Camp Oven Thingies..........

Hi Ozman:

I have both a spun steel one and a cheaper cast iron one. I prefer the spun steel one because of its lighter weight, it is capable of handling a few knocks, and the one I have, which I bought from has a few optional extras now that I like, such as a trivet (so as to avoid burning your food on the bottom), an aluminium ring insert to cook veggies, and also a steel grid that sits on the lid so that I can heat up water while the oven is cooking. The lid has a rim to put coals, and double as a frying pan if needed.

If I was going for a cast iron one I know that Furphy have a good reputation built up over many, many decades. Heavy as lead, but those that have them swear by them. It is obviously also an excellent product.

Others will have other suggestions.

No matter what you choose, you can't beat a roast leg of lamb or pork out of one of these things. Enjoy whatever you choose.

Jack

aaarrgghhhh!!!

Really stuffed the links up ....

This links to the Hillbilly site.

This one links to Furphy

Sorry 'bout that ...

Jack

I can't fault my bedourie....the fryingpan lid gets a hammering for brekkies or just cooking snags,chops etc. However i will be investing in a cast iron one as well very soon as they cook more even and don't heat up with hot spots as easily. There is a need for both imo.

camp ovens yummmoooo.
since our trip away with glenn/jimbo/toonies and the als all i can now think about is whens the next weekend away so we can have a camp oven roast.
well i didnt have to wait to long murry sunset again the als and glenn just do the best roast.
but wait theres more.
the weekend just gone we went away with jimbo and glenn and you know what.
you guesed it roast lambs sat night and roast lamb and chicken sunday night.
thanks glenn/jimbo/tabby/snapper.
any way to get to your point.
we had 3 diferent camp ovens going.
glenn and the als have a cast iron one bought from a 4by show.
not sure of the type jimbo uses.(his is also cast)
and i have a 9 yearold one bought from aussie disposals for around $25.
all of the above performed sensational.
forgot to mention we also went away 2 weeks ago and after our recent camp oven meals we decided to find our old one(one we now using)it hadnt been used for at least 5 years probly more and ws so dirty and full of rust i thought geez might have to throw it away.after a little bit of burning and cleaning and oiling over a couple of nights it was ready to cook the best beef ive had in ages(im just saying that coz i cooked lol)
ive nevr used spun steel ect but for what ive eaten in the last few months i would recomend cast.
my tip for cleaning the oven.
(1)cook the meal and leave camp oven lying around while you enjoy.
(2)half fill camp oven with some plain water.
(3)place on top of fire for 15 or so minutes(or untill water starts to boil)
(4)pull off fire and using scrubbing brush with right hand(leaves one hand free for beer ect) swirl and scrub and clean for 5-10 minutes(swap hands if left handed will still work)
(5)empty dirty water and add some dishwashing liquid and a small amount of water.
(6)same as (4) except for the taking of the fire bit.
(7)get a friend or fellow camper(thanks snapper)to take oven to river and rinse all the detergent out.
(8)place emptied but wet oven back on fire to dry our all excess water.
(9)once dry pull off the fire and re oil for the next nights feast.
cheers

The big "dont" has nothing to do with camp ovens and everything to do with putting detergent into our rivers. Clean up your act please so we can all enjoy the rivers into the future.

GB

Cast is good.

BUT! The main thing with an oven is being willing to use it. It is very tempting to have one but not use it. I don't know why people do this ... but they do.

Cooking on an open fire is not hard but it is also not easy, unless you do it a few times and are prepared to burn food to learn.

So, if you are not prepared to cook on an open fire in your own backyard to learn how to use it effectively, DONT GET ONE.

If you don't already know how to cook in an conventional oven (the one in your kitchen) DONT GET ONE.

If you want it to be an easy (she'll be right) task DONT GET ONE.

My advice is to get a large Camp Oven. They are not much dearer and you can fit more food in them. In essense you can cook more different foods.
Get one you can fit a large roast in. A roast is a rewarding meal to cook. It's fairly easy and after you've done a few you will be more confident to experiment with other favorite meals you like.

I try to cook in the oven meals that I have cooked at home already. You of course don't have to do this BUT I found that I could make my learning mistakes with each recipe at home under normal light conditions with electricity and Dial'A'Pizza as a backup. Lol.

Good cooking

iMusty

Hi Ozman,
A good cast iron one is the best must have indented lid so you can put coals on the top or you would need to make a ring to sit on the top to hold some coals, seen some good cast ones but for the price you pay for a "Furpy" I would only use it at home.
A "Bedourie" or light metal spun oven is better if you are touring & what Brew said re the lid.

What ever type you get it will need to be well seasoned before use, I have never had to attack a camp oven with a scrubbing brush.

And NEVER EVER use detergent.

Cheers

Ozman
There are lots of differnet brand camp ovens out there ranging in different quality and materials all of these will cook and some people would not know the difference between oven cooked side by side and lots that could, my advise is work out what you plan on doing with it the most and what your budget is and how much you will use it there is no point having a really expensive oven if you may use it once a year maybee, the difference in cast one's is the quality and thickness of the cast, furphy oven are a higher quality pig iron than the chinese copy, give it a tap you can hear the difference in the ring, not shure about the difference in the spun steel one's a little more versatile ie being able to use lid as frypan. As long as you alter your cooking to suit oven they are all great you can cook lots of different things in them including cakes.
Regard
Derraux

Ozman,

I've got a 9 litre cast iron job that I bought for about $25, fifteen years ago. Still going strong and the same type is still available from Aussie Disposals.

Once well seasoned, detergent will do them no harm; it's an urban myth.

Cheers,

Jim.

G'day,

the COI brand from KMart or Boots or All Camping Supplies etc. are fine. Great value and good design. Excellent deep welled lid for holding ash or coals, especially when lifting the lid. Practise in your back yard if you like, you will like!
Get or make a trivet to hold food off the bottom of the oven and it can also allow a roast to pool juice for the gravy......oh

As most others have said, both are good. My old cast oven must be 15 years old now and has a "character" chip off the lid rim, but works beautifully. I use detergent to no ill-effect, but most times we leave them full of water overnight and they come clean easily. Most important to dry them thouroughly after you've cleaned them and oil immediately.

Now the reciepe. In the bedourie, (because it's larger) on a trivet, place a whole piece of rump (size depends on how many you are feeding) sliced open and stuffed with oysters. Pin the meat closed with skewers or kebab sticks. Rub garlic salt into it and pour a little cooking oil over the meat. Dig a hole deep eneough to bury the oven and place a layer of coals in the bottom. Insert the oven and surround it/coverit with good coals, then completely cover the lot with dirt/sand. Cook for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. In your other oven, on a trivet, place potatoes, carrots, onions, pumpkin and any other vegies you like. Pour a little cooking oil over and place in a hole the same as the other, but only cook for about 45 mins. Time of cooking of course depends on the load in the oven and if you are only cooking for 2, then cook them together, but you will need to uncover the oven to put the vegies on, or they will turn to mush, if you cook them as long as the meat. If you do this then you should replace the coals when you have added the vegies. If you can cook the lot together, the flavour really goes into the vegies, but either way the meal is superb. Add peas or beans just cooked in a pot on the fire. You can also add gravy.

I fed a cast of 12 last June with this repast and all agreed it was delicious.

As you can see we don't always "rough" it when we canp.

Happy (cooking) trails, Mike.

We have never had a problem getting good coals from Vic High Country timber!

Didn't read all that guff but.....
In my view, spun steel is best because it cooks well and is light. The cast jobs would be superior for cooking but they weigh a ton ! I have a Bedourie steel, but a friend's Hillbilly is a cut above that ! A very good unit. With steel ovens, being thin they require heat control. Once you get the hang of learning how many coals NOT to put under and over (too much heat is the main problem), you will be away - I have witnesssed people cooking cakes in them - heat control is the main skill. Once you have a nice bed of coals in the main fire to draw from, you set your oven up off to the side in its own little place and you are away - every 15 minutes, just check and adjust the heat. As others may have said, there are crook, and good woods - river redgum is good because the coals seem to produce even hear that lasts - some woods lose their heat as soon as you use the coals. Mmmmmm... I can smel that lamb roast and vegies now - had some last week in the Hattah Kulkyne Nat. Park !