AUSTRALIA'S ORIGINAL AND BEST CAMP OVEN AND OUTDOOR COOKING CAMPING AND LIFESTYLE FORUM

May 9^th, 2008 at 6:30pm

Tonner Omalley Offline
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Hey Guys I pretty new at all this co cooking but i do confess to visiting this site regularly to pick up tips recipes etc. I recently had a near failure for the second time (still edible with a couple of beers Undecided

) & wonder if anyone can shed some light on the problem. A copy of an email I sent to Derek is attached below.

Smiley

G-day Derek, great website full of information. I am having a problem that I am hoping you may be able to shed some light on. The last couple of roasts I have cooked in my 15qt cast iron camp oven have been a bit of a failure. The vegtable oil appears to burn & coat the contents of the oven with a brown coating. This is most evident on the vegetables to the point that you cannot tell the difference between potatoe & pumpkin.

The 1st time I thought it had just gotten too hot however this time I also had another smaller oven 9 qt beside mine cooking a roast with no problems. My oven is quite large so was only half full, the other smaller oven was full. Both had the same oil in them & had the same cooking time & heat as near as I could tell.

I noticed my oven had quite a lot of a smokie vapour when I checked the roast after about 30 mins where as the other didn't. I am at a bit of a loss, the only thing I can think is the oven is too large for the amount of food being cooked in it & the oil is burning.

Thanks in advance for any advice

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Reply #1 - May 9^th, 2008 at 6:41pm

skiproosel Offline
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G'day Tonner Omalley, welcome to the forum. Firstly did you wash your Camp Oven out with very hot water after the last roast?
Also have you cleaned the contaminants from the iron and seasoned it?
If it is your oil that is burning try an oil that has a higher heat rating like peanut oil.
Without knowing all the facts & if I was to take a guess there is leftover fat from the last roast which is what is burning and covering your food in a brown coating
Standby Tonner and you will get a vast array of help from people on this site with a lot more experience than me.

All the best
Skip

PS Are you using a trivet with your Roasts?

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Reply #2 - May 9^th, 2008 at 6:46pm

Derek Offline
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Hi Mate and welcome. Pleased to see you decided to join us.

As I said in my reply this one has got me stumped. I initially thought to much oil on the sides and lid of the camp oven that is burning but Skip could also be on the hammer there as well.

Usually a good well seasoned oven doesn't give any problems.

Here is our best thread on seasoning a camp oven http://www.aussiecampovenforum.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1210065993

Interested to see if anyone else has come across this problem and found a solution.

Derek

Retired
Camp Oven Cook

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Reply #3 - May 9^th, 2008 at 8:09pm

Mackerel Whisperer Offline
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G'day Tonner Omalley, I'm with Derek on this one, Stumped. some one round here will be right onto it mate. welcome to the forum.

Cheers

Jono

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Reply #4 - May 9^th, 2008 at 8:50pm

OzJeeper Offline
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Having had a few inedible failures in the past I would offer this FWIW.
CO too hot and with some water added is spitting oil all over the place. Heat coming from the base rather than the top.
If it's smokin' then guess what! Roll Eyes

It may be that the smaller CO is not being heated as quickly or the larger CO is being given a bigger ration of coals because it bigger???

Just my 2c worth...

Jack Absalom had the "good oil" on camp oven heat and I direct quote.

Place a piece of paper inside the oven to find out heat the oven is at.
Very Hot Oven - 500f - paper is dark brown
Hot Oven - 375 to 400 - paper light brown
Moderate Oven - 325 to 375 - paper yellow
Slow Oven - 250 to 325 - crust

Too bloody hot - paper black and on fire!

HTH

My mother-in-law fell down a wishing well, I was amazed. I never knew they worked.

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Reply #5 - May 9^th, 2008 at 8:54pm

LogFire Offline
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Happened to me once. Had the Bedourie too bloody hot & when I lifted the lid the lot caught on fire. Less fire solved my problem
LogFire

I have gone off to find myself. If I get back before I return,keep me here.

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Reply #6 - May 9^th, 2008 at 9:10pm

TBF Offline
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I can recall something similar happening to me.
Leg of lamb in a 12" chinese oven at Girraween National Park.
Too much heat is what I put it down to.
I was too anxious to get dinner cooked.
When I opened the CO about 20 mins into the process, I was first met with a lot of smoke and then combustion in the CO soon after.
DINNER WAS NOT VERY FLASH THAT NIGHT
Lesson learnt to take it easy and cook slowly.

TBF

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Reply #7 - May 9^th, 2008 at 9:11pm

skiproosel Offline
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Skip

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Reply #8 - May 9^th, 2008 at 9:32pm

Little_Kopit Offline
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Agree with the 'too hot' oven crowd.

One of the glories of cooking in an oven is the slow cooking, yet cooking just right.

Cool

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Reply #9 - May 9^th, 2008 at 10:19pm

Tonner Omalley Offline
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Thanks Guys so much good advice I dont know where to start Cheesy

. I think I will give the CO a good clean, season again & see what happens. I was using a trivet & have used the oven about a 6-8 times previously without any problems. Maybe as someone suggested the oil was not that good or fat left over from previous roasts or it was jsut too hot, glad it didnt catch fire though she who must be obeyed would still be laughing !!!

I will let you all know what happens

Cheers

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