Five Favorite Dutch Oven Recipes

Teardrop camping and Dutch oven cooking go together like peanut butter and jelly. I had never cooked with a Dutch oven before getting a teardrop and seeing the pros at the various gatherings tackle the heavy cast iron pots. The cooking method was clinched for me while on a trip to Zion National Park. A nice couple with a vintage canned ham trailer were in the process of making a divine beef stew over the fire and as I watched them top the stew with homemade biscuits, I was hooked.

I'm still a Dutch oven novice and have not done any cooking using briquettes. When we go camping with our other teardrop friends, we only use coals from the fire to keep from having to bring all the briquette cooking accoutrements. We make the process easier and safer by placing both the coals and the Dutch oven in a galvanized steel pan. Other Dutch oven necessities are aluminum foil, a shovel for digging out coals, a pair of welding gloves to lift up hot, heavy pots and of course, a lid lifter.

While we do some experimenting with Dutch oven cooking, we do tend to gravitate toward the same couple of recipes. These are my five personal favorites:


Dutch Oven Quiche

This is a super simple dish for both breakfast and dinner. You will need a Dutch oven large enough to fit your pie crust, but you can just leave it in its original tin. You can also make the quiche in aluminum foil right in the oven (see photo above). I got this recipe from the Texas Park & Wildlife video on Dutch oven cooking.

Dutch Oven Pizza

This is my all-time favorite teardrop dinner. I got the recipe from fellow teardroppers, Dean and Joannie's YouTube channel, Outdoor Cast Iron Cooking. They have a ton of great recipes and videos on how to make some really tasty cast iron dishes. We use their pizza recipe over and over again. The parchment paper and corn meal are essential.

Dutch Oven Lasagna

This is another Dean and Joannie recipe that takes a little longer to make, but is so tasty and filling, especially when you are camping in the cold. It creates a lot of liquid, so I tend to use less cheese and drain out the meat.

Mountain Man

Another recipe by Outdoor Cast Iron Cook is Dean's Mountain Man breakfast, which I've had with him on the California coast and it was the perfect breakfast for a chilly, foggy morning. We've done several variations of this recipe with different meats and veggies.

Dutch Oven Chuck Wagon Casserole

Can you tell I lean toward classic Western cowboy dishes? The Chuck Wagon Casserole with corn, chilis and cornbread is the quintessential Dutch oven dish and is quick to make. I got the recipe from Dutch Oven Dude. In fact, any kind of casserole does well in a Dutch oven. Experiment.


We've learned a few things while teardropping and Dutch oven cooking: this type of cooking takes longer than you think it will, especially when it's cold out, so be sure to have some appetizers while waiting. Also, when you start smelling your dish, it's ready. Remove it from the coals and check it to make sure it doesn't get burned.

There's a learning curve that comes with Dutch oven cooking, and it takes some practice with different recipes to get the hang of it.

But I Hate Campgrounds

When some of my diehard backpacking friends learn that I camp in a teardrop, I get the inevitable…"But I HATE campgrounds!" Granted, it would be wonderful to be able to camp out in the wilderness all by yourself all the time, but most of the campgrounds we've visited have been wonderful. It's true that you have to share your space with sometimes hundreds of people, but I think many campgrounds are wonderfully designed for peace, quiet and privacy.

One of my favorite things about campgrounds is that even though they are usually open to everything, there is a delineation of space that is oddly respected by people who are used to camping. This small space in the outdoors is yours for just a few nights, and other campers understand that. Also, I love it when night comes and each site comes to life with a campfire, small lanterns and the relaxed talking of people enjoying their vacation.

A few years ago, my husband and I were camping for a week at Humbug Mountain on the Oregon Coast. Every night, after dinner, we would hold hands and stroll through the campground looking at campsites, other campers and the stars. Each of the campsites were lit up with lanterns and campfires – shining on the faces of the occupants and glowing along the sides of tents and RVs. One campsite had a family with about four or five children. Each night, they would gather around the campfire while their mother read to them from one of the Harry Potter books. The kids were enchanted by the story and just sat quietly and listened – no iPhones, iPods or iPads in sight. We would hover in the dark near a large pine tree to also listen to the tales of Harry, Hermione and Ron and afterwards, we'd walk quietly back to our own camp.

Photo by JelleS/Flickr

Teardrop Trailer Food

When teardrop camping, we have a tendency to bring along the same types of food. This is really because we have limited storage space and usually we want to spend our time outside hiking, kayaking or enjoying other outdoor sports. We don't want to spend our time figuring out new recipes. So we have gotten into the habit of bringing along our favorite things every time we head into the hills.

Most of our dinners are cooked in a dutch oven which goes hand-in-hand with teardrop camping, and which I will cover in a future post. However, a lot of our meals are also cooked over the propane stove or over the campfire, and because we've been out and about all day our favorite foods and drinks tend to be high in calories.

Our camping standbys are:

Breakfast

Bagels (toasted on the stove or over the fire) and cream cheese
Grapefruit
Orange juice
Eggs (sometimes mixed with cheese or sweet peppers)
Bacon
Toast
Tortillas
Pancake mix and syrup
Coffee

Lunch (usually eaten on a trail or on a kayak beach)

Tortillas (we love quesadillas with turkey or ham)
Bread and cold cuts
Tunafish salad
Pickles 
Apples and oranges
Cheese

Happy Hour 

Tortilla chips and salsa
Olives
Hummus and veggies
Crackers and goat cheese
 
Alcohol

Pre-mixed margaritas (and a few limes)
Beer with twist caps
Wine with twist caps

Dinner

Various dutch oven meals (stews or pizza are our favorites)
Steak
BBQ Chicken
Steamed veggies in aluminum foil on the fire
Grilled veggies 

Desserts

Jiffy Pop popcorn
Roasted Marshmallows or S'mores
Hot Chocolate
Dutch oven brownies or upside down pineapple/peach cake


No matter what we bring, it always tastes much better out in the fresh air.

Friday Teardrop Photo

Taken at Mazama Campground at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

The Teardrop Trailer in an Emergency

At about this time last year, our area was bereft of any kind of moisture from rain and snow and several fires burned through our dry landscape torching homes and causing thousands of people to evacuate. We were part of that evacuation and found ourselves quickly packing up while the smoke billowed around us and the winds howled. Fortunately for us, the winds did not send the fire in our direction, so our house and property were safe. In addition, we also realized that it's a great thing to have a teardrop trailer around in an emergency.

 

As we were packing up our cats, computers and files, we put everything into the teardrop trailer, which was already packed up with bedding, food, water and clothing. It was a comforting thing to know that if we did have to leave the house quickly, we could get the teardrop hooked up and moved out in about 10 minutes flat and still have a place to sleep and water to drink.

If you do have a teardrop trailer, it might be a good idea to stock it as well as you can for an emergency situation. This includes having non-perishable food, water, warm clothes, and a fully charged battery and lights. Also check your tires and any wire connections periodically.

Be safe.

Photo by Gary Pearl Photography