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Get our new Dutch oven eBook

6/10/2013

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Fresh off our press is our Dutch oven eBook.  This book will walk you through everything you need to know about using a camp Dutch oven. We’ll walk you through seasoning cast iron, controlling Dutch oven temperatures when cooking, purchasing the best Dutch oven and tools, and also cleaning and maintaining your
camp Dutch oven. Best off all, there are hundreds of amazing recipes within these pages. This is your final Dutch oven resource.  Find it here: DUTCH OVEN EBOOK.
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Extreme repair of rusty dutch oven by electrolosis

7/1/2012

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The most basic way to restore a rusty dutch oven is found here: Restore my dutch oven.  But that is not the only way.  There is a way through electrolysis to remove rust.  It is for the science teacher in all of us.

First you will need:
  • A large plastic bucket - nothing metal please
  • A battery charger - something that produces 6 to 10 amps
  • Four electrodes - Rebar does the trick cut 4-6" above your bucket.  Each rebar should be wire brushed until clean for good contact with cables and water.
  • At least four (4) C-clamps (no copper)
  • Arm and Hammer Laundry soda
  • Cables with clamps (jumper cables work) for connecting electrodes to each other and to battery charger
  • Small link chain or cable to suspend Dutch oven in bucket
  • Small lengths of small chain (used to suspend the rusty parts in solution) or some other means to suspend the part to clean into the solution.

(1) Add 1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Laundry soda to your bucket.
(2) Fill bucket with 5 gallons of water
(3) Mix until soda is dissolved
(4) Attach the four rebar to the inside perimeter of the bucket with c-clamps.  Make sure they are secure.  They should never touch the dutch oven.
(5) Connect electrodes together with cables (or decent gauge wire works too).  These are you anodes.
(6) Suspend the Dutch oven to be cleaned in the center of the bucket.  This might be the tricky-est part and requires some creativity as the Dutch oven can't touch the rebar OR ANYTHING CONNECTED ELECTRICALLY TO THE DUTCH OVEN.  It is possible to hang the Dutch oven from chains attached to a couple rebar that are laid across the bucket top, but again anything connected to the Dutch oven should not touch the rebar around the perimeter of the bucket.  They should also be as far away from each other as possible.  Hence the tricky-ness.  The Dutch oven is the cathode.
(7) Now its time to attach to the battery charger.  One jumper cable connection gets connected to the Dutch oven, other end to the negative (-) lead on the charger.  The positive (+) lead on the charger goes to the rebar or electrodes.  Just remember negative to Dutch oven, positive to rebar.  All connections should be made to clean metal.  Keep water away from the charger itself.  Just a precaution so you don't get electrocuted. 
(8) Turn on charger.  Almost immediately you'll see bubbles.  You're witnessing water molecules being torn apart.  The result is hydrogen and oxygen being released.  For this reason, it should be done with plenty of ventilation.  A closed space with just hydrogen is flammable.  A closed space with a perfect mix with two part hydrogen, one part oxygen mix is explosive.  Don't do indoors, in a closed garage, or tight space.  Get some ventilation.
(9) Watch the rust come right off and attach to the rebar.  As that happens you might want to clean them off.  They will also slowly disappear over time.  Don't touch the electrodes, leads or Dutch oven.  You, obviously, will get shocked.  Also, if you want to detach any of the jumpers or cables, turn off the charger.  This will prevent sparks.  Remember the emitted gas is flammable.  You shouldn't smoke or have any other flames nearby as well.
(10) Dispose of the gunky water.  This is safe water and can be poured on your lawn.

Anybody with experience using electrolysis to clean a rusty Dutch oven, please post some comments on how your experiences.  Remember to season your cleaned up Dutch oven  Enjoy your restored Dutch oven.

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Which Cooks Best, a Dutch Oven or Pie Iron Made of Aluminum or Cast Iron?

8/30/2011

3 Comments

 
Both dutch ovens and pie irons are most often thought to be made of cast iron.  There are many good reasons, however, to choose a dutch oven or pie iron made of aluminum.  People are often surprised to find that dutch ovens can be found in aluminum.  Even more surprising is people who use aluminum dutch ovens claim that the difference in quality cooking and ease of use compared to cast iron is very minimal.  Let's look at some of the differences between cast iron and aluminum pie irons.  

1 – WEIGHT: Cast iron is very heavy and after a long duration of holding a pie iron handle, you can get pretty tired.  Aluminum is sometimes 1/3 the weight, perfect for backpacking or packing long distances.

2 – HEATING: Cast iron heats slowly and evenly and can retain heat for some time.  Aluminum heats much more quickly, but can have hot spots.  Aluminum will also lose heat much more quickly.

3 – MELTING: Cast iron doesn’t melt very easily.  You would have to heat it up past 2100ºF.  Aluminum on the other hand can melt at 1200ºF.  A fire might actually get hot enough to melt or warp aluminum.

4 – CLEANING:  Cast iron takes more time and effort.  You cannot use soap as it might case it to rust and will have a terrible effect on the taste of your food.  Aluminum is typically coated with a non-stick surface and is quick and easy to clean.

One major difference is a cast iron pie iron must be seasoned.  This takes some preparation time and upkeep.  Here are some of the steps that must be taken to properly season a pie iron of dutch oven:

1 - A new pie iron or dutch oven is likely to be coated with wax or oil to keep it from rusting.  This coating must be removed by using warm water, soap and a scrubber.  This is the only time that soap should be used.  If soap is used after the seasoning process has been completed, a distasteful soap taste will be present in your meals.

2 - Make sure your pie iron or dutch oven is completely dry.  This can be done with paper towels.  It is advised that the cast iron oven be placed in a conventional oven at 200 ºF or a barbeque at low heat for 15 minutes to get rid of all of the moisture.

3 - Now, using paper towels, coat the oven with vegetable oil or shortening.  Be liberal.  Wipe off extra oil or shortening with a paper towel.

4 - Line the bottom of your pre-heated oven (350 ºF) with foil to catch the heated shortening or oil.

5 – Place the dutch oven and lid face down in the oven.  In the case of a pie iron, often the handle is wood and cannot be placed in a conventional oven.  An alternative would be an outdoor barbeque.  Same set-up as above with the exception of having the wooden handles extend out of the barbeque so that they don’t burn.  Let the ovens cure for one hour.

6 – Remove with oven mitts and wipe excess oil/shortening.

7 – Repeat the process adding another layer of oil or shortening.

8 – Turn oven or barbeque off leaving the dutch oven or pie iron to cool.

A properly seasoned iron will look slightly shiny and is ready to cook in.  This effort for seasoning is only required once.  After time the layer of seasoning will turn black and harden.  This is normal.  Should the iron go rusty, then the rust should be cleaned off and the iron reseasoned.

Due to the fact that an aluminum dutch oven or pie iron does not require seasoning, it is often a good choice.  Cast iron is very heavy and aluminum is much easier to pack and move around.  For someone considering packing irons in a pack or over long distances, the choice of aluminum can be a very easy one.

Both cast iron and aluminum have their benefits and drawbacks.  It depends on your needs.  One can’t go wrong with either.

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