Dutch Oven Chicken and Apple Curry-osity

I think I've found a new favorite recipe website.  This week, I had this funny idea of taking some chicken we had and some apples we had and doing something with them together.  It just seemed odd enough to be fun.

But, I had no recipe, so I thought I'd look one up.  I'd heard good things about allrecipes.com, so I went there and tried their ingredient search function.  I put in "chicken" and "apple" and came up with a whole bunch of recipes.  It was a lot of fun to sort through them all. 

In the end, what I did was a hybrid of two of the more interesting ones, that had other available ingredients.

I'm not sure what to call it, though.  Is it a curry?  Is it a casserole?  I dunno. 

Dutch Oven Chicken and Apple Curry-osity

12" Dutch Oven

Total of about 30 coals, because of the weather.  Probably 22-24 in the summer.

• 1 Med onion, chopped or diced
  
• 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 lbs Chicken breast, cubed

• 1 Med to large apple, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Cup Apple Juice Concentrate (or about a half a can)
  
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 Cup milk
• 1 Cup rice

I started with a little oil on the bottom of the dutch oven, and heated it up over a bunch of coals ("a bunch" is an accurate scientific unit of measurement, larger than "a few" but smaller than "a pile").  I let that heat a bit so I could start sauteeing.  And that's what I did next, with the first ingredient set.  Actually, I added the chicken in last, after the onions and the garlic had had a chance to cook some.

Once everything was getting nicely browned, I just started adding in all of the other ingredients.  Because the chicken broth was put in as a frozen block, I let it melt before I added the rice.  The stock, by the way, was homemade from our Thanksgiving turkey leftovers.  If you'll let me digress even further, I recently read a great posting by my friend over at Mormon Foodie on making a good stock.

Also, once the main set of ingredients was in the dutch oven, I set an even number of coals top and bottom.  It ended up being about a total of 30 coals, 'cause it was seriously cold out.  Outdoor cooking in the winter is odd that way, ya know?  I just cooked it until it tasted good and the rice was done.

Anyway, my family loved it, and my son had seconds.  That's a good confirmation.




Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.



Mark's Other Blog Posts: Google's personalized SERPs, 

The Loaner Dutch Oven!

Well, Jodi, my dear wife, bragged up my Thanksgiving turkey to her family, and now I get to do it again for the whole family for Christmas. I'm pretty stoked.

But I did have a big bump in it. There's some 30 + people coming! That means a big bird. Which also means a big big dutch oven. Unfortunately, I don't have one...

So, I got on the 'net. There it was... A Maca 12” x 18” deep dutch oven. Perfect for a 20+ lb bird. Unfortunately, it's also about $170. Plus shipping. I'm sure it's worth every dime. I know I'd pay it if I had it!

But I also jumped to the IDOS forums, and I thought I'd take a shot. I asked if anyone had one to loan in the Northern Utah area. And within a day, someone (a Presbyterian minister from Layton) volunteered his! Are dutch oven people cool or what?

So, today after work, I drove up to pick it up. I only got lost two or three times, but he was very patient and helped me find his chapel. He even helped get unstuck from the ice in the parking lot after I picked up the oven. What a cool guy.

I can't wait to try it out.

Dutch Oven on the Web: A DOG Video

I just found this video on YouTube about a DOG. For the uninitiated, that stands for Dutch Oven Gathering. I've always wanted to attend one. I think it would be a blast. Unfortunately, they always seem to occur on days where I have family commitments, or some other thing going on. Our local group here is the Storm Mountain Chapter of the International Dutch Oven Society (IDOS). Ranes Carter has been instrumental in setting up a whole bunch of cookoffs and DOGs.

Dutch Ovening 'Round the Web - Venison and Wild Game

I just caught this article about cooking venison and other wild game. It caught my interest because my hunter brother-in-law gave me an elk roast today. I'm excited to get it in the pot and try it out. I might even do it this weekend. But I need to do some research first.

This article says, "Like most other wild game, venison is leaner than beef or other domestic meats. The lack of internal fat can result in dry, tough dishes unless venison is cooked with two things in mind – don’t overcook venison, and use moist heat when possible." And, "Another way to incorporate moisture into cooking whole cuts of venison is to use a crock pot or Dutch oven."

Another suggestion they make is to cook venison with a lot of other moisture producing veggies like onions and peppers.

I'll keep you posted as I learn more!