Going Dutch

RATHDRUM – Tantalizing aromas will fill the air at City Park Saturday when Rathdrum’s fifth-annual Dutch oven workshop kicks off at 11 a.m.

Students will learn how to cook dishes such as barbecue pulled pork, sourdough rolls and triple chocolate cake at the event sponsored by the Rathdrum Parks and Recreation Department.

Purpose of the workshop is to introduce newcomers to the art of cooking with Dutch ovens as well as to show how to care for and maintain the cookware.

“The event usually attracts 15 to 30 students each year,” said George Holcomb, Dutch oven enthusiast and workshop presenter. “Last year, we had 34 pots on the table at 3 p.m. That’s a lot.”

Members of the Inland Empire Dutch Oven Society will share their love of the art of Dutch oven cooking, demonstrate their skills and share in the camaraderie of cooking in the great outdoors.

The event will begin with a display of Dutch oven cookware and information on its use. Then students will be given a chance to prepare and cook a dish under the direction of members of the Inland Empire Dutch Oven Society.

All participants will share in an afternoon meal, giving newcomers to Dutch oven cooking a chance to sample many dishes and share their first Dutch oven “masterpiece” with others.

It seems everyone who has taken this class enjoys it, and most have added Dutch oven cooking to their summer list of things to do.

“I think the class was wonderful. In fact, I intend to repeat it,” Judy Harness said. She has signed up for this workshop and attended several Dutch oven gatherings last summer.

“I cooked with Dutch ovens years ago, but I didn’t know what I was doing. Once I learned what I was doing, it has been great,” she said.

Nita Agate said she loved the class she took with her two sisters. The three of them cooked with Dutch ovens at their family reunion last summer.

“We cooked stew, biscuits and peach pie,” Agate said. “Everybody liked it – it was delicious and fun.”

“It was an excellent class and a unique experience,” said Dave Moore, who attended the 2005 workshop.

Moore was interested in Dutch oven cooking because his grandfather had shared stories of cooking with Dutch ovens on the sheep ranges of Wyoming. The Moores inherited four Dutch ovens from his grandfather, and they cook with them every now and then.

A Dutch oven is a cast-iron pot or kettle with a flat bottom and three legs to hold the oven above the coals. It has flat sides and a flat, flanged lid for holding coals. Being able to surround the pot with coals allows for superior even heat.

The ovens have a steel bail handle for carrying, and enthusiasts believe a meal prepared in a Dutch oven has a delicious flavor unmatched by any other cookware.

Anything typically cooked in a home oven can be cooked in a Dutch oven, including cakes, pies, casseroles, chili, cobblers, soups, roasts, chicken and breads. Many stovetop meals also can be cooked in a Dutch oven or on the bottom of a Dutch oven lid (turn it over and set it on a bed of charcoal).

Cast-iron cookware was used by American pioneers, the military, cowboys, miners, loggers, sheepherders and explorers. The name most likely came from Dutch (really German, or Deutsch) traders who peddled their wares from wagons.

Despite the pots’ heavy weight, early travelers carried them because the heat-retentive qualities of cast iron gave cooks the ability to control temperature and maintain an even heat. The Dutch oven also offered a nonstick cooking surface and delicious flavored meals with minimal equipment.

Lewis and Clark carried Dutch ovens during their expedition, and George Washington’s mother, Mary, cared so much for her Dutch oven that she specifically addressed its dispensation in her will.

Today, outdoor enthusiasts continue the cast-iron cookery tradition. Interest in Dutch oven cooking has surged recently, and cooking clubs have formed throughout the world. The Internet is loaded with information and recipes.

Whether you are interested in using a Dutch oven to cook old favorites such as 40-Mile Stew, hearty trail beans or chuck-wagon casserole or you are interested in more modern fare such as chocolate cherry to-die-for cake, zippy sticky chicken or breakfast pizza, this workshop will get you started.