Needing help creating some sort of cooker.

CookitTom

New member
Hello Net Cooking Talk forum,

By the sounds of the title and all the sub forums you guys have, I think I'm in the right place and might actually find an answer to my question. At the moment I am living in Cambodia and I have just moved into my first house. At the moment I have a couple of camping rings to cook on with pots, pans, and basic utensils but I have no oven. Oven's are rather expensive here and I don't see the point in buying one due to the amount of time I won't be here.

So this might sound a little crazy and might not even be possible but I have to try, is there any way that I could convert my pots and pans into a cooker by stacking them up boiling them in water? anything, just a method that you guys have tried and succeeded with.

Really looking forward to speaking with you guys and hopefully making an oven out of nothing haha.

Thanks
Example image below of what I'm guessing this looks like / what I have in mind.
camp-om-setup.jpg
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
I think you could just prepare whatever, maybe a roast, in the dutch oven, put it over the burner on low, and cook it just like you would in an oven. Oven cooking is dry heat, so I don't get the boiling water part.

I've never done it before, but if I were going to try a roast, I'd put the dutch oven over a medium high heat, add a little oil, and sear the roast on all sides. Then I'd add some kind of liquid, hopefully red wine :smile:, some seasoning, cover it, turn the heat down so that it just simmers, and let it cook. You can add vegetables later.

I think it's very doable. Good luck!
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
putting the pot in water will create a few issues
- first, the pot isn't sealed so water can get in. even if the water level is below the edges, steam will get into the interior and add moisture-make things soggy - the effect may be quite detrimental depending on what is 'in the oven'

- second water will never get hotter than boiling aka 212'F 100'C, ovens operate at much higher temperature.

the black cast iron 'thing' in the pix is a "real" dutch oven - the lid has a rim to hold coals, and it has feet so it can be placed on a bed of coals. hot coals on top/bottom makes "oven"

however, that approach requires a wood/coal/peat/other hearth - a safe place for an open hearth fire may not be available? the (aluminum?) shielding is I presume a design to mimic the heat distribution from top/bottom/sides - but with such a large cut-out as depicted it will have limits ....

some good tips here:
https://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/DutchOven/DutchOvenCooking.htm
 

CookitTom

New member
Thanks for the advice and thoughts I will check out the link above and look further into your suggestions.

Back soon
 

Johnny West

Well-known member
Right guys out of all these dutch ovens here http://www.used.forsale/dutch-oven what would you suggest to be my best option?

I would think it depends on what you want to prepare in your dutch oven and will you be cooking outside or in the kitchen. I have a big dutch oven with legs for outside and the others are without legs and have rounded tops so they are used in doors. A few weeks ago I found one at a garage sale for 10 bucks - they are out there and it's usually dump luck stumbling on them. My neighbor has a Griswold dutch oven he uses to melt lead for down rigger balls. It saddened me to see that and doubt it's any good for food now.
 
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