camp oven seasoning

1. Wash well with hot water and detergent to remove machine oil.
2. Put a few tablespoons of cooking oil in the camp oven, and heat it until the oil starts smoking.
3. Wipe out the oil with a paper towel, this will leave a slight sheen of cooking oil on the surface.
4. Pack into camping kit and go camping.

After each use, just wipe out with paper towel. If you have to, add a small amount of water and boil to remove stuck-on bits. Then wipe with cooking oil before storing.

Every time you put detergent in it, you have to go back to step 1.

My camp oven is pretty much non-stick using the above procedure.

Have fun with it, and maybe even bring it up here in June 2005?
Cheers
John
Oodnadatta

Jiana's comments are the ducks guts on camp oven care, ie never ever put detergent in once you have got a nice even black coating inside. Mine (an oldie) doesnt even need oil to prevent rusting. After each use a cup or so of water is boiled in it, any hard residue scrubbed off, emptied then dried either just in the sun or over coals.(dont put it away wet!) After a roast, often leave water in overnight to soften very hard residue.
Jack & Reg. Absoloms "Outback cooking in the camp oven" is a handy book to use.
You are about to enjoy the best cooked meals!!
the kesh

As Jiarna said, however it is a good idea before seasoning with oil to put a good covering of salt into camp oven, heat up until salt starts to brown, stirring occasionally then tip out and place oil in to re-heat.
hope this helps.

Lazy,

I have been using a camp oven now for about 15 years, yes the same one. I actually found it in a shed at the first house I bought. It was rusted and my missus said chuck it.

I did what my Gran said. I scraped and scrubbed it till all the loose rust was gone, not that there was much of that. I then placed it on the gas cooktop on the lowest heat I could get and put a couple of cooking oil in the bottom and left it there while I watched a days cricket. I checked it regularly to ensure it was not going to burn the house down. I am a Firey and it is poor form to have the guys from work turn up at home, so I worry about these things. Also remember to paint the oil up the sides of the oven from time to time as they need to be non stick too. My oven is non stick as is the cast iron skillet I use over an open fire while camping. Both are over 100years old. I rarely even put water in it as that does lift the oil, I certainly would not boil water in it. Every few years I repeat the process just to keep it in top nick. The other good thing to do is to occasionally wipe over the outside with some oil just to keep that looking good too. The other thing Gran said was that if you burn the oil it will "taste"everything you cook.

The idea of heating it with oil is to get the iron to open up a bit and have the oil kind of incorporated into the top layer of the iron. The longer you can keep the oil in contact with the hot iron the better. Some on this site have suggested heating it in the oven at home to minimise the risk of fire that may be a good idea too, but there is no substitute for keeping a close eye on it.

Happy cooking
Duncs