DUTCH OVEN MEAT!!!! Meats prepared in a Dutch oven are delectable. They have a flavor and aroma you will never duplicate using any other cooking method. While the taste is always exquisite, some Dutch oven users have difficulty producing a visually appealing meat from inside the steamy oven. The secret is simple: regardless of the spice and flavorings you use on any meat or poultry, always brown the meat first. To brown the meat, place some oil, bacon, or any fatty item in the hot oven to produce a good covering of oil on the bottom, heat the oven, then put the meat you want to cook in the oven and sear or brown it well. This will seal in natural juices and provide the outer texture and color more typical of grilled or fried meats. Once the meat is well browned on all sides, drain off any leftover fat drippings, add whatever seasonings you like, put on the lid, and cook the meat for 30 to 35 minutes per pound of beef, pork, or lamb, or 25 to 30 minutes per pound of poultry. VEGGIES IN THE DUTCH OVEN.....YUM! Garden vegetables are a magnificent addition to any Dutch oven dinner. Most Dutch oven vegetables are prepared in a sauce of some type, but they may be steamed or boiled as you would on a traditional stove. However, if you choose to bake or roast Dutch oven vegetables, they should cook for approximately three minutes per inch of oven diameter. A l0-inch oven full of squash should cook for about 30 minutes, a 12-inch oven full for 36 minutes. Vegetables to be cooked in sauces, such as sour cream potatoes, broccoli in cheese sauce, or new peas and potatoes in white sauce, should be brought to a rapid boil first, the water discarded, the sauces added, then baked for the proper time noted for other vegetables. BREAD Good Dutch oven breads seem to be a rarity. However, marvelous corn breads, biscuits, rolls, and sourdough loaves are surprisingly easy to perfect in the old black pot. The larger the oven the better when it comes to cooking breads. A 14-inch oven serves nicely to produce three loaves of bread or up to three dozen rolls or biscuits. To successfully brown breads, however, you must alter the cooking process for the last five to eight minutes of the traditional 25-30 minute, 350° baking time. First, put a light coat of oil on the interior of a cool oven (including the lid), and let the rolls or bread complete their final rise in the oven prior to applying the coals. Second, place the oven on the coals with the proper number of coals on top as noted earlier. (Remember: no coals directly under the center of the oven.) Third, when there are five to eight minutes left in the cooking time, lift the lid, lightly brush the tops of the breads with butter, replace the lid, then take all the coals from under the oven and distribute them evenly on the top. With all the heat now on the lid, check the bread every couple of minutes until you think it looks perfect. After brushing the coals and ashes from the lid, remove it, tilt the oven over a bread board, and your perfect bread will gently fall out. Now that you know the secrets, tomorrow is a trio of fabulous tried-and-true recipes you can easily make with your old, new, or reincarnated Dutch oven.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 13:00:01 +0000
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