flute edges. Brush with egg wash. Bake 1 hr, turning oven over charcoal every 10 minutes.

We thought 1/8 inch crust was a little thick, so experiment to find a balance between thickness and the possibility of burning the crust.

[mtnbiker]

Cooked a couple of whole chickens again today. Same rub as posted here back in April, with the exception of a little more cayenne pepper, and it was even better than last time. 2 1/2 hour cook time, 3 sets of charcoal. It was fabulous. The legs fell off taking them out of the dutch oven, so no shots of them on the platter. I added the potatoes just in the last hour of cooking.

For kicks, I also did a smaller dutch oven full of buffalo wings, using Frank's Red Hot Original cayenne pepper sauce. It was not quite so fabulous, but was pretty good. My niece from Texas went back for 2nds and 3rds, so it must not have been too bad.

[The_Tick]

What do you mean by 3 sets of charcoal?

And what is that you are using for the stand to place the dutch oven on?

[Surfah]

What do you mean by 3 sets of charcoal?

And what is that you are using for the stand to place the dutch oven on?

That stand looks like the one they sell with those Trash can turkey kits.

[mtnbiker]

What do you mean by 3 sets of charcoal?

And what is that you are using for the stand to place the dutch oven on?

Charcoal briquettes only last about 45 minutes, and then you have to put fresh briquettes on to maintain the temp. I'm calling each set of fresh charcoal a 'set' here. You could call it '3 series', whatever. I use one of those charcoal chimney units to start my charcoal (and you don't get the smell of lighter fluid). It still takes about 15 minutes for all the briquettes to light and get warm enough to use, so it can be quite a hands-on process to keep fresh charcoal for the oven. The ash from the charcoal also interferes with the heat, so it's good to clear that away after a couple of sets.

The stand is just a little circular spacer unit my wife got for me at Sportsman's Warehouse or somewhere like that. You can see the holes for air to keep the charcoal going; it also has about 8 flanges that the oven rests on that also allows for the charcoal exhaust air. That dutch oven has relatively short legs, so I have to lift it up above the charcoal. Otherwise, the oven sits right on the charcoal and suffocates it. I was using bricks or pieces of 2x4 before (which, of course, got in the way of the charcoal, and got charred from the charcoal), so this spacer is nicer. Lodge brand dutch ovens have nice long legs that sit the oven above the charcoal, but they're also almost twice the cost of the off-brand ovens. My smaller oven, in the picture with the buffalo wings, is a Lodge that I got on sale, and doesn't need the spacer.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I don't get the logic of doing dutch oven cooking at home. Kind of like doing tinfoil dinners in the oven. Yuck.

[TripletDaddy]

I don't get the logic of doing dutch oven cooking at home. Kind of like doing tinfoil dinners in the oven. Yuck.

for us it was mostly about the fun of doing it with the kids. and we generally limited it to cobbler. the kids really got into watching the lumps of coal. later at Christmas, they were reacquainted with their old friend, Mr Lump of Coal, although they were less enthralled the second time.

[mtnbiker]

I don't get the logic of doing dutch oven cooking at home. Kind of like doing tinfoil dinners in the oven. Yuck.

You're missing out, dude. Sure, it's more work, but it has a unique flavor. Why do you use a smoker? Same reason: it's a different way to cook that can be very tasty. We also count it as emergency preparedness training. In fact, every so often, unplanned, we'll pretend the water and electricity are out and see what we can do to make dinner with what we have. We'll cook in the dutch oven or on the wood stove, use water from our storage, and use flashlights, candles, hurricane (oil) lamps, etc. Our hurricane lamp is a joke, by the way - doesn't work nearly as well as I'd expect.

BTW, regarding tin foil dinners, we cheat and pre-cook everything on the stove, but after wrapping it up in 2 layers of foil with a wet paper towel between the layers (for steam), we'll throw them on the hot coals for 15 or 20 min. to really get the flavors to blend. The kids (all grown up) still love them.

[The_Tick]

3D...you mentioned "reseasoning" your dutch oven.

I have had a dutch oven for 10 years...and a cast iron skillet that I have never used. I know...slacker that I am.

How does one go about seasoning them? Mine are both Lodge and they say "pre-seasoned" but still...

I semi understand the process, but I don't want to use the oven in the house to do it because of the smoke detector issue. I don't have a weber grill, I have a Santa Maria style BBQ.

Any recommendations?

[Jeff Lebowski]

You're missing out, dude. Sure, it's more work, but it has a unique flavor. Why do you use a smoker? Same reason: it's a different way to cook that can be very tasty. We also count it as emergency preparedness training. In fact, every so often, unplanned, we'll pretend the water and electricity are out and see what we can do to make dinner with what we have. We'll cook in the dutch oven or on the wood stove, use water from our storage, and use flashlights, candles, hurricane (oil) lamps, etc. Our hurricane lamp is a joke, by the way - doesn't work nearly as well as I'd expect.

BTW, regarding tin foil dinners, we cheat and pre-cook everything on the stove, but after wrapping it up in 2 layers of foil with a wet paper towel between the layers (for steam), we'll throw them on the hot coals for 15 or 20 min. to really get the flavors to blend. The kids (all grown up) still love them.

Oh, I have been doing dutch oven cookouts for 25 years or so on both sides of the family. Nice way to do some tasty meals while on a campout or an evening up the canyon, but if I am home I can get superior meals with other forms of cooking (especially the smoker). I am not a big fan of that metallic taste. I noticed that dutch oven restaurant in Lehi was a big flop. Didn't surprise me.

I have tried all variations of tinfoil dinners in my many years of scouting leadership but I just can't bring myself to liking them. Too much like a casserole I suppose. I enjoy having three scouts in my patrol at the moment. I can get tri-tip for the campout and stay in budget.

I like your emergency prep idea. That makes good sense.

[hostile]

3D...you mentioned "reseasoning" your dutch oven.

I have had a dutch oven for 10 years...and a cast iron skillet that I have never used. I know...slacker that I am.

How does one go about seasoning them? Mine are both Lodge and they say "pre-seasoned" but still...

I semi understand the process, but I don't want to use the oven in the house to do it because of the smoke detector issue. I don't have a weber grill, I have a Santa Maria style BBQ.

Any recommendations?

I reseason my skillet and oven every year or so. The idea is to create an impenetrable carbon layer - stops food from sticking and the iron from oxidizing. I cover the entire pan - lid, inside, outside - with vegetable oil in a thin layer. Some people use bacon grease. I then bake the pan in the oven at 350 for about an hour.

[The_Tick]

I reseason my skillet and oven every year or so. The idea is to create an impenetrable carbon layer - stops food from sticking and the iron from oxidizing. I cover the entire pan - lid, inside, outside - with vegetable oil in a thin layer. Some people use bacon grease. I then bake the pan in the oven at 350 for about an hour.

Doesn't that cause the house to fill with smoke?

After baking...do you wipe the inside down again or do you just let it cool and put it away.