Dutch Oven Beef Short Ribs and Brownie for Desert

We cooked some beef short ribs and brownies today in the Dutch ovens.

Here are some pictures:



Beef short ribs

It was my first time trying beef short ribs, but they turned out very well. I just wish they had a little more meat-on-the-bone.



Seasoned with Alchemy spice

 I tried out one of my Christmas presents from Chattanooga's Alchemy Spice.



Carrots, onions, celery and garlic cloves

Linda chopped up the veggies. Today we used carrots, onions, celery and 6 cloves of garlic.


Added tomato paste

 We used 8 tablespoons of tomato paste and probably should have used a few more for 12 short ribs.



Added cooking wine

 We used 2 1/2 cups of cooking wine.


Chattanooga spice company

This spice rub is pretty good.




Browning the short ribs

We browned the ribs a little before adding them to the wine, veggies, garlic and tomato paste.




Adding the brownie batter

We used baker's parchment paper to line the Dutch oven for the brownies.



Top heat in the Lodge #10 Dutch Oven

The brownies needed a little extra heat at the end to finish them off. I wouldn't cook brownies with this much heat for long normally.



Ready to eat

The ribs turned out very well and the flavor from the Alchemy spice rub was fantastic.




Browning plating

It was my first try cooking Dutch oven brownies. They were delicious.

Cast Iron Skillet Fried Potatoes

This time of year I like to pull out the dutch ovens. Here's a recipe for some potatoes I made today for lunch.


Cast Iron Skillet Fried Potatoes

Ø  8 – 9 small/medium sized red skinned potatoes

Ø  1 medium sized red onion

Ø  2 cloves minced garlic

Ø  3 stems fresh rosemary

Ø  Salt and pepper to taste

Ø  Olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet

Directions:

·         Pre-heat cast iron skillet on low heat. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

·         Slice potatoes, onion and rosemary. Mince garlic.

·         Add potatoes and remaining ingredients.

·         Turn the potatoes every 5-7 minutes.

·         Cook until potatoes are soft.

I used about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet.

Close up of the finished potatoes.

 

Dutch Oven Beans

We've been watching our weight more and more going into the holiday season as a cushion toward the inevitable holiday 5 or 10 that we gain each year. (I have lost 9 lbs and Linda has lost 7 lbs by increasing proteins and decreasing carbs.)

Today I brought on the dutch oven and made a 5 bean soup that turned out well. Well actually it was 4 beans and some peas, but legumes nonetheless.

5 Bean Soup Recipe

• 1 cup great northern beans
• 1 cup red beans
• 1 cup pinto beans
• 1/2 cup navy beans
• 1/2 cup black-eyed peas 
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp Kosher salt

Directions:  Soak dry beans for 4 hours. Drain beans. Add bean mix, ham hock, 2 quarts of water to a medium sized dutch oven. Cook for 4 hours in the dutch oven on medium low heat or until beans are tender (use bottom heat only).

Dutch oven table, ash bucket, and bag of charcoal briquettes

I started with 9 briquettes and added 6 - 7 hourly

Ham hock

Legumes ready for cooking

Adding the beans to the dutch oven pot



I used a single slice of ham hock



Adding the spice mixture



Half way there




Bowl of beans topped with some home grown pepper relish

 The beans turned out very well. The relish adds just the right amount of additional heat. If I make this recipe again without the relish  I'll add 2 tbsp of vinegar instead.

Low Calorie Dutch Oven Braised Rabbit

We purchased a rabbit from Back Forty Acres in Chelsea, Michigan and today I cooked it in my dutch oven. The recipe and pictures are included below.

Ingredients:

1 rabbit (4 – 5 lbs.)

2-3 slices of bacon

2 or 3 onions – Cut 2 into quarters and chop 1 into small pieces

3 or 4 carrots - Slice into chunks

3 cloves of garlic

2 bay leaves

5 or 6 potatoes cut into small chunks

3 stalks of celery chopped into small pieces

1 can of chicken broth

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. black pepper


Preparation:

• Brown the bacon slices and 1 finely chopped onion in the Dutch oven with bottom heat.

• Add the rabbit and brown it on both sides for 3-4 minutes

• Add 1 can of chicken broth

• Add onion quarters, chopped celery, chopped carrots, and potatoes

• Add enough additional water to cover the vegetables.

• Cook at low heat until meat and potatoes are tender.

Cast Iron Dutch Oven Cooking

Whether over a campfire in the woods or in the backyard using modern conveniences, cast iron cooking with dutch ovens goes hand-in-hand with low and slow barbecue techniques.

I have two cast iron dutch ovens.  One is a Lodge #10 and the second is a #12 purchased at a local sporting goods retailer that imported it from a Chinese manufacturer (I don't recall the brand). I wish I'd held out for another Lodge, but I was in a hurry and needed a larger oven for a backyard event at the in-laws the next weekend. The price was attractive, so I purchased it.

Tonight I decided to cook supper on them.  I pulled out the dutch oven recipe book and prepared two cornish hens in the #12 and a delicious casserole made from potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and sevreral strips of bacon.

I don't use Kingsford charcoal much anymore,
but it works well for dutch oven cooking.

After combining the casserole ingredients in the #10 dutch oven.

This was one of the best dutch oven dishes I've ever cooked.

I should have used a little more top heat to brown the chicken toward the end of cook.

I forgot how much I enjoy campfire cooking with the cowboy version of a microwave.  I hope to add dutch oven cooking segments to the bbq blog on a regular basis going forward. Now I need to find some more receipes.

For the casserole I started by browning 1 pound of bacon and saving the drippings. Then I sliced 12 small potatoes, cut two large onions into rings, added 1 pound of baby carrots, sliced two large bell peppers into rings, and added a packaged of sliced mushrooms. The mixture was combined and cooked for 1 hour with 10 briquettes for bottom heat and 12 briquettes for top heat.

The cornish hens were cooked for 1 hour in two cups of water and 2 tablespoons of chicken broth using a trivet. I cooked them with 12 briquettes of bottom heat for 1 hour. I added 12 briquettes for top heat during the last 30 minutes of the cook.  The hens were basted with a vinegar and butter mixture every 15 minutes. The end result was a moist chicken that paired very well with the potato casserole.

These two recipes and several others are available from the American West Dutch Oven Cooking cook book.

Chicken Bleu Breasts and Sparkling Potatoes

Place chicken wrap between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound flat with a rolling pin until 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add boiled ham to center, sprinkle ham with 2 TBSP shredded Swiss cheese and 1/2 TSP of chopped chives. Roll up chicken, wrap in plastic and chill for one hour.


I used sandwich sliced ham. You can use boiled ham or cubed/chunked ham as alternatives.

I pre-heated two Dutch Ovens--10 inch on left and 12 inch on right.

After flouring, egg washing, and rolling in bread crumbs, I added the chicken to the 10 inch oven. I cooked for 25 minutes with the lid on and turned once after 15 minutes to brown both sides of the chicken breasts.

For the potatoes, Linda scrubbed with skins, browned 1 LB of bacon, drained grease, mixed in onions, mushrooms, and added the potatoes to the 12 inch oven. I then added 12 ounces of Sprite, 1 TSP of salt, 1/2 TSP of pepper. I cooked for 30 minutes with the lid on.

I added parsley and cheddar cheese when serving the potatoes and, although not pictured, Linda made homemade bread.

Are you hungry yet?

Recipe for Chicken Bleu Breasts and Sparkling Potatoes courtesty of Lovin' Dutch Ovens by Joan S. Larsen.

Dutch Oven Breakfast

My dutch oven gear.

12 inch and 10 inch dutch ovens.

The bacon has been browned. I'm adding the onions, green peppers, and red peppers.

A close-up after the hashbrowns and chunks of ham were added.

Adding a dozen eggs.

The eggs are cooked. Adding the cheese topping.

Finished "Mountain Man Breakfast" after the cheese melted.

Mountain Man Breakfast

A recipe by Danny Wardle

Preheat a 12" dutch oven

Brown a 1/2 pound of bacon cut into pieces

Add and cook a medium onion chopped

Add green and red pepper

Remove the bacon, onions, and peppers

Add a 32 ounce bag of hash browns

Brown hash browns and stir in bacon and onions back in

Add 12 eggs and poor over potatoes, bacon, onions, and peppers

Cook until eggs are almost solid

Sprinkle top with grated cheddar cheese

Cook until eggs are solid and cheese is melted

Serve with salsa

This recipe is published in Lovin' Dutch Ovens by Joan S. Larsen. I added the ham and peppers based on my personal tastes. The next time I make it I'm going to add more black pepper.