Lodge Dutch Oven

KiterTodd

DieselkW, with what I pay for lump, there is no way it is cheaper than me cooking with gas in the house even if the electric A/C runs a bit more to counter it.
BUT...I do it anyway because as you said, it comes from the "entertainment budget."  

fishlessman, I did an experiment this Fall where I roasted oysters on the gas grill and on a charcoal grill.  I wanted to see if there was a taste difference.  There definitely was!  Many of the oysters I cook to "medium rare" and they are not open when done, but they pop easy and are hot inside.  I was very surprised to find that they all had a nice charcoal flavor even though they were sealed up.  Now, it is possible the oysters burp and breathe at bit in their death throws, but still, they seemed closed tight to me.
I wonder if the same would happen with the dutch oven?  No bark of course, but even with a tight fitting lid it is going to breath a bit and you'll occasionally open it up to check on things.  So, does a closed DO still give a slight lump taste to the meal?

UrbanForestTurnings

When I use my do I go with the lid off for most of the cook. Will put lid on towards te end to speed up the cook

Chubbs

@henapple how about a pic of the man cave. Sorry I hijacked the thread. Ain't skeered.

I agree with @nolaegghead, no lid you are essentially using it as a pot instead of a Dutch oven. I also agree with @henapple that most of my cooks I have used leftover egged meat to get some smoke. In other words I have really not seen much of a benefit of using it on egg versus inside other than I hate doing dishes when I cook inside and I don't mind scrubbing a dish that has been egged :-?

FlashkaBob

DieselkW said:

The best reason for using the egg and a dutch oven is to keep from adding unwanted heat to the house.

In the winter, I cook inside more often.
In the summer, the egg is my go to outdoor oven. There's nothing I can make in the oven that I can't make in the egg.

A fire for two hours at 350f costs about a dollar in lump. This is a complete wild arse guess on my part, working on $1 per pound for lump and a fill of 3 lbs that is 1/3 used when I cook for a couple hours. I really have not examined lump use per hour at temp - all things involving my Egging is part of the entertainment budget.
The oven at $0.16kWhr costs about sixty cents for the same temp, same time, based on my utility bill per kW and the breaker size on my oven cable I figure it's consuming about 1000w/hr

Goes without saying, using the kitchen oven in the summer means I have to remove that heat using an air conditioner.

Actually, the average modern oven will likely have a 2400 watt element. We can calculate this out quite easily. You say that you are paying 16 cent/Kwh. for 2 hours. 2400 watts X 2 hrs = 4800 watt hrs. or 4.8 Kwhrs X 16 cents = $0.768.     You also have to include the delivery charge and all of the other B.S. charges that your utility company dumps on you for using their product. The end result is that it will most likely cost you more than a buck to run your oven for a couple of hours. Now the advantage to using it during the winter is that the excess heat generated can be deducted from your heating bill at no extra charge. Cooking and heating for the price of one! What a deal!!     Got it?

UrbanForestTurnings

Chubbs said:

@henapple how about a pic of the man cave. Sorry I hijacked the thread. Ain't skeered.

I agree with @nolaegghead, no lid you are essentially using it as a pot instead of a Dutch oven. I also agree with @henapple that most of my cooks I have used leftover egged meat to get some smoke. In other words I have really not seen much of a benefit of using it on egg versus inside other than I hate doing dishes when I cook inside and I don't mind scrubbing a dish that has been egged :-?

Take it over. I WOOD love to see it

Beavercreek_Smoker

UrbanForestTurnings said:

I love cooking in Dutch ovens. Was thinking of trying my 8 quart camp oven direct on my plate setter.( x.l ) only concern is the weight of oven on plate setter. Could place fire bricks under plate setter for support

UrbanForestTurnings said:

I love cooking in Dutch ovens. Was thinking of trying my 8 quart camp oven direct on my plate setter.( x.l ) only concern is the weight of oven on plate setter. Could place fire bricks under plate setter for support

THEBuckeye said:

Why not on the grate on the place setter?

This a 7 quart on a large egg. 

I make the smoked chili from the BGE cookbook. Awesome recipe btw. I have a 12 qt camp Dutch oven, the ones with the legs, that recipe fills it up and I set it on the place setter without problems.

If you have a flat bottom than the great may be the best way not having to worry bout cracking your ps.

KiterTodd

Beavercreek_Smoker said:

I make the smoked chili from the BGE cookbook. Awesome recipe btw. I have a 12 qt camp Dutch oven, the ones with the legs, that recipe fills it up and I set it on the place setter without problems.

If you have a flat bottom than the great may be the best way not having to worry bout cracking your ps.

I have the same 7 qt pictured above, BUT, I would have gotten the legged version if I realized we could sit it on the plate setter.  For some reason that didn't occur to me and I was left thinking the legs would be really annoying on a grill grate.  8-}

I like legged versions because they have the inset top and would work better on campfires.

UrbanForestTurnings

I have just a few d.o. the plate setter concern was weight. Of the do with food. I need to work it out and try a few things. Fire bricks under plate setter will work. Im just trying to make more room for cooks