Dutch oven roasted chicken with vegetables and herbs, mountain man breakfast and cast iron pizza.
Ah the great outdoors. When you live in Arizona, the outdoors aren't so great from about June to the end of September. This is when I try to get out of the state and into cooler climates for a week or so. This year we decided to overload the car and drive to California and do some camping up at Big Bear Lake, CA. While the weather back in Phoenix was over 110ºF the high up at about 7000ft was in the high 70s and low 80s. Perfect for cooking outside! I decided to challenge myself and make all our meals in the Full Metal Chef's favorite vessels: Cast Iron! With my cast iron skillet and cast iron Dutch oven at the ready I set up a nice outdoor kitchen, complete with a propane stove with a cast iron flat top and provided a flame that put some restaurant stoves to shame!
We got up there in time to set up camp and cook dinner. I marinaded a London Broil in my family's old recipe over the campfire, mac and cheese for the picky eater and crispy Brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic vinegar, for those of us with more refined palates.
Breakfast Day One was three kinds of pancakes on the flat top: plain, blueberry and banana. All made with fresh fruit of course. Lunch was turkey melts and grilled cheese on the flat top again. But for dinner, Kim threw down the gauntlet: pizza in the cast iron skillet. She found a recipe online and wanted to know if I'd ever made it like that and if I could. I've never made it, but "of course I can!" I said... How was I going to do this? I bought a couple balls of pre-made pizza dough from the grocery store, some jarred sauce, pepperoni, sliced black olives and of course cheese. It turned out great! I had to do a little experimenting with the temperature of the pan and placing an inverted second pan on top with some hot coals from the fire. Even the picky eater loved it after first balking at it. I even managed a dessert S'mores pizza with strawberries.
Day Two brought a "mountain man/woman" breakfast skillet for breakfast: O'Brien potatoes, onions, scrambled eggs and cheese. Lunch was elk burgers on the flat top. And for dinner, a one-pot wonder: Dutch Oven roasted chicken with vegetables and herbs. I built a two-zone fire in the fire ring under the grate. I used the hotter side to heat the Dutch oven and then moved it to the other and rotated it about 90° every 20 minutes or so. I inverted the lid and placed hot coals on top to make give it heat from the top also and cook more evenly. It turned out amazing! The chicken was flavorful and fall off the bone tender. I served it with some cast iron roasted baby gold potatoes with garlic and herbs: crispy on the outside and kind of like mashed potatoes on the inside according to my boys.
Some people have issues with cast iron. Its true that you need to season it well and take care of it a little more than cooking vessels made of other materials. But nothing holds heat better or gives a better sear. You need at least a cast iron skillet in your culinary armory.
Here are the recipes for the other delicious meals we had:
Mountain Main Breakfast Skillet (coming soon)
I love camp cooking! Nothing taste better than something cooked outside. I have 3 cast iron pots and use them every time we camp.