Outdoor Cooking Isn’t ForThe Faint of Heart

The Beginning of the End

Standing, sweating and sucking on the bleeding finger, I suddenly was confronted with an answer in search of a problem. On a passing cool breeze, an idea took shape — it was time to break out my brand-new Dutch oven!

For those who aren’t familiar with the true Dutch oven, it is essentially a heavy cast iron kettle with a specially designed lid made to hold hot coals, thus baking the food from all sides. The Dutch oven was the versatile pioneer equivalent of a slow cooker and can even bake bread.

I had used a Dutch oven previously when camping but had not attempted anything more elaborate than boiled beans. Feeling frisky, I therefore vowed to use my ample supply of wood to master the art of Dutch oven cooking. For a guy who spends a lot of time shooting at stuff, it seemed natural.

The first order of business before using any new cast iron utensil is to “season” it. This is the process of driving oil into the pores of the metal to form a natural non-stick surface. My oven came from the factory with a paraffin coating that first needed removal so I placed the oven directly onto the nice bed of hardwood coals I had prepared. Within minutes, the outside coating dissolved into an oily sheen and I opened the lid with the metal potholder.

This was a mistake because I hadn’t considered what happens when superheated petroleum products are suddenly exposed to air. The resulting flash fire was quite spectacular and momentarily took my mind off the injured finger.