Dutch Oven Secrets

I see I'm reviewing this 23 years after the last review. Maybe 23 years ago this was a great cookbook, but who uses their dutch ovens over coals? If the book title had a subtitle or two about briquette-fired camp fires and/or competition cooking, I wouldn't have bought it. The only positive was the lengthy chapter of pie recipes. However, the instructions for baking pies don't have temperatures, they have the number of briquettes to use below the oven and on the lid. If you're looking for recipes for a camping trip and you use briquettes, this is a dutch oven book for you.

When you look at this book, the author's photo on the back cover will be familiar to owners of dutch ovens from Lodge Cast Iron. He and his wife also appear on Lodges' cooking accessory pamphlet which comes with every new dutch oven from the company. He has written a good guide and cookbook, and done it well, I might add. A complete table of contents, chapters on care & handling, tools & accessories, heat sources, cooking techniques, even competition cooking, large group cooking & catering tips and dutch ovens in food storage programs are covered. Calling on his experience, he shares tips and advice that are thoughtful and practical, such as: read the rules BEFORE you get to any competition you are planning to cook in, prepare as much as you can before the day of a big party you're cooking for, and try to get a good night's sleep the night before. All sound advice that can be overlooked to your regret. Of course, there are recipes, more than eighty of them, well organized by chapters. One chapter each for vegetable dishes, sourdough recipes, breads, desserts, even a separate one for pies, with a pie crust recipe and other good tips. There are, of course beef, pork, chicken, and lamb chapters, even if lamb has only four recipes. (Have you ever looked for recipes for lamb? - In a dutch oven)? Whether you are a novice dutch oven cook or a seasoned sourdough, you can get good ideas and advice from this book, it should go into your collection. Lynn is a winner of cooking competitions and a good teacher, to boot - I'd like to meet him someday.