The Ultimate Guide to

Outdoor Cooking

Tips, suggestions, and observations about cooking outdoors

including some of our favorite recipes.

©2008 Joel Moore http://www.outdoor-gear-online.com

 This book is dedicated to all of my
Boy Scouts, especially to those who
learned that a delicious meal is worth
the effort and is vastly superior to
hamburgers that are burned on the
outside and raw in the middle. You
know who you are!

This book and its contents are

©Copyrighted 2008 by Joel Moore
All the contents are either original works or from
information that has been passed along to me
by other campers. Some recipes have likely
been published elsewhere but none have been
copied directly from another copyrighted work.

This book may be freely distributed provided this

copyright and link to our web site remain intact.
This book cannot be sold or altered.
 Table of Contents
Outdoor Cooking Food Safety . . . . . . . . 2
Meal Planning and Nutrition . . . . . . . . 4
Dutch Oven Cooking . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Care and Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 7
My oven is rusting! . . . . . . . . . . . 8
What to cook? . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Temperature Control . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Dinwiddie Method . . . . . . . . . 9
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Pre-heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Baking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Oven Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Easy Dutch Oven Recipes . . . . . . . . . 14
Dump Cake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
EZ Cobbler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Pineapple Bread Pudding . . . . . . . . 16
Lazy Cobbler . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Camp Beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Goulash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake . . . . . . 20
Breakfast Pie . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
French Toast Casserole . . . . . . . . . 22
Dutch Oven Lasagna . . . . . . . . . . 23
Foil Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Baked Apple Dessert . . . . . . . . . . 24
Hobo Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Other Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Beef Kabobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Shrimp Kabobs . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Can sizes: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Camper’s measurements without utensils: 28
Measurements: . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Recipe Substitutions & Equivalents:. . . . 29
Additional Resources: . . . . . . . . . 30

-1-
 Outdoor Cooking Food Safety
Sometimes we don’t think about food safety when we are
cooking outdoors but nothing can ruin an outing more
quickly than food contamination.

We often accept a little ash, dirt, or grit in our food as “OK”

since we are cooking outdoors but we need to be sure that
we don’t serve food that will make someone ill.

There are 2 main points to consider here:

1. Refrigeration - Foods that can spoil from lack of

refrigeration should never be left out of a cooler. A
number of foods fall into this category and include milk,
mayonnaise, eggs, meats. If you would keep it in your
refrigerator, you should refrigerate it while camping.
There are a few exceptions to this. Bacon can be kept
without refrigeration for several days because of the high
salt content. You can also freeze an item (like a hobo
dinner) and it will provide its own refrigeration for half a
day or so.

2. Cross-Contamination - This is the bigger problem on

camping. We tend to use smaller work-spaces and
fewer utensils which can lead to contamination. Make
a rule for yourself that nothing uncooked ever touches
items that are ready to eat. For example, don’t use the
same knife to cut up chicken and then cut fruit, even if
you rinse it first. Use different cutting boards, different
utensils, etc. Always wash your hands after handling raw
meat with soap and water (hot water if available).

On the same note, washing dishes can be challenging

outdoors if you are not prepared. We have found that the
best way to was dishes is to bring along 3 wash pails. We
a galvanized buckets that measure about 8 inches deep
-2-
and 14 inches in diameter. Fill each bucket half full with
water. Place 2 buckets on a stove or on the fire to heat the
water. You can’t wash in cold water!
One bucket should be luke warm to hot,
one would be hot enough that you don’t
want to put your hands in it.

Bucket #1 is the wash bucket. This is

the luke warm to hot water. Put a squirt
of dish washing detergent in this one.

Bucket #2 is the one we didn’t heat. (You can warm this one
if you want but it isn’t necessary.) This is the rinse bucket.

Bucket #3 is the HOT water. This bucket is for sanitizing after

you rinse. You can add a dash of chlorine bleach to this one
if you want.

To wash, scrape away as much food residue as possible

from your dishes before washing. Use a sponge, dish rag, or
scrubbing pad to clean your dishes in Bucket #1. Make sure
ALL food particles are gone before rinsing in Bucket #2.

Bucket #2 should remove all soap. When the water in

Bucket #2 becomes a little soapy, replace it with fresh water.

Finally, dip each dish and utensil in Bucket #3. A pair of

pliers makes this easier as the water should be too hot for
your hands

Following this procedure should insure that your dishes are

safe to re-use.

One final note on safety - Soap residue will cause upset

stomach problems if your dishes are not properly rinsed so
make sure you get all of the soap off.

-3-
 Meal Planning and Nutrition
Meal planning is different when you are camping than
planning for meals at home. There are many factors to
consider including what utensils and heat sources are
available, refrigeration availability, Is weight an issue, etc.
Camping meals are also different nutritionally. Many of
us these days are watching our calories, maybe watching
our fat intake, etc. but when camping, you need a higher
number of calories and fat. It’s OK to plan meals with higher
fat content than you would at home. If you are camping for
over a week, you may want to cut back a little but higher fat
and calories for a few days is not such a bad thing.
You should still be sure to try to include all the food groups
(I’m not into the whole pyramid thing, too complicated for
me). You can easily add a piece of fresh (or even canned)
fruit to a meal, crackers or bread and maybe cheese. The
trick is to look at your menu for the day, not necessarily each
individual meal. Make sure your diet is balanced for the day.
Maybe you don’t have a dairy item at lunch but you did at
breakfast. That’s OK. You should try to include a fruit or a
veggie at every meal.
With that said, I do prefer to have meals that I enjoy. In fact,
I plan and intend to eat better camping that I do at home.
Your cooking style is also something to consider when
planning a menu. Are you backpacking and need light weight
items? Are you car camping and taking everything but the
kitchen sink? Maybe something in between.
My favorite style of cooking is Dutch Oven cooking. In fact,
this book started out as a dutch oven cook book but evolved
so much of the information here will be about dutch ovens.

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 Dutch Oven Cooking
Dutch ovens come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They
are either made of cast iron or aluminum. Aluminum ovens
are less expensive and about ½ the weight of cast iron.
However, that’s where the benefits end. Meals cooked in
aluminum are more easily burned as the ovens do not heat
as evenly.
I can taste a difference in the food cooked in aluminum and
don’t care for the flavor. Others have said that they can’t
tell a difference. The information here will apply to cast iron
ovens as that is all I use.
Dutch ovens are either designed for
indoor use or outdoor use. Outdoor
dutch ovens have short legs (usually
3) on the bottom and a rim around
the lid to hold hot coals.
Indoor dutch ovens are designed to
use in the oven or on the stove top.
They do not have legs or a rim. They
can be used outdoors but not easily.
Dutch ovens come in a variety of sizes and are sized by the
diameter of the top. The most common size is a 12 inch
but you can find 8 inch, 10 inch, 14 inch, and larger. Most
recipes can be easily cooked in a 12 inch.

Oven Preparation
Cast Iron must be “seasoned” before it can be used. Some
dutch ovens come pre-seasoned, some don’t. If your oven is
black or brown (a warm color) then it is already seasoned. If
it is grey (a cold color) it is not.
Seasoning is a coating that protects the metal from rust and
is almost like a non-stick surface on your pots and pans at
home. It will help keep your food from sticking to the oven.
-5-
If your oven is already seasoned, you are ready to cook. If
you need to season your oven, here is how I do it (others
have their own style but this is simple and works for me).
Clean the oven good with hot water. If the oven is new and
has never been seasoned, dilute a small amount of liquid
dish washing detergent in water and use it to wash the
inside of the oven. Do not pour undiluted detergent directly
on the cast iron. Use a stiff brush or scrubber to remove
any oils that remain from manufacturing. Dry the oven
immediately. Non-seasoned cast iron is VERY prone to rust.
Coat the entire oven inside and out as well at all surfaces of
the lid with either shortening or lard. I have used both in the
past and prefer lard because I think it gives me a more even
coating but shortening is easier to apply. Wipe away any
excess with a cloth.
Place the oven upside down in your kitchen’s oven. Include
the lid but try to make sure that you don’t let the grease
“puddle.” This is a particular problem in the lid because no
matter which way you turn it, there is always a spot for it to
collect. The way I handle this is to put it in the oven handle
up. After it is hot and all the grease is melted, pick it up by
the handle with a hot pad and turn it over. Be careful not to
burn yourself and don’t wipe away any grease.
Once your oven is in the oven, bake it at 400 degrees for
about an hour. A foil pan on the next rack below the dutch
oven will catch the excess grease and save you a lot of
scrubbing of your oven. At the end of the hour, turn off the
oven, leave the Dutch oven inside with the door closed. I
prefer to leave it over night.
When you take it out, check to see if it is sticky anywhere.
If it is sticky, bake it again. This is oil that hasn’t carbonized
yet. An new oven really needs 2 coats of seasoning so
repeat this procedure a second time.
Note that seasoning an oven inside WILL stink up the entire
-6-
house as the grease burns on. This process can be done
outside on a gas grill, just bake it a little longer and be
careful not to get the heat too high.

Care and Cleaning

Keep in mind that cast iron is brittle and WILL break if you
drop it on a hard surface. Treat your ovens carefully, don’t
throw them around like a tin pot. They won’t ding or bend,
they’ll crack or break.
Most dutch oven users will tell you to never use soap on your
cast iron oven. Others will say that a little soap is OK. I try to
never use soap when cleaning.
There are 2 reasons. First, the seasoning on the oven
is baked on oil (grease), just the stuff that dish washing
detergents are designed to dissolve. You don’t want that to
happen. Second, cast iron is porous making it very hard to
rinse all of the soap out. Some can remain even when you
think it is all gone. That means that your next meal could
give you digestive problems.
Dutch Ovens are not hard to clean if you do it as soon as you
are finished cooking. Rake all of the excess food out and
then was it with hot water. If you need to, you can use a stiff
brush or even a sponge with a scrubber on the back. Just be
careful not to scrub away the seasoning.
When clean, dry your oven completely and apply a thin coat
of vegetable cooking oil all over, inside and out. Don’t forget
the lid.
To store your oven, fold a paper towel length-wise several
times so it is about one inch wide. Place this over the edge
of the oven before putting the lid on. This allows for a small
gap so moisture is not trapped inside.
Your oven should be stored in a dry place, never on a porch
or where it will be exposed to excess moisture.
-7-
My oven is rusting!
A dutch oven that is properly taken care of will last your
entire lifetime. But let’s face it, sometimes we forget to wash
the oven or maybe it got rained on.
A fresh coat of seasoning will hide a world if sins. Scrub
away any food residue (which may take the seasoning along
with it). Use a scrubbing pad or a piece of steel wool to scrub
away any rust. When the problems are gone, just re-season
the entire oven, then remember how much easier it would
have been to take care of it properly in the first place.

What to cook?
You can cook anything in a dutch oven that you can cook in
your oven at home, as long as your dutch oven is big enough
to accommodate it. A dutch oven is just that - an “oven”
that you can use outdoors. It is designed for baking. Many
recipes use the dutch oven as nothing more than a pot but
the real beauty is that it allows you to “bake.”

Temperature Control
There are a couple of different methods to control the
temperature of a dutch oven. The following chart is
published in most dutch oven cook books:

Oven 325ºF 350ºF 375ºF 400ºF 425ºF 450ºF

8 inch 15 16 17 18 19 20
10/5 11/5 11/6 12/6 13/6 14/6
10” 19 21 23 25 27 29
13/6 14/7 16/7 17/8 18/9 19/10
12” 23 25 27 29 31 33
16/7 17/8 18/9 19/10 21/10 22/11
14” 30 32 34 36 38 40
20/10 21/11 22/12 24/12 25/12 26/14
16” 34 36 38 40 42 44
22/12 24/12 25/13 27/13 28/14 30/14

-8-
First find your oven size in the left column. Then find your
desired temperature across the top. The number will give
you the total number of charcoal briquets. The numbers
below that give you the split between top and bottom with
the bigger number always going on top.
For example, if I have a 12 inch oven and want to bake at
350º, I need 25 briquets. I should place 17 on the top of the
oven and 8 under the oven.
I don’t like charts so I use a modification of the “Dinwiddie
Method” which I will explain later, but first my method.
Almost everything that you bake, will cook just fine at 325
- 350 degrees. To accomplish this temperature range, place
a ring of charcoal all the way around the rim of the oven lid,
each piece laying flat and touching the piece next to it. Add
5 or 6 briquets to the center of the lid for a 12 inch, a few
more for bigger, a few less for smaller. Then count how many
briquets you have on the lid. Place 1/2 that number under
the oven. That way you have 1/3 of your heat under neath
and 2/3 on the top.
If I am baking something that I am concerned about burning,
I’ll cut the number under the bottom to 1/3 instead of 1/2.
I like this method because it is easy to remember and I don’t
have to take a chart camping with me.
So here is the entire Dinwiddie Method if you need to use
other temperatures:

The Dinwiddie Method of Charcoal Briquet Use

Counting the number of charcoal briquets used under and
on top of an oven can be misleading, since the temperature
will vary based on the size of the lit charcoal. Charcoal that
has been lit for a while is smaller and won’t put out as much
heat. The following geometric patterns correct this as you
have to use more small briquets to make a ring than larger
-9-
ones. This automatically adjusts the number you use for
your oven.
Definitions:
1 ring: Make a circle of hot charcoal with all of the briquets
lying flat and touching each other.
1/2 ring: A half ring is the same size circle as a whole ring
with every other briquet removed.
2 rings: Add a second ring inside the “1 ring”, with all
briquets touching each other.
All rings start with the outside edge of the briquets touching
the outside edge of the oven, top or bottom.
For 300ºF (±25º) use 1 ring on top, 1/2 ring on bottom.
For 350ºF (±25º) use 1½ rings on top and 1 ring on bottom.
For 400ºF (±25º) use 2 rings on top and 1 ring under.
For 450ºF (±25º) use 2½ rings on top and 1 ring under.
If your recipe doesn’t give a temperature, use the following
conversion:
Slow or Low = 300ºF Medium or Moderate = 350ºF
Hot or High = 400ºF Very Hot or Very High = 450ºF

Tools
When cooking with your dutch oven, it is helpful to have
some extra tools handy. You’ll need some way to place coals
on the top, lift and move the hot oven, and take the lid off.
I have used a metal trowel for a long time to place coals on
the lid. A couple of years ago I found a small metal shovel
with a metal handle which was made as a children’s toy The
handle is about 3 feet ling and it works great to move hot
coals around. Another option is to use a pair of metal tongs
- 10 -
to move coals.
The handle of your dutch oven gets quite hot so you will
need a way to lift the oven off of the coals. A heavy leather
glove works OK or you can use a pair of channel lock pliers.
Pliers can also be used to lift the lid.
Lodge makes a great lid-lifter tool that can
also be used to lift the entire oven. I have
had one for a few years and LOVE it but
you can certainly cook without one as I
have done for decades.
Another helpful item to have is a
disposable aluminum turkey pan. You can
pick one up at the grocery store for 3 or 4 dollars. They are
great to use as a “fire pan” when you don’t want to light your
charcoal on the ground. Works great on concrete sidewalks
or driveways.
Just stack and light your charcoal in it, transfer the needed
amount to the lid of your dutch oven, then sit the dutch oven
into the turkey pan on top of your bottom coals. You may
need to “adjust” the turkey pan a little for the dutch oven to
fit. Works great up to 12 inch ovens. 14’s are a little too big.

Pre-heating
You can pre-heat your dutch oven (and cut your cooking
time) by loading the oven lid with coals about 15 minutes
before you start cooking. No need to heat the bottom, just
the lid.
You can do this just before making your final preparations to
your recipe so your oven will be ready to go when the food-
prep is done.

- 11 -
Baking
One of the beauties of a dutch oven is the ability to bake
outdoors. Getting your baked items out of the dutch oven
can be a problem though. Some items can be served directly
from the dutch oven like cobblers. Other items need to be
taken out to be served, like a cake.
An easy way to accomplish this is to line your oven with
aluminum foil prior to cooking. Let the foil come all the
way up the sides and even extend out through the space
between the oven and the lid.
When you are done cooking, you can use the foil as a handle
to lift out your cake. Use 2 pieces for larger ovens at a 90
degree angle to each other.

Oven Sizes
As mentioned previously, dutch ovens come in a variety of
sizes. Most recipes call for a specific sized oven. You can
use a little common sense (and math) to adjust a recipe to
work with your oven size. Here are some guidelines:
1. If you are NOT baking (using the oven more as a pot) then
the volume that the oven holds is your only concern. You
can go up a size or down a size with no adjustment to the
recipe, as long as the contents will fit in the oven.
2. If you ARE baking, then the area in the bottom is what you
need to be concerned about. If you have a cake recipe for a
12 inch oven, and you want to cook it in a 10 inch oven, you
will need to adjust the recipe. If you do not, then your cake
batter will be deeper in the 10 inch and may not cook all the
way through.
Typical size, weight, and capacity of cast iron dutch ovens:

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Diameter Weight Capacity Bottom Surface Area
5” 3.75 lbs 1 qt 19.6 in2
8” 9.25 lbs 2 qts 50.2 in2
10” 12.5 lbs 4 qts 78.5 in2
12” 18 lbs 6 qts 113 in2
12” Deep 19.75 lbs 8 qts 113 in2
14” 24.5 lbs 8 qts 153.9 in2
14” Deep 27 lbs 12 qts 153.9 in2
15” Deep 46.75 lbs 14 qts 176.6 in2
16” 33 lbs 12 qts 201 in2

As you can see from the chart above, if you have a recipe for
a cake to be baked in a 12 inch oven, but want to make it in
a 14 inch oven, you have to increase the recipe. Here’s the
math: Area of oven you will use
Area of oven in recipe = Recipe Adjustment

So, for our example, we divide 153.9 by 113 which gives us

an adjustment factor of 1.36. To use this, simple multiply
every measurement in your recipe by 1.36 (or for lazy folks
like me, I look at the .36 and say I need about 1/3 more of
everything.)
This works in the other direction as well. Lets say we want to
adjust the same cake recipe from a 12 inch oven down to an
8 inch. So, 50.2 ÷ 113 = .44 or roughly 1/2.

Recipes
OK, enough math lessons, lets cook something. On the
following pages are some of my favorite recipes. Many I
have been cooking for years, others are recipes that I have
recently found.
Some are Dutch Oven recipes, others are not but all work
well camping and most can be accomplished by an 11 year
old boy scout (with a little supervision).
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 Easy Dutch Oven Recipes
For your first attempt at cooking in a dutch oven, you should
choose an easy recipe. A successful first dish will help build
your confidence. The following recipes are easy and simple.

Dump Cake
This is one of my personal favorites and so simple to make.
1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
1 (18 ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter
Use a 10 or 12 inch dutch oven. Grease the bottom and
sides with the butter. Melt the remaining butter.
Dump the cherry pie filling into the oven. Spread to cover the
bottom. Dump the pineapple and juice (do not drain) on the
top of the pie filling. DO NOT STIR.
Sprinkle the cake mix over the top, try to cover the fruit
evenly. DO NOT STIR. Drizzle the melted butter over the cake
mix. Again, do not stir.
Bake at 350 for 50 - 60 minutes or until the top starts to
brown.
Variations:
You can use any flavor pie filling. My favorites are cherry and
blueberry. Try substituting spice cake mix and using apple
pie filling.

- 14 -
EZ Cobbler
Another simple recipe that everyone loves.
3 cans of your favorite flavor pie filling
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup sugar
apple pie spice (to taste)
2 frozen deep-dish pie shells
Grease the bottom of a 12 inch dutch oven with butter.
Empty one of the pie crusts out of the pie tin that it comes in
into the bottom of the dutch oven. It will break, that’s OK.
Empty 3 cans of pie filling on top of the crust. Smooth it out
so it is the same thickness from edge to edge in the oven.
Sprinkle about 1/8 cup of sugar on top. If you use apple or
peach, sprinkle some apple pie spice (or ground cinnamon)
on top. Cut about 1/2 the butter into 1/4 inch patties and
place on top.
Dump the other pie crust on top of fruit. It will break too,
that’s OK. Cut the remaining butter into patties and place on
top. Sprinkle remaining sugar on top.
Bake at 350 for 50 - 60 minutes or until the top starts to
brown.
Variations:
Try combinations of pie filling like apple-cherry or blueberry/
blackberry. You can also use 3 different flavors and dump
them into sections so everyone has their favorite. I call this
Neapolitan Cobbler. My favorite is apple/peach/cherry.
Apple pie filling REALLY needs apple pie spice so use plenty.

- 15 -
Pineapple Bread Pudding
12 inch dutch oven, serves 8-12
For pudding:
1 long loaf of French Bread (or any type of bread. Stale
hotdog buns work great)
3½ cups milk
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup white raisins (or craisins)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 - 8 oz can crushed pineapple, un-drained

For sauce:
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Juice of ¼ lemon
1 tsp vanilla
1 - 8 oz can crushed pineapple, un-drained

Grease oven liberally with butter. Tear bread into bite size
piece to make 4-5 cups. Place bread in the oven and pour
in milk. Allow bread to absorb milk then add sugar, vanilla,
raisins, pineapple, and eggs. Stir gently. Bake at 350 for
1 hour. Top should be golden brown and crusty around the
edge.

Sauce:
In an small pan melt butter and add sugar. Stir over low heat
until sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients and bring to
a boil. Pour over pudding while still hot.

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Lazy Cobbler
By now you have likely noticed that the majority of these
recipes are deserts. But of course! That’s the best use for
a dutch oven. I was 14 or 15 before I knew you could cook
anything in a dutch oven besides cobbler.

1 large can sliced peaches

1 pkg white cake mix
Margarine
Cinnamon

Pour the whole can of peaches into the oven. Add the dry
cake mix to the top. Place several pieces of margarine on
top and sprinkle cinnamon all over the top. Bake at 350 for
about 45 minutes.

Variations:
1. Stir the cake mix and peaches together for a more spongy
layer of cake.
2. Use canned apples instead of peaches. Add 1 tbsp
cinnamon and 1 tsp allspice to the apples.
3. Use canned cherries instead of peaches. Add 1/2 cup
sugar to cherries.
4. Instead of white cake mix try yellow or spice cake.

- 17 -
Camp Beans
Choose 3 cans of beans from the list below:
Kidney, black beans, lima beans, navy beans, black eyed
peas, pinto beans, northern beans, or any other bean you
like.
Use these 3 cans PLUS one can of pork and beans.
1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey.
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/8 cup yellow mustard to taste

Brown the meat in the bottom of a dutch oven. Drain excess

grease. Add the 4 cans of beans un-drained. Add remaining
ingredients and bring to a boil.

Variations: Add a few slices of bacon when browning the

meat or use ground sausage.

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Goulash
1 lb. ground beef
2 cans stewed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 large onion
Worchestershire sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Dice the onion into bite-size pieces. Brown the hamburger in

a dutch oven along with the onion. When done, drain excess
grease.

Add remaining ingredients, do not drain tomatoes. Bring to a

boil.

Server over or with corn bread.

- 19 -
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can sliced pineapple
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 egg

Place butter and brown sugar in 12 inch dutch oven and stir
until well mixed. Place the pineapple slices in butter sugar
mixture in bottom of oven.
In a separate bowl, mix cake mix and egg as directed on
cake package. Pour this batter over the pineapple in the
oven. Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes.
When cake is done, allow to cool at least 10 minutes. Use a
cutting board or piece of cardboard covered with wax paper.
Pace over opening of oven then invert quickly so the cake
lands on the board with pineapple on top.
Variations:
Place a cherry in the middle of each slice of pineapple for
color.
Crushed pineapple can be used for a more uniform topping.

- 20 -
Breakfast Pie
12 inch dutch oven, serves 8 - 10
1 lb. ground sausage
1 medium onion, diced
2 lbs baking potatoes, peeled and shredded
8 large eggs
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 lb. grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1 - 8 oz jar of salsa
Heat oven on coals. Break sausage into small pieces and
brown in oven. Add onion and cook until soft. Drain as much
grease as possible. Remove mixture from oven.
Place potatoes in oven and fry until golden brown. Add meat
mixture back into oven and stir.
Break eggs onto mixing bowl and beat. Pour into oven,
cover and bake at 350 until eggs are almost solid. Sprinkle
cheese on top and continue to bake until eggs are set and
cheese is melted. Top with salsa and serve.
Variations:
Add bacon to meat mixture
Use Turkey Sausage.
Add your favorite omelet ingredients to egg mixture or as a
topping.

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French Toast Casserole
1 Dozen Eggs
2 Cups Milk
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1 Loaf French or Italian Bread, Sliced
1/2 Lb.. Butter or Margarine
1 Lb.. Brown Sugar
3 - 16 Oz. Can of Peaches (drained and quartered)

Heat a large Dutch Oven by covering it with coals for 15

minutes.
Beat the eggs, milk, vanilla extract and cinnamon in a large
mixing bowl. Let the bread slices soak in the egg mixture.
Remove preheated Oven from coals and melt butter in the
bottom. Add brown sugar and mix well with butter until cara-
melized. Pour the drained peaches over the caramelized
sugar.
Place the egg/bread mixture on top of the peaches, cover
with lid and return the Dutch Oven to the coals.
Bake 45 minutes at about 350°F (medium hot coals).
Cooking time is shorter if the temperature is hotter, but
watch the edges that they don’t burn. For the first 10
minutes, use coals only on the bottom. Then add coals to
the top and continue baking until done.
With the caramel topping, you probably won’t even need
syrup. Serves 8.

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Dutch Oven Lasagna
1 box of Lasagna Noodles
2lbs. hamburger
3 jars spaghetti sauce
2-4 cups mozzarella cheese
2 large containers of cottage cheese
3 eggs
little bit of water

Cook hamburger, drain grease. Blend in spaghetti sauce. In

a separate bowl combine the mozzarella cheese, cottage
cheese and eggs. Stir until combine.
Break 4 lasagna noodles in the bottom of the dutch oven to
cover the bottom. Next, put a layer of the meat mixture. Then
a layer of the cheese mixture. Next, break 4 more lasagna
noodles. Repeat with meat and cheese mixtures. Then do
one more layer of noodles, meat and cheese.
Pour just a little bit of water around the edges. We make this
in a huge dutch oven. You can make this in a 12 inch dutch
oven, too. Put 12 coals on the bottom and 12 coals on the
top. Cook for 1 hour. Check after 30 minutes. Then continue
to cook. Enjoy!

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 Foil Recipes
If you hate washing dishes you will love cooking with foil.
There are a lot of foil recipes, here are a couple to get you
started. Cook these by placing your foil packet directly on a
bed of hot coals.

Baked Apple Dessert

1 Apple (Granny Smith or other tart apple is best)
1 Tsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
Dash of Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice
Dash of Nutmeg
Raisins (optional) or Craisins
Nuts (optional) pecans, walnuts, etc.

Directions:
Cut apple in half and core. Keep skin on. In the cored areas
place butter, brown sugar and raisins. Sprinkle with spices.
Put two halves together and wrap well in foil. Place in hot
coals and cook for 10 minutes or while eating supper. Care-
fully remove from fire and unwrap onto plate.

Comments:
Each person can control the amount of spices and raisins,
etc. You could also simply core the apple without cutting in
half. When removed from foil, you could also top with gra-
nola for an apple crisp feel.

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Hobo Dinner
One variation or another of this recipe has been cooked
by countless scouts over the past several decades. This is
my favorite variety but you should experiment to find your
favorite combination of items.
1 lean hamburger patty (about 1/4 pound), pressed thin
2 slices of onion
1 slice of bacon
several baby carrots
a hand full of frozen, crinkle cut french fries
dash of worchestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Wrap the bacon around the hamburger patty. Place the patty
on top of one slice of onion, near the end of a piece of heavy
duty foil about 12 inches long. Sprinkle some worchester-
shire sauce on the burger. Put the other onion slice on top.
Add the carrots and potatoes. Fold the long end of the foil
over the top so foil is now folded in half. Fold the 3 open
edges together using 1/4 inch folds, several times each.
This is known as a “drug store” fold. Add a second layer of
foil. Be careful not to puncture either layer.
Place directly on hot coals. Cook for 12 - 15 minutes on
each side. Thicker hamburger patties take longer to cook.
Use a multi-tool or pair of pliers to turn the packet over,
again being careful not to puncture the packet.
Eat directly from the foil, no dishes to wash!
Variations:
Use other veggies like zucchini, squash, mushrooms, broc-
coli, etc. Raw potatoes take too long to cook unless sliced
very thin (1/8 inch or so).
Use a boneless chicken breast instead of hamburger.
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 Other Recipes
Beef Kabobs
This is one of my personal favorites -
1 - 2 lbs of your favorite cut of steak
(Sirloin, NY strip or T-bone work great)
1 large onion
1 or 2 bell peppers, any color
1 zucchini
1 bottle “Old Dutch” Sweet and Sour salad dressing
2 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Bamboo skewers
Soak the bamboo skewers in water.
Cut the steak into bite-size pieces and place in a gallon size
zipper bag. Add 1/2 of the bottle of salad dressing, worches-
tershire sauce and lemon juice. Add water until meat is
covered (usually about 1 - 1.5 cups). Zip bag, refrigerate and
allow to marinate several hours or over night.
Put a few dashes of worchestershire sauce in the remaining
salad dressing in its bottle. Fill bottle with water, refrigerate.
Cut bell pepper and onion into pieces of similar size to your
meat. Cut zucchini into slices about 1/4 inch thick.
Assemble your kabobs using the skewers. Place a piece of
onion next to each of meat. You can place 2 or 3 veggies
between each piece of meat.
Place kabobs on grill. Each time you turn them, drizzle some
of the dressing mixture from the bottle on them. Cook until
meat is done the amount you prefer (rare, medium, well).
Goes great with a baked sweet potato served with brown
sugar and cinnamon.

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Shrimp Kabobs
Be careful doing this one camping as shrimp spoils very eas-
ily. Just ice them well and you’ll be OK.
8 - 12 Large or jumbo uncooked shrimp per person
1 slice extra lean bacon per each 4 shrimp
butter
shortning
Old Bay seasoning
bamboo skewers, soaked in water
Peel and de-vein shrimp.
Cut each slice of bacon in half length-wise. Cut each of
these pieces in half cross-wise. This gives you 4 pieces
about 1/2 inch by 3-4 inches.
Hold a shrimp so it almost makes a circle. Wrap a piece of
bacon around the shrimp and stick the skewer through to
hold in place. Repeat this procedure placing 4 or 5 shrimp
on each skewer.
Melt a stick of butter and 1 Tbsp shortening.
Place skewers on grill over charcoal. Add some hickory (or
your favorite hardwood) chips for smoke. Sprinkle Old Bay
seasoning on each skewer. Turn skewers and sprinkle on
other side.
Allow to cook for a few minutes. Baste with the butter
mixture and sprinkle more Old Bay, turn skewers, baste
other side and sprinkle Old Bay again.
Continue to turn and baste until bacon is sizzling but be
careful not to over-cook.
Goes great with corn on the cob.

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 Appendix
This section contains various useful tidbits of information
when cooking outdoors.

Can sizes:
Can Size Net Weight Cups Servings/can
#1 10.5 - 12 oz 1.25 1
#300 14-16 oz 1.75 2 or 3
#303 16-17 oz 2 4 or 5
#2 ½ 1lb 13 oz 2 or 3 4 to 6
#3 3 lb. 3 oz or 5.75 12
1 qt 14 oz
#10 6.5 to 7.4 lbs 12 - 13 25
#5 48 oz 6

Camper’s measurements without utensils:

1 open fist full = 1/2 cup
Five-finger pinch = 1 tablespoon
Four-finger pinch = 1 Teaspoon
One-finger pinch (thumb and index finger) = 1/8 Teaspoon
One-finger glob of shortening = 1 Tablespoon
Palm of hand (center part) = 1 Tablespoon

Measurements:
3 Teaspoons (tsp) = 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp)
4 Tablespoons = 1/4 cup = 2 oz
5.5 Tablespoons = 1/3 cup
1 cup (C) = 8 ounces (oz) = 1/2 pint (pt.)
2 cups = 16 ounces (oz) = 1 pint
4 cups = 1 Quart (qt)
1/3 cup dry milk + 7/8 cup water = 1 cup milk
1 stick butter = 1/4 pound = 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons
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Recipe Substitutions & Equivalents:
These substitutions are for occasions when you forgot to
pack something.

1 cup milk = 1/2 cup evaporated milk + 1/2 cup water or 1

cup reconstituted dry milk + 2 tbs butter
1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tbsp vinegar + enough sweet milk to
make 1 cup or 3/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup butter + 1.5
tbsp corn starch
1 cup sour milk = 1 cup sweet milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar or
lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch = 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup margarine = 1 cup cooking oil
1 lb. loaf bread = about 17 slices
1 cup honey = 1.25 cups sugar + 1/4 cup water
1 cup of fine crumbs = 22 vanilla wafers, 4 slices of bread,
26 saltine crackers, or 14 graham crackers
1 tbsp instant minced onion = 1 small fresh onion
1 tbsp prepared mustard = 1 tsp dry mustard
1 cup sugar = 2/3 to 3/4 cup honey
1 cup honey = 1 cup molasses
1 whole egg = 2 egg whites = 1/4 cup egg substitute = 1
egg white + 1 tsp oil
1 cup sour cream = 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 oz baking chocolate = 3 Tbsp cocoa powder + 1 Tbsp oil

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Additional Resources:
For more camping recipes visit your favorite search engine
and try the following search terms:

Dutch Oven Recipes

Camping Recipes
Foil Recipes
Campfire Cooking Recipes
Outdoor Recipes

Also visit Outdoor-Gear-Online.com for all of your camping

gear needs.

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