Like many others, apparently, I was introduced to outdoor and Dutch oven cooking through my experience as a youth in Boy Scouting. Today I am an Assistant Scoutmaster with a Troop in West Long Branch New Jersey, and I now get the opportunity to pass on the advice and wisdom I received some 30 odd years ago. Our Troop is off to summer camp on Sunday, and we've loaded our Troop trailer with two 14 inch Dutch Ovens, two box ovens, and four Camp Chef cooking stoves for the week. All year long we camp on weekends, and the same outdoor cooking supplies travel with us from Maine to Maryland. Outdoor cooking by two patrols, with some great recipes from the Camp Chef website, and a few cookbooks purchased there, will have the two Patrols of 11 to 15 year olds becoming expert outdoor chefs by weeks end. Many will also use this equipment and recipes to earn a cooking merit badge by weeks end. What a great way for America's young men to learn how to cook. Now if I can just convince our Scoutmaster and Troop Committee to let us by a Camp Chef barbeque grill for the top of our Camp Chef stoves I'll be in heaven. I can smell the barbecue chicken and roasted corn already!

T. Knotts received a free Camp Tool Kit for their submission.

Baking with Charcoal
The "plus 4, minus 4" rule is a good starting point for charcoal distribution when baking. This means the size of the Dutch oven (the number usually appears on the lid) plus 4 charcoals for the top heat and the size of the Dutch oven minus 4 for bottom heat.

Example: 12-inch Dutch oven + 4 = 16 for top heat and 12-inch - 4 = 8 for bottom heat.

Bottom charcoal placement for all ovens (except the 16-inch) should be a circular pattern placed just inside the bottom edge of the pot and evenly spaced. For the lid, evenly space most of the charcoal around the rim with a smaller circular pattern around the handle.

Rotate the oven clockwise a quarter of a turn every 10-15 minutes and the lid counter clockwise. This will produce even heating. For bottom heat, avoid placing charcoal directly in the center. Heat from outside briquets radiates inward, eliminating the need for a center briquet.

The one exception to the above rule is the 16-inch Dutch oven. Because it is so large, a checkerboard pattern underneath seems to work best. Be sure to rotate the oven.

It's okay to rearrange your charcoal if necessary. If you find a place not raising evenly or browning as it should, move some heat to it. If there is a hot spot, rotate the oven and rearrange the heat.

For roasting with charcoal us the same number of briquets on both top and bottom of the oven as the size of the oven. Example: On a 12-inch Dutch oven, use 12 briquets on top and 12 on bottom.

APPLE CRUMB PIE