My father-in-law bought us a ham for Christmas dinner, and I was contemplating how to make it. I’ve got a lot of ham recipes already, and I was tempted to just do one of those again. But, I also thought about doing it differently.
To get some ideas, I browsed the web. As I was doing a search, I saw a recipe for a jambalaya with ham chunks in it. I looked it over, and thought I could deconstruct it.
“Deconstruction” is an interesting process that has gotten a lot of attention in the food world in the last few years. The idea is that you begin with an idea for a well-known dish, then in your mind you separate out the ingredients one from another. Then, you create a new dish, using those same ingredients in new and recombined ways.
In this case, the thought was to roast the ham with all the herbs and seasonings flavoring it. Then, to combine all of the veggie ingredients around the ham, and to use the veggies and liquids as a baste to flavor the ham roast.
I was a bit nervous to do it. My father-in-law is a very traditional eater, and I wasn’t sure how he’d go for it, and my wife was even less convinced when I explained what I’d be doing. I decided to go ahead with it anyway.
Deconstructed Jambalaya Ham
14” Dutch oven
18 coals below
18 coals above
1 8 lb ham, thawed
Liberal shakes of:
Salt
Pepper
parsley
thyme
basil
bay leaves
Paprika
Cayenne (not as much, to taste)
3 medium onions, diced
3 sweet peppers
4 med tomatoes, diced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
I started out with the thawed ham (which was a spiral cut, pre-cooked). I cut it out of the package and put it into the 14” Dutch oven without letting it drain, to keep as much of the liquid as possible. I mixed all of the seasonings in a bowl and mixed them up, then rubbed them all over the ham. I put that onto the coals.
I waited only about a half hour to begin chopping up and prepping the veggies. When they were all ready, I tossed them in around the ham.
I made sure that I had plenty of fresh coals ready to keep coming in from time to time from the side fire.
When the veggies had been in for a half hour or so, I began scooping the cooking veggies and liquids up and spooning it over the ham about every twenty minutes or so. I also started thinking about a side dish. I had the bread sculpture from the other day, and some salad, but I wanted a bit more variety. I thought about doing some roasted seasoned potatoes.
Simple Dutch Oven Roasted Potatoes
10” Dutch oven
10 coals below
10-12 coals above
4 large Potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika
I chopping up the potatoes, thin. I poured the olive oil on them in the 10” Dutch oven, and added the seasonings. I stirred it up well, and put it on the coals.
From then on, it was easy. I just monitored the coals, and the temperature of the ham, and got it on the table when it was done. The roast cooked for a total of about 2 ½ hours.
The verdict? I loved it, my wife loved it, and even my father-in-law asked to take some home!
Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.
When I was a little kid, one of our erstwhile Christmas traditions was to do bread sculptures. Mom would make up a basic variant on a french bread dough, and after it had risen, we would shape it into Santa faces, or Christmas trees, or lots of other options. Sometimes, mom would make up a big batch of dough and we’d make 6 or 7 fairly big Santas, and then we’d deliver them to some special friends.
I mentioned that memory to my mom in a phone call a few weeks ago. We laughed and reminisced about it, and then I asked her for the recipe, which she rattled off from memory. I jotted it down.
I really wanted to try something like that in my Dutch ovens this year. I started to think about how to make it work in the circular shape of the oven. I decided on some other designs, a sun and a moon shape.
I started out by increasing the amounts in the original recipe by half. I figured that doubling the recipe would be too much, and that the basic recipe wouldn’t be enough. I wanted to do two Dutch ovens’ worth, so I adjusted it by 150%. That gets the measurements listed above.
I mixed the water, the yeast and the sugar first, and let that sit for about 10 minutes, while I gathered the other ingredients. As always, I reduced the amount of flour (only 8 cups) in the starting mix, and added more in the kneading. I also sifted the flour. Sometimes I do that, and other times, not, by my whim. I sometimes think that it aerates the flour and makes it a little fluffier. I heard a TV chef say that one day. I dunno for sure.
I mixed the liquid and the powders, and stirred it all up. I turned it out onto the floured tabletop, and kneaded, sprinkling on more flour. Once it made a nice windowpane, I tucked it into a ball, oiled the bowl and put it in. I also sprayed oil on the dough ball, and then covered it with a towel, to rise.
Once it had risen, I turned the big dough ball out onto my floured tabletop, with two Dutch ovens, sprayed with oil, next to it. Mise en Plase... Now, at this point, I should have gone out and lit up the coals. If you try this, that’s how you should do it, I think. I did it later in the process, and I think the dough over-rose. It didn’t spring quite like I had thought it would.
I cut the dough into quarters. My plan was to spread a layer of dough all around the bottom, almost like a pizza crust (but without the rim). That would be my “canvas”. Then I would build the image on top of that. I started with the sun. I made a round circle in the middle for the face, then rolled the flares like clay snakes in between my hands. Another few snakes made the eyebrows, the nose, and the smile. A couple of balls, with a deep poke in the center with a finger, made the eyes.
Then, the moon. I shaped a crescent, and then did an eyebrow, nose, lips and an eye the same way. I also added a couple of stars to the left of the crescent.
At this point, I would have gone out and poured a lot of coals out on the two lids, to preheat. While that’s preheating, I’d leave the art in the Dutch ovens to rise. Also, set more fresh coals in the fire to start.
Once they’d risen a little bit more, and the lids got good and hot, I beat up a couple of eggs and spread them all over the sculptures. I was pretty liberal, so it would help the thinner bits stay on. Then, I put the Dutch ovens on and under the coals. I marked the time, and went inside to rest.
It wasn’t freezing today, but it wasn’t exactly warm, either. So, after about 15 minutes, I rotated the Dutch ovens, and added some coals. I only added a couple on the bottom, and much more on top. I lifted the ovens and tapped the ash off the coals. I did the same with those on top. I also inserted a short-stemmed thermometer.
Another 15-20 minutes and it was done! I pulled them off and put them on cooling racks.
I was really excited with the results! The sun turned out better than the moon (which I’m eating as I type this).
Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.
It's been exciting to see the progress that the publishing company has been making toward the release of the book. I've learned a lot about how that works, and I can see why it takes so long! My first book, to be titled, "The Best of the Black Pot" will be coming out in March!
I've been working hard on the second book, tentatively titled, "Learning to Cook in the Black Pot". Here's an article (interesting, I hope) that I've excerpted from that manuscript. Just a taste of things to come!
The History of the Dutch Oven
Much of what has been written about Dutch oven history is apocryphal, or at least legendary. By that, I mean that many writers quote and cite each other as they go through the timeline. I’m not going to be any different, honestly. The important thing is not so much the dates, but to get an overall picture of the Dutch oven’s place in history, and to feel some connection to that as you cook.
Well, really, when you think about it, you could cook just fine it the oven and never know that it even existed before a month ago, right? But the more that you learn about its background and its life, the more it makes sense. I find myself reading something and saying, “Oh! THAT’s why they did it that way!”
Pre-History
After the stone age, people started hammering copper into shapes, and then, discovered that it could be blended with tin to make a whole new age, made out of bronze. Pretty soon, they were heating and hammering iron out of the rocks and in the 11th century BC, they learned how to make things with wrought iron, and crude steels.
Then, in 513 BC, the Chinese discovered how to make a furnace hot enough to actually melt the iron down, and casting iron began. Clever of those guys. The Europeans didn’t figure that until about the 11th century AFTER Christ. They may be slow, but they get there.
Cast iron pots and cauldrons were used to cook after that, and were even mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays (Like being used by the witches in MacBeth).
Late 1600’s
By this time, the Dutch had a pretty sweet system of making molds out of sand, and were putting out some good pots, pans, and other cast iron things. These were, of course, being exported all over, particularly in England. This is one of the theories behind why they are called “Dutch ovens” today.
Another theory is that the Dutch traveling traders spread the pots far and wide, and so people referred to them as “Dutch ovens”.
1700’s
In 1704, an Englishman named went to The Netherlands to study their casting techniques. He brought those skills back to England, worked on them some more, and got an English patent. He began producing the cookware and distributing them in England and also in the colonies in America. In Ireland, as well as other places, they were made with small points hanging from the underside of the lid. As meats roasted, the steam would gather and drip down these points, giving the pot the name “bastible”.
In America, their practicality and versatility caught on very quickly. They were perfect for hearth cooking, which is where almost all cheffery happened in homes. They could roast meats, boil soups, and be used to bake breads and cakes.
Adjustments and improvements came in America, too, including the legs and lip around the lid to keep the ashes out of the food. Paul Revere is credited with coming up with the idea for the lip, but I have never seen any mention of any real evidence of that fact. It makes a good story, though.
Another theory about the name came from the fact that the ovens had been also brought over with Dutch immigrants who had settled in Pennsylvania.
In these days, cast iron cookware were considered to be very valuable, and, since they were also very durable, would be passed down from generation to generation. George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball Washington, specified in her will how her “iron kitchen furniture” would be divided after her death.
1800’s
In the early 1800’s, the United States was growing, and it was here that the Dutch oven truly became an American icon. Lewis and Clark took Dutch ovens on their famous expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase.
As the Pioneers moved west, in the Mormon migration as well, Dutch ovens crossed the plains with them. On my mother’s side, there were several of these undefeatable souls who walked pushing handcarts all the way from Winter Quarters, on the east of Nebraska, to the Salt Lake valley, cooking their nightly meals in their Dutch ovens, fueled by burning dried buffalo manure.
I’ve read accounts where the wives would mix the bread dough in the morning, and put it in the Dutch ovens, and then in the carts, and by evening it would have risen and be ready to bake.
In the later 1800s, Dutch ovens were also vital parts of the the chuck wagons on the famous cattle drives of the west.
1900’s
In the 1900’s, as the technology and affordability of indoor stoves and ranges increased, Dutch ovens fell out of use. Cast iron was still popular, particularly the skillets. Dutch ovens lost their legs, and became more of the range-top and roaster pots as they are popular now.
Still, Dutch ovens remained popular among campers, hunters, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
In 1985 the International Dutch Oven Society was formed, in Utah, “...with the goals to preserve and promote the skills and art of Dutch Oven cooking. From it's humble beginnings in the Rocky Mountains, IDOS has grown to its current status as the largest and most productive group of black pot enthusiasts in the world.”
2000 +
Dutch ovening as a hobby continues to grow. A few adjustments to the traditional designs have been coming on in the last few years, even since the 1990s, including the “Ultimate Dutch Oven”, currently manufactured by Camp Chef, which features a hollow cone in the center of the oven to allow hot air to enter, convection style. Many Camp Chef ovens also include a small hole in the lip of the lid for the insertion of thermometers or thermometer leads. Maca makes big, deep dutch ovens, many shaped in ovals to better accommodate large turkeys.
...And on a personal note, it was in 2007 that I first began blogging about my Dutch oven cooking experiences!
I find it interesting to reflect on the changes. Now, we have glass-top ranges, microwave ovens, convection ovens, stoves that clean themselves, automatic timers, table top grills, panini makers, and a million other modern ways to cook. A Dutch oven is delicious, nutritious, and wonderful. But it’s not always the quickest or the easiest way to cook. I cook in Dutch ovens because it’s my hobby and because it’s fun. We have contests and parties that celebrate Dutch oven cooking. In the back of my head, though, I keep the haunting thought: my ancestors used it to feed their families on a daily basis.
Over the years, the Dutch oven has developed into the thing that it is for very practical reasons: it worked.
Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.
