Dutch Oven Temperature Control: No Knobs Required!

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How Do You Regulate The Temperature On A Dutch Oven?

You basically have to add more heat or take heat away from your oven to “turn the invisible knob on your Dutch oven” to raise and lower the oven temperature.

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The Material In Your Dutch Oven Matters

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Heat From Propane Stoves

Placing your Dutch oven over a propane stove is the only heat source that has a knob to modify the fuel flow and regulate the temperature of the oven.

Many of our camp stove recipes are made in a Dutch oven … we use this method of cooking often when campfires and charcoal are prohibited during hot and dry wildfire seasons while we are camping without fire when restrictions are in place.

We actually cook and BAKE using our propane stove. Read my full blog post and watch the VIDEO to learn how use a Dutch oven dome and heat diffuser plate on a propane stove instead of baking with campfire coals or charcoal briquettes.

All of the other fuel sources require you to adjust the cooking temperature by moving the oven, moving the fuel or both.

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Heat From Charcoal

How do you cook on a Dutch oven with charcoal?

Cooking with charcoal is awesome for any type of recipes that require stewing, roasting and especially for making Dutch oven baked goods because you can be much more precise with temperatures.

The best charcoal for Dutch oven cooking really is a personal preference.

When it comes to charcoal briquettes – vs – hardwood lump charcoal – vs – campfire coals, many camp cooks prefer charcoal briquettes because they are more uniform in size and density resulting in a more predictable temperature outcome.

Each charcoal briquette produces about 10 degrees of heat which is just one thing you will learn as we discuss more camping Dutch oven tips.

Smaller coals produce less heat than larger coals so when you are using hardwood lump charcoal or campfire coals you will get a more uneven heat which makes baking more difficult.

Need to increase the temperature of your oven? Increase the number of coals.

Need to decrease the temperature of your oven? Decrease the amount of coals.

Ash Robs Heat

As the coals on top of the oven burn down, you should remove the ash from the lid because it robs heat from the oven.

Adjusting Heat

If you need to reduce the heat, just pull coals away from the oven … if you need to increase heat, move the coals closer to the oven.

Focusing Heat

Placing the coals on top of the oven in a checkerboard pattern is a great way to create even heat. You can place coals directly under the oven or in a circular pattern around the outside of the oven.

Focus the heat when baked goods are not cooking evenly.

• For example … Let’s say you are making a cake or brownies and the outside edges are cooking faster than the center … just move the coals to the center of the oven … on top and bottom.
• You’ll speed up the cooking of the raw center and slow down the outside edges so the entire thing is done at the end of the cooking time.

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How To Light Charcoal

The easiest way to light charcoal is to use a chimney starter. If you have never used one, check out our VIDEO to see how to use a charcoal chimney!

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Heat From Campfires

Temperature management is most difficult when cooking directly over the flames of a campfire. I don’t recommend this option unless you are cooking something that does not need a precise temperature for cooking.

It is fine if you are boiling or simmering your food.

You can get physically burned if you are not careful when cooking over flames.

The easiest way to control cooking temperatures over campfire flames is by using a tripod.

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How Do You Hang A Dutch Oven Over A Fire?

Make sure you are wearing heat-resistant gloves anytime you are working around a campfire. The Dutch oven is hung from the tripod with a chain and s-hooks.

Place your tripod over your fire pit so the legs are resting outside of the fire ring and the chain is hanging in the center, inside the fire ring.

There are two s-hooks. One hook attaches the chain to the top of the tripod where the three legs come together.

The other s-hook attaches to the end of the chain that is used to hang the Dutch oven over the fire by hooking it to the bail wire handle on the pot.

Ideally, you want the fire pit large enough so you are cooking on one side of the pit over hot embers and you are burning more wood on the other side of the pit that is creating more hot coals you can feed into the cooking area when you need more heat.

If your food is cooking too fast, you just raise the Dutch oven so it is further away from the flame to reduce the heat.

If your pot of food is heavy, it can be difficult to manage the chain with the Dutch oven hanging on it.

In that case, you need to remove the Dutch oven from the s-hook, lengthen or shorten the chain to move it closer or further away from the flames and then re-hang the Dutch oven on the s-hook.

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Our totally yummy campfire stew is one of our easy campfire recipes that we made using a tripod over our campfire.

Get more tips on campfire cooking before you even gather your tinder!

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Types Of Cooking

Your recipe will dictate how and where you want to concentrate heat while cooking with your Dutch oven. Here are a few examples:

Sear, Bring To Boil & Simmer

When you make our super-popular Campfire Stew, you will be using several cooking techniques to make this fork-tender beef stew. All of the heat is generated below the bottom of the pot. You’ll start by searing the beef then adding other ingredients and increasing the heat to bring the mixture to a boil, then, you’ll reduce the heat to simmer the pot for low, slow cooking making really tender meat.

Baking

Many dessert recipes require you to keep a consistent temperature surrounding the entire oven for baking. Our Dutch Oven Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe starts with bottom heat to melt the butter in the pot, then you layer brown sugar, pineapple slices and the cake mix, place the lid on the top and continue the cooking process with coals above and below the oven to ensure even baking.

Pan frying & Baking

You’ll find some recipes that use the Dutch oven like stovetop cookware and transition to using it like a baking dish later in the process. Our Pesto Ricotta Pasta Bake (also called Lazy Man’s Lasagna) is a good example.

You start by frying the sausage, then you remove it from the pan and let it drain on paper towels. At that point, you are transitioning for the baking process. You’ll add pesto to the bottom of the oven, then layer on noodles, sausage, veggies, and 3 types of cheese, adding the lid and placing coals on top while maintaining some below the oven for even baking.

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Universal Dutch Oven Temperature Manipulation

No matter which fuel source you choose, these tips will help you to control the temperature of your oven…

If you have “runaway heat” and the food is cooking way too fast, don’t be afraid to just take the Dutch oven off the heat entirely … let it cool a bit … then put it back over the heat.

When cooking liquids like soups, stews and chilis, it is easy to regulate the heat by simply stirring the food.

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More Dutch Oven Help

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