Towards the end of the year, with autumn very much in full swing you can often find me  at  Brogdale Farm in Faversham, the home of the National Fruit Collection. It is during these cooler days, visitors will come and stand by the fire for its warmth and talk about what food to cook over fire at this time of year. With one pot hanging over the fire there is a simple two word answer : Comfort Food!

Well given the title of this blog post, it may seem quite obvious about what equipment is needed, but choosing the best one for you and your family. The main thing to consider is size, too small and you will be left hungry, too big and you will be left with a lot of wasted time, space and fuel. 

Dutch ovens come in a range of sizes (I pretty much have the full spectrum!), from 1.5 litres to 20 litres. The first practical thing to consider is the weight of the Dutch Oven itself. Before it has even been filled with delicious food my 12 litre model weighs over 15kg! It is also worth noting that the larger sizes take considerably longer to heat up too.

In terms of what I use and recommend. I would suggest that for a family of 4 like mine a Dutch Oven with a capacity of 4.5-6 litres would be ideal. Firstly, they provide ample capacity for cooking, but also they weigh probably not much more than 10kg when full and can fit in the sink when they need to be cleaned. One point of note, if you intend to bake bread then a larger size might be slightly more advantageous.

There is something very special about lighting a fire on a cold winter’s day and using it to cook a warming meal. Quite often my fondest memories of cooking outside are during the winter months. The air might be cold, but everything inside and out is warm. For me Christmas Day 2020, like many was spent isolating in lockdown. However, given that extra time it meant that I was able to cook our Christmas roast  beef dinner in just one pot, outside over fire. Not only did it taste good, during those unusual times it felt good too!

As with all outdoor cooking using solid fuel, you will find yourself caught up in the moment, and having to focus on the job in hand. This allows time to reflect and switch off from the other distractions of daily life. There’s something inherently primal and satisfying about cooking over a fire. When the ingredients simmer together in a Dutch oven, whether it’s a slow-cooked stew or a bubbling casserole.  The heat of the flames and the steady warmth of cast iron turn simple ingredients into something quite magical, that warms the body as well as the soul.

If you have a Dutch oven with feet, you can even do away with a tripod. Although if you are cooking for a longer period of time, you may need to generate and move the pot around the embers to maintain the heat. Having a tripod of course means that you can suspend the Dutch Oven over the heat as soon as you start cooking.

Typically there are two ways to cook when you just have one pot, the first is via suspension, where the bottom of the pan is heated to fry, boil or slow cook your food. The second, and perhaps this is why it justifies its name is by surrounding both the top and bottom with het to bake or roast  your food, meaning that the full contents from top to bottom have the heat more evenly distributed.

It might be worth noting that if you plan on roasting or baking with your Dutch oven then a few essential tools will more than come in use. 

These are:

• A lid lifter, I was fortunate enough to make mine at a forge, but they can also be purchased at most good bushcraft stores.
• Heat resistant leather gloves, various gloves are available, but I prefer a large pair of leather gauntlets to keep my hands and wrists protected.
• A small spade for lifting embers safely.
• A digital thermometer with a probe, again these will vary in price and quality, but if you can make sure that the temperature range ideally goes up to at least 250C/ 480F then it will be fit for a range of uses.

Fire Management

If you are only going to cook food with the fire underneath the Dutch Oven, then you will just need to make sure that the fuel is replenished sufficiently if you are cooking for a long period of time, for example a casserole. However, should you be roasting or baking and require embers for the lid, then you will need perhaps surprisingly more fuel than you would expect. Particularly when starting with this technique you may want to have a more generous bed of embers at your disposal than you might possibly need. It is also worth noting that smaller and lighter birch or cherry logs will reduce to embers much more quickly rather than a solid cut of oak or beech.

There are countless one pot recipe books available to provide plenty of inspiration, not to mention those very special recipes that are passed down by our nearest and dearest, my parents and late grandmother have given me plenty of inspiration over the years. Here is a selection of comforting recipes that can be cooked and enjoyed outside over fire, not just in the colder months, but all year round.

• Squash and pepper soup – This is easy to do as it only requires a Dutch Oven that can be suspended over the fire with a tripod. For capacity I would suggest a 6 litre version would be more suited.
• Hunter’s Pie or Cottage Pie– This requires a lot more work with the Dutch Oven, first of all boiling the potatoes for the topping and then generating enough hot embers to bake the pie on the top.
• Venison Casserole – full of flavour, once prepared this is a one pot dish where you let the fire do the work over a few hours to produce a rich and warming stew.
• Chilli – With meat or without, the fire enhances these classic dishes.
• Apple Crumble – What else? Probably my most rewarding dish, while this does require some effort it is most definitely worth it, served on its own or with ice cream or custard!

The joy for me of cooking outdoors is that it is very hands-on, but one cannot that modern ovens and cooking aids have come about through necessity to make cooking a meal as easy as possible. Cooking outside has a whole set of unique challenges that may present themselves while preparing your dish. Here are few ideas and tips to solve the most common problems that you might face.

Burning or over-cooking.

Dutch ovens do not have timers or thermostats, and by design they have no window so you can check how you food is cooking. Bread, bakes and crumbles all fall risk to over-cooking, because there are no set cooking times due to so many variables ranging from the heat of the fire, the size of the vessel, the ambient temperature and time spent pre-heating.  ALWAYS check your food by lifting up the lid before you think it might be cooked, a crumble topping should take 10-15 minutes but I would check at 5. In addition to this many Dutch ovens have a small hole for a digital temperature gauge, these are extremely useful when baking bread. One thing to remember though is that if the lid is fully lifted off the internal temperature will drop by 20-30c, so experience and instinct will play a part here.

Sticky or Burnt Bottoms

Fires get hot, it sounds silly but they really do, liquid boils at around 100c. It is likely that your fire will be much hotter than this, and while raising the pot when the fire is extremely hot will help; adding water or additional stock will stop slow cooking food from drying out. Additionally, remember to stir the food occasionally, this will  add to the flavour and again reduce the risk of a burnt bottom. This is extremely important when using sugar, as it will caramelize and stick to the base of the pan.

As much as I have enjoyed writing this post, the greatest learning I receive is from working with others passionate about fire. If you have a recipe or technique that you would like to share (it could involve one pot or more!) please let me know and I will try and put it out on a future blog!