PDA

View Full Version : Dutch oven use



Charlie Two Tracks
03-20-2013, 07:44 PM
I've got a 4qt Texsport Dutch oven with lid (made in China) that was given to me. I had to do a little grinding to get the lid to fit good and I seasoned it today. I know a lot of people use charcoal to cook with it but I would like to learn using embers. The place I camp at has mostly cottonwood trees. I know that cottonwood burns fast. What do you think I should start with for recipes? If I like using the dutch oven, I will get a better grade one and a bigger one. thanks.

kenyerian
03-20-2013, 07:58 PM
Peach cobbler was always a hit with the Boy Scouts. You just need a 20 oz. can of peaches, an 18 oz. box of spice cake and a stick of butter. Dump the can of peaches in the Dutch oven, sprinkle the cake mix on top of the peaches, cut the stick of butter into patties and place them on top of the cake mix put the lid on and place in a bed of coals , cover the lid with some hot caols and you'll have some hot peach cobbler in 30 to 40 minutes. Goes great with a glass of cold milk.

JeffG
03-20-2013, 11:25 PM
We like cutting a turkey breast in half and putting in oven, hand rub some paprika over them, put some garlic under the skin and lay some strips of bacon on top.

MT Gianni
03-20-2013, 11:35 PM
Charcoal gives you an even heat and known temperature. You can cook on coals but you have to read what the oven is doing, it takes more experience and you cook by smell as much as watching it. Flames will cause the food to burn and stick so make sure your wood doesn't flare up. I would start every recipe with bacon for the first few times you cook. Chicken with onions and bacon work well as does potatoes. Slice, add onion and top with cheese. All of these start with 1/2 lb of bacon browned in the bottom of the D.U.

Kull
03-20-2013, 11:43 PM
Like already mentioned start out with some fatty things like bacon. Once seasoned you can cook anything with a dutch oven. There's lots of cookbooks too. Google "dutch oven cookbook pdf" and you'll come across a few.

One of my favorite things to cook in a dutch oven is bread, little tough to do in camp but worth it. I use a larger one with this recipe but you could probably get away with using a 4 qt.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?190362-Sheepherder-s-Bread

Sweetpea
03-20-2013, 11:49 PM
OK...

Put the cottonwood away, and get a better wood. I've even used pine before, but cedar and oak, and other hardwoods are much better.

For a cobbler, many do it like the recipe above. I do not care for it. It comes across cakey and dry. The way swmbo makes it, she puts butter pats on the bottom, (line the DO with tinfoil for desserts) and put in half the cake mix. Then the peaches. Top with the rest of the cake mix, and the other half of the stick of butter. Bake with coals all around until golden brown. It will come out as a gooey peachy pastry. Great with ice cream.

Try it with french vanilla cake mix.

For DO spuds, start out with a pound or two of bacon. Fry until it no longer sticks to itself, then add a generous amount of onions. Fry until translucent. Add sliced spuds, and season with pepper and garlic powder. I like to use Tony's Creole seasoning for some kick. You can just mix it up and cook the taters, or add chicken ( tenderloins or boneless skinless breasts work great. Cover and bake.

If you use chicken, it can be frozen or thawed.

I cut wood just for my pit in the backyard so I can cook DO.

DON'T expect to perfect it the first time! Practice, and enjoy!

Brandon

DIRT Farmer
03-21-2013, 12:16 AM
For wood that burns fast, start a fire off to the side. As the wood turns to coals add a few to the top and less under it. Its a good bit of trial and error, you will burn a few taters learning.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 06:25 AM
Thanks for the ideas guys. I figured it would be harder using coals from a fire but I would really like to try it the old fashioned way. We will see how it turns out.

Shooter
03-21-2013, 07:52 AM
Bean-hole beans are a natural.
+1 on frying bacon

Wayne Smith
03-21-2013, 07:57 AM
You need a wood that provides good coal, not one that burns to ashes. I think Cottonwood burns to ashes, no significant coal. Oak, Maple, Birch, Osage Orange, and Ash at least should be available to you.

Junior1942
03-21-2013, 08:10 AM
For a not-so-cake-like cobbler do as the above recipe but give the mixture a quick stir before adding the pats of butter. I prefer cherry cobbler.

Here's cornbread cooked in a Camp Chef 3/4 qt, 5" Dutch Oven.
http://www.castbullet.com/camping/photos/campfire07t.jpg

PS: my little 5" Camp Chef Chinese oven works fine for bread, but for a bigger oven with a lid which fits, go Lodge USA and damn the price. A tight-fitting lid sealed with juices makes the oven a low pressure pressure cooker.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 08:13 AM
I can get oak pretty easy. I was just trying to see if the wood that is already in the area would work. I'll see about getting some when I try.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 08:17 AM
that's what I'm after Junior! Dang but that looks good.

WILCO
03-21-2013, 08:28 AM
Charcoal gives you an even heat and known temperature.

Indeed! I would start off with charcoal, learn the basics of cooking with the dutch oven and then go all "Rustic" when you're ready to advance.

Lovin' dutch ovens by Joan S. Larsen is a great book and taught me how to get going in the world of dutch oven cooking. Recipes to boot too!

http://www.amazon.com/Lovin-Dutch-Ovens-Cook-Enthusiast/dp/1880415038

Kull
03-21-2013, 08:44 AM
I think Cottonwood burns to ashes, no significant coal.

Yeah Cottonwood burns more like toilet paper than wood.

gbrown
03-21-2013, 10:42 AM
We have a lot of oak and hickory on our lease, so that is not a problem. As said in previous posts, get a good fire going and then use the coals. We cook 90% of our food on a grill laid over the edge of the fire ring and 2 small cinder blocks inside the fire ring. Take a small shovel and throw the coals under the grill and get to work. For Dutch Oven(s) I have 4 concrete blocks buried just outside the fire ring and I just shovel coals onto them and onto the lid of the DO. Like so many things we do, the more you do it, the better you become at judging the heat and time elements. One of the more interesting recipes I have come across is to season up a good roast or chicken (whole or halved), add favorite vegetables and a little water (about an inch in the bottom of the DO). Have a hole dug twice as deep as the DO. Put a layer of hot coals (1/4as high as the DO), make sure a good fit on the lit, put the DO on top (bail straight up), put coals on the sides and top to where the hole is about 3/4 filled. Cover with soil and leave in the ground for 6 hours and then carefully uncover and pull DO out. Can't vouch for it, but going to try it soon.

Kull
03-21-2013, 10:54 AM
I forgot, there's a Good Eats episode where Alton does a few dutch oven recipes.

Knead Not Sourdough (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/knead-not-sourdough-recipe/index.html)
Dutch Oven Cherry Clafouti (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dutch-oven-cherry-clafouti-recipe/index.html)
Dutch Oven Hoecakes (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dutch-oven-hoecakes-recipe/index.html)

I've done the Cherry Clafouti and like everything Alton does I liked it.

Junior1942
03-21-2013, 11:31 AM
that's what I'm after Junior! Dang but that looks good.Here's the other side of the same pone of cornbread.

http://www.castbullet.com/camping/photos/campfire08t.jpg

It cooks biscuits just as well!! In a 3/4 qt use two Schwans or Mrs B biscuits. Keep them side x side in a large zip bag in an ice chest.

Heck, here's the same 3/4 qt oven with two Schwans biscuits ready for syrup or gravy.

http://www.castbullet.com/camping/photos/campfire04t.jpg

EMC45
03-21-2013, 11:46 AM
The cobbler is killer.

Junior1942
03-21-2013, 11:48 AM
The cornbread and biscuits above were cooked with campfire coals. Charcoal briquets stay hot much longer than regular coals, even oak and hickory coals, so trick #1 is to add coals bottom & top after 15 minutes or so. Trick #2 is to rotate the entire oven 1/3 turn in one direction and the top the same in the other direction every 10 minutes.

I push aside burning wood and set my ovens IN the campfire or at its very edge on top of very hot ground. That way I don't have to worry so much about refreshing bottom coals. A must-have is one of those lid lifters sold at WalMart or Lodge. The Lodge is a little longer and a lot better because of the extra length.

beagle
03-21-2013, 12:07 PM
Charlie,

The Boy Scouts have a dandy little Dutch Over cook book with many recipes that you need to look for. Many good, simple recipes.

I have two 14" ovens that I use and enjoy. You'll need some tools to go along with it. A pair of channel locks for lifting lifting lids, some of the orange GI tent pegs to place the oven on and give plenty of air space and a 1-1/2" spacer for sitting biscuit pans on (I use a hand forged wagon hub I picked up somewhere). A GI entrenching tool or other small shovel is handy for moving coals around as well.

Cooking is done off the fire using coals only. I drive 4 stakes in the ground, spread coals, sit oven on the pegs and cook. Depending what I'm cooking, coals go on top.

I have a 14" Lodge oven and also an old 14" oven that my grandfather and grandmother used when they got married in 1896. It has had abuse and is cracked but makes good buscuits.

Typical breakfast is a pound of sausage in the "good" oven turned into sausage gravy, the other oven makes biscuits and the top of the first oven is inverted and used to fry eggs. Makes a great breakfast in the outdoors.

Simple coblers are a couple of 2 1/2 cans of peaches or fruit cocktail covered by a yellow cake mix. This requires top and bottom heat.

About 3 cans of Armor chili in the oven, covered by about 1/2" of cornbread mix with most heat on top makes a delicious evening meal.

The selection is unlimited...even pizza.

Baking good biscuits is a trick. Use an aluminum pan with the spacer underneath. This prevents burning on the bottom. Adjust heat top and bottom to get good even browning.

Never use soap on your ovens. Soak and clean and dry. Wipe down with some oil like canola or vegetable. Ovens just get better.

You can cook anything in a dutch oven that you can on a stove.

Good cooking./beagle

rexherring
03-21-2013, 12:09 PM
For the cobblers and sticky stuff, I always lined mine with heavy duty tin foil. Makes cleaning much easier. I've cooked probably thousands of different meals while being a Scout Master for a local troop. Get a good dutch oven cookbook, check at ta local Boy Scout supplier or on line.

Being of mostly German decent, I love to cut up sausage, brown it in the bottom, add some good kraut over the top, make some dumplings and put them on top of the kraut, replace the lid and put some coals on the top. When the dumplings are done, so is everything else. Das Is Gut, ya.

the same can be done with chile and corn bread, stew and biscuits, etc.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 12:17 PM
I just got done seasoning the D.O. and will post some pics of it in a bit. I don't know if I should keep on seasoning it until the bottom and sides get smooth or not. These are some great ideas on using this D.O. Since I just got retired, I'm going to be checking out the yard sales for cast iron skillets and D.O. and the things to go with them.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 01:04 PM
http://i50.tinypic.com/2mra345.jpg
this is what the outside looks like.
http://i49.tinypic.com/j9blza.jpg
and the inside. The places on the bottom that are darker are from grinding bumps in the metal before I seasoned the D.O. the ones on the side are water spots from cleaning it with just water.

snuffy
03-21-2013, 02:53 PM
I've been using a harbor freight D.O.(dutch Oven), for a couple of years. I've used it mostly for meats, chicken, a small turkey, and some beef stew. During our limited summer, I use it inside my smoker grill with charcoal. A dense bed of charcoal with most of the lid covered with burning briquettes is just right for a whole chicken. The charcoal on the lid results in the breast browning just perfect. An hour for a fryer, 1.5 for a roasting hen.

Winter brings it inside where it resides above my gas stove-top burner. The HF DO has legs that just match the ring around the burner. That puts it about 2.5 inches above the flame. Turned on low, it results in a rolling boil for chicken or any other meats. 3 chicken legs, a bunch of veggies and either cabbage of spuds make a whole meal in one pot.

See a special on a roast at the store? get that roast, cut it up into cubes, viola, D.O. STEW! Or leave it as a roast, do it whole in the D.O.

A lid lifter is a must have item. Here's the one I got;

http://www.mairdutchovenlifter.com/

Mine is shorter, it would be TOO short for lifting from a tall fire.

It can double for lifting the whole shebang with the front hook in the bail.

elkhuntfever
03-21-2013, 03:36 PM
Peach cobbler was always a hit with the Boy Scouts. You just need a 20 oz. can of peaches, an 18 oz. box of spice cake and a stick of butter. Dump the can of peaches in the Dutch oven, sprinkle the cake mix on top of the peaches, cut the stick of butter into patties and place them on top of the cake mix put the lid on and place in a bed of coals , cover the lid with some hot caols and you'll have some hot peach cobbler in 30 to 40 minutes. Goes great with a glass of cold milk

OR you could go all the way and make home made ice cream in a hand cranked maker. We did when our boys were in scouts.

pipehand
03-21-2013, 05:19 PM
Charlie, one thing that hasn't been mentioned. I have Lodge ans a couple of the Chinese ovens. I learned quick that the Chinese cast iron had a parafin- like preservative on it. Smoked and stunk up the house something fierce when I tried to season the first one in the electric oven. Ended up throwing it into the fireplace over a hot oak fire--- the petroleum based preservative burned off with a blue flame. After that, it seasoned up pretty good.

None of my Lodge iron had that problem.

Just something to be wary of. Enjoy the D.O.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 05:31 PM
this may have had that on there. I warmed up the D.O. and wiped off what I could and then coated it with peanut oil and when I heated it up the first time, it smoked like crazy. The second time it did not smoke much at all.

dagger dog
03-21-2013, 05:51 PM
Low and slow is the "lingo".

If under cooked you can always cook it more.

I usually get the small 5lb bag of briquettes start 'em all and then divide them up between top and bottom as needed, the ones not on the lid or under the pot go into a pile until needed.

I've used pine knots,sycamore (you ever try to split that stuff?) , cottonwood,oak, hickory ,ash,some maple burns pretty fast too, if your using wood just make sure you get enough to finish the dish.

Get a roll of parchment paper from Wally World and use it to line the pot especially with sugary recipies, the meats that get over done and stick, which will happen until you get the hang of it, you can just add some water after the meal is consumed. and set the oven back on the coals and the pot will clean up real nice.

Try not to scrape the interior that just makes it easier to stick the next time, just wipe it out with some clean water and a rag while it's still warm.

Junior's got the ticket with the cornbread, love to have a big slice and a cold glass of buttermilk !

beagle
03-21-2013, 06:32 PM
Happiness is two duch ovens by a campfire. One full of biscuits and the other full of fried venison backstrap./beagle

TreeKiller
03-21-2013, 07:45 PM
More heat on the top than on the bottom. Pick up some dry cow pies or road apples start them burning in your fire than add to the bottom and top of the DO try not to get and ash in the oven when you lift the lid

gbrown
03-21-2013, 08:07 PM
Using charcoal briquettes, the standard amount of briquettes to use is the diameter of the DO X2. Say you have a 12 inch DO, that's 24 briquettes. After they are good and hot, 12 would go under and 14 on top. Heats it up to about 350 degrees and will hold there for about 2 hours. Ambient temperature has a lot to do with it. The preceding formula works well at 70 degrees. 90 degrees, longer, 30 degrees, a lot less. With wood coals, you just have to try it and experiment until you gain the experience. The big thing is just to do it. May burn a dish or 2--I have, but when you figure it all out, it's satisfying and fun.

fatnhappy
03-21-2013, 09:30 PM
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/058-1.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/016-3.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/102_0304.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/102_0316.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/012-3.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-8.jpg



There are literally hundreds of dutch oven cookbooks available online. A number of states such as Alaska and Idaho have official state dutch oven cookbooks. If you'd like a few, send me a PM and I'll email a dozen or so to you.


This is one of my favorites on scout campouts since I cook for the adult patrol. Occasionally I do a cobbler but a coffee cake with some campfire coffee is tough to beat.
Instead of walnuts I usually substitute pecans.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
2 eggs
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
Beat well
Add:
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
Topping:
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
Place ½ of the batter in a greased tube pan. Sprinkle with ¾ of the topping. Add the rest of the batter then the remaining topping. Bake 45-55 minutes at 350.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-21-2013, 09:41 PM
Dang! You must be the guru of Dutch ovens! That looks fantastic! You must have been doing that for more than a couple of years. thanks for the encouragement and pictures.

Sweetpea
03-21-2013, 09:55 PM
Everybody likes those lid lifters...

I just can't bring myself to spend $15 when there is always a decent hammer handy...

As far as cleaning goes, Kosher salt is your friend! Scrub with salt and a paper towel.

If you need to re-oil, plain old lard works well. Veggie oil can go rancid.

TXGunNut
03-21-2013, 09:58 PM
64885

Dutch ovens? Kinda like Lays potato chips. Can't have just one. Pic was last hunting trip. Just counted six cast iron skillets beside the stove, one stays on it.

fatnhappy
03-21-2013, 10:14 PM
yeah, I have a dozen or so skillets laying around too. I have lids for most of them too. The everyday 7 quart lodge bean pot is so useful it's ridiculous. I kid you not, that gallon jug is bacon fat (a must for cornbread)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/002-13.jpg

TXGunNut
03-21-2013, 10:18 PM
I think I know what's on the backside of that square skillet on the left, fatnhappy.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-22-2013, 07:28 AM
Very impressive TxGunNut. That is quite the stack of D.O. you got fired up there!

Wayne Smith
03-22-2013, 07:52 AM
One of the more interesting recipes I have come across is to season up a good roast or chicken (whole or halved), add favorite vegetables and a little water (about an inch in the bottom of the DO). Have a hole dug twice as deep as the DO. Put a layer of hot coals (1/4as high as the DO), make sure a good fit on the lit, put the DO on top (bail straight up), put coals on the sides and top to where the hole is about 3/4 filled. Cover with soil and leave in the ground for 6 hours and then carefully uncover and pull DO out. Can't vouch for it, but going to try it soon.

Look up bean hole beans, traditional New England way to bake beans. Molassas, bacon, onion, beans. Why do you think they are known as "bean pots"? Dig a hole, light a fire, cook it down to coals, put in the pot, bury it. Serve with ground horseradish.

fatnhappy
03-23-2013, 12:51 AM
Hey there TXGUNNUT! I see the bottom "oven" in your stack is a spider. Well played sir.


Cleaning up a couple wagners and griswolds I got for free.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-13.jpg

Boyscout
03-23-2013, 02:59 AM
When using charcoal 3 to 1 briquets top and bottom is a good ratio to start with. We have done roast, chicken, shepherd's pie, pizza, breads, and an occasional cobbler. Made a monkey bread with fresh apples last time. Roll yeast bread into about 1.5" balls and roll in cinnamon sugar. Peel and dice apples and mix with the same. Layer the apples and dough balls.r Sprinkle some brown sugar and butter thoughout and bake. Do not make the dish more than 2.5" deep as it does not cook all the way through before burning. I have a recipe for yeast bread dough that is very wet and keeps in the refrigerator and a cooler very well. Believe it or not we make a batch and it last for about 2-3 weeks and we break off what we need to make artesional loaves . It's close to sourdough at the end. Frozen yeast rolls work but they tend to thaw and rise too soon. Biscuit dough works too but I just like the flavor of yeast breads. If anyone is interested, I can post the dough recipe.



With roast, we like to put a layer of onion under everything as it does not burn as easily as the other ingrediants. Controlling the temperature from under

Junior1942
03-23-2013, 11:56 AM
Hint #3: When storing cast iron pots & skillets here in hot Louisiana and wiping them with lard or vegetable oil, the oil will eventually turn rancid. I wipe the insides down with mineral oil, aka "Intestinal Lubricant." At cooking time, pour in a daub of vegetable oil or lard and wipe out the mineral oil.

TXGunNut
03-23-2013, 12:10 PM
Hey there TXGUNNUT! I see the bottom "oven" in your stack is a spider. Well played sir.


Cleaning up a couple wagners and griswolds I got for free.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h152/lhsjfk3t/003-13.jpg

Thanks! That one is my brother's, he got to do the honors this year. Bottom oven lives @ the deer lease, makes a dandy breakfast griddle as well. Last trip I used four and it's getting a bit competitive. ;-) We have an pretty comprehensive collection of cast iron between us, old favorite is our grandmother's chicken fryer.

MT Gianni
03-23-2013, 12:51 PM
Using charcoal briquettes, the standard amount of briquettes to use is the diameter of the DO X2. Say you have a 12 inch DO, that's 24 briquettes. After they are good and hot, 12 would go under and 14 on top. Heats it up to about 350 degrees and will hold there for about 2 hours. Ambient temperature has a lot to do with it. The preceding formula works well at 70 degrees. 90 degrees, longer, 30 degrees, a lot less. With wood coals, you just have to try it and experiment until you gain the experience. The big thing is just to do it. May burn a dish or 2--I have, but when you figure it all out, it's satisfying and fun.

In the north with a cooler ambient temp I add three to the diameter of the oven and put them on top, subtract three for the bottom. [12" oven gets 15 on top, 9 on the bottom] This gives you a 350 oven and you can cook any recipe from any kitchen oven on it.

Charlie Two Tracks
03-23-2013, 03:57 PM
I might be firing mine up on the driveway soon. Looking at all the pictures, recipes and advice, I am getting pretty anxious to try it out.

Idaho Mule
03-23-2013, 04:32 PM
We cook in dutch ovens quite often. Anything you can cook in your kitchen, you can cook in a dutch. Cast iron is the best. We use only cast iron fry pans in our house. Here's a few pics of our DO's and fry pans, also a couple of cookbooks. My favorite DO breakfast recipe is included below the images. The dutch ovens look a little rough on the outside, but they're smooth as glass on the inside - where it counts. The table next to the stack of DO's is a custom made DOT (dutch oven table) made by my dad. We use it regularly to cook on. It's very handy and travels well. The legs come off for easy travel.

(Hubby is outside playing in the cow corral, so I hi-jacked this post.)

Enjoy. -- from Idaho Mule's better half. :)


65136

65137

65138

65139

Here's my favorite DO breakfast recipe.

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

One loaf of French bread, torn into pieces.
3/4 cup maple syrup.
One 8oz. pkg cream cheese.
One dozen eggs.

Spread torn bread in bottom of a 12" dutch oven. Drizzle maple syrup all over. Whisk eggs, pour over bread. Add clumps of cream cheese, placing so each serving gets a bit of cheese. Set in fridge overnight, or cooler, or outside if you're camping and it's cold enough.

To cook: 6-8 coals under; 10-12 on top. Cook for 40 minutes, or until egg is fully cooked (no runny spots).

TXGunNut
03-23-2013, 05:23 PM
Shall we call you Idaho Jenny? Nicely done!

Charlie Two Tracks
03-23-2013, 06:03 PM
Thank you Mrs. Idaho! That is one big stack of D.O.'s . I will try that recipe out for sure. My better half looked at the recipe and said it sounded delicious.

GaryN
03-23-2013, 07:11 PM
You guys and gals are making me hungry. Everything is better in a dutch oven EXCEPT: soup. I tried it without thinking it through. It dumped all the seasoning of the freshly seasoned new dutch oven in the soup. I couldn't eat it. There are some recipes on this thread that I'm going to save. Thanks.

franklin!
03-23-2013, 07:29 PM
Here's a recipe (sort of) that I have used, cooking on campfire coals. Dig an L-shaped hole, with one part dug deeper than the other. The shallower leg of the L is for burning wood to coals. The deeper leg of the L is for cooking. Put some gravel in the bottom of each, or some small rocks will do. Use a hard wood for coals, such as hickory or oak. When the wood on the one leg of the L has burned to coals, shovel a bed of coals about an inch to inch and a half deep into the deeper leg of the L. Put the oven with its contents on these coals, and cover the lid with coals also. Keep wood burning in the other section so you won't run out of coals.
Get a beef roast about four pounds in weight. Rub with spices or sprinkle on spices to taste. Montreal Steak and Goya Adobo are two that I use. Cover the bottom of the oven with cooking oil, such as Crisco, to a depth of at least 1/8" or a little more. Put roast in oven, put lid on, set on coals. Coals on lid, too. The roast will take about 2 to 21/2 hours, more or less, depending on how often you replenish the coals. If you listen carefully, you can hear it cooking in the oven. When the cooking slows down, usually about 45 min after you put it on, carefully sweep coals off lid, remove lid (use vise grips if you don't have a lid lifter) and check the roast. Add water to a depth of about 1/4 " or more, replace lid, replenish coals, keep cooking. You may want to turn the roast at this point. For the last hour, add vegetables such as carrots, onions, potatoes, all cut into pieces. You can use a meat thermometer if you want. I usually check on the roast by removing the lid every 40 minutes or so. Let the meat "rest" before removing and slicing it. Important tip: If you don't use something to stabilize the lid when you remove it, ashes will impart a sort of gritty, sooty taste to your main course. Careful!