The Outdoor Dutch Oven Cookbook, Second Edition

Many of the reviews talk about lack of information on how many charcoal briquettes to use for each recipe. Apparently they didn't read page 4 which give the complete temp to briquet conversion chart. Furthermore I have a almost a dozen dutch oven cook books, I don't think one of the cook books agrees to how many charcoal briquettes it takes to reach a given temperature. Think about it; Half the briquettes are missing sizable chunks or are half pieces, then the longer they burn the smaller they get and so give off less heat. The more white ash that builds up on the coal the cooler they get, so there are just too many variables to give temperature settings like you would on a stove. Therein is the skill involved in being a dutch oven chef. You just need to get the temp into the ballpark and adjust the cooking time to compensate.I was also afraid of all the comments about camping tips and environmental advice such as burying your feces. Those commenting made it sound like it takes up half the book, while in actuality it only takes up about 5% of the book.(maybe less) The environmental issues seem a little extreme to me, but I didn't buy the book to teach me to be an environmentalist, I bought it to be a better cook and it accomplishes that hands down.There appear to be hundreds of inventive, and interesting recipes. I like the little explanations/history behind many of the recipes. Usually just a small paragraph, but enough to add interest, and a story line to the recipe. I am excited to try some of them out. This book will bring true cuisine to the outdoors. From what I've seen in this book, it is a must have for any camper/dutch oven chef. I don't give praise lightly, in fact I am quite critical, but I am impressed with this cook book and can't wait to get cooking! Forget about the dummies who can't read a chart as to how many briquettes it takes to make 350 degrees, it is only a ball park recommendation anyway. I haven't met a dutch oven cook yet that could tell how many coals for 350 degrees and how many for 375, at least not without a thermometer and trial and error.Since my previous review I have had the summer to use this cook book, and it has quickly jumped to the front of my favorite cookbooks. I have had favorite recipes that I have used for years and they have been outmatched by recipes in this cookbook. I go by the theory that when camping the best cook wins! This book is a champion. I still have some cookbooks that I would recommend, but none more so than this one. I am in the process of buying them as Christmas presents for my children, as I introduce them to cooking in the great outdoors. These recipes will bring your cooking to a whole new level...may the best cook win.

It is very difficult to find outdoor cooking dutch oven recipe books that don't involve lots of mixes, pillsbury canned refreigerated biscuits, and canned soups. This book is such an incredible relief from all that. There are some recipes that call for canned condensed soups and such, but most of the recipes do not. And the recipes I've tried are very good.Many of the recipes are very straightforward and uncomplicated to make, but do require some prep time. If you're looing for outdoor recipes that require only the minimum of preparation, then this is not your book. The many other books out there would suit you better - the ones with the mixes and canned condensed soups, etc. Those recipes are the fastest and easiest to make. But if you want to explore a bit more or a lot more complexity, this book will provide a range of recipes to try.Many of the recipes can be made with a single dutch oven, while some will require an additional dutch oven or frypan or saucepan. Some recipes might be a bit too fussy for me to make when camping, but most that I've read through seem easy enough to do outdoors. The ones I've tried have been easy and fast to make. In the case of cakes and toppings for example, I pre-measure the dry ingredients and put them together in zip-locks so I'm not having to measure when I'm cooking. You can also pre-prep meats for many recipes as well. Just common-sense to reduce the amount of stuff you have to take with you and to reduce the amount of preparation at the time of cooking.Many here have complained there aren't enough cooking directions. However the author gives a chart of the number of coals needed for the bottom and the top at a given temperature. She always tells you the temperature you need for every recipe, so you just go back to that chart to see what coals you need where. Note that the charcoal suggstions are for aluminum dutch ovens - she tells you how to increase the number needed for cast iron DO's. You can make all these recipes in either a dutch oven while camping over briquettes or at home in your kitchen.Anyway, if I had only one dutch oven recipe book, this would be it. You can get more detailed DO cooking isntructions on the web if you need them.

Ordered this so to take camping. Said it would be delivered the Tuesday before we left for camping on that Thursday. on Tuesday i had message it was running late and should be there Wed. On wed it said it was most likely lost in transit and if i wanted to reorder it. i said yes and it was delivered that Friday unfortunately i was all ready at camp. after reviewing it when i got home i was not that impressed with it as far as for camping. There are tons of good recipes in it and it also gives you temp and time for conventional oven along with dutch oven which is really nice but most of the recipes have a lot of ingredients to them and i really want easy small recipes so i don't have to drag a lot of cooking/spices and active dry yeast with me. As far as the book it's self and how it's laid is nice. I will probably use it more for home cooking

Nice book purchased for my husband to use in our RV.

The default approach with dutch oven recipes seems to rely on cans of chili beans, cream of whatever soup, and dry spice (salt!) mixes like lipton. This cookbook is NOTHING like that. All of the recipes are pretty close to from scratch and the ~5 or so things I've made from the book so far have all been great!

Sheila Mills runs an outdoors outfitter that takes rafting trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. Not only was it the best experience of my life -- I had some of the best food as well. Since my boyfriend and I will be doing a lot of camping this year, I told him we had to buy this book since he didn't experience the food with me. While all of the food is amazing, the desert is out of the world -- it's unreal that it isn't made in a kitchen. You will love the food you make with this book and so will your camping buddies!

Despite being written for the American market this is a great and handy sized cook book. Sticky Beef is already a firm favourite!