Hill Billy Products

Hi FS, We've had one of these for about three years now & they work brilliantly.

For roasts make sure that you use a trivet (spacer with holes in it) to keep the meat off the bottom & I usually put some liquid in every now & then (beer works well).
For stews, (and for roasts) small amount of coals on the ground & lots on top & keep topping them up!

Yum! They also make woks, & frying pans as well.

Regards
Jeff.

Hi FS,

I also have one of these and paid the extra for the gas converter. Brilliant, either way they cook a sensational roast and we have used it at home rather than cook in the stove. It's more fun that way.

Cheers

Rusty

Ours has been great. The handle arrangement can be a bit fiddly. Welders gloves makes handling them easy. Definitely use the trivet- the heat isn't as even as cast iron..

Yep - a brilliant piece of gear. Great roasts, stews (when used as a pot), and we have made bread it ours as well. I have quite a few of HillBilly's products and find them all excellent.

Jack

Hi Flight Sargent

We too would not be without ours - great for a whole range of things. Hill Billy put out a cook book as well which I would recommend. An important part of using is to clean and season before you use it for cooking. Need to get all the manufacturing oil etc out of it and then get some cooking oil into it. Let me know if you are not sure on this (I recall they give some instructions with new ones).

Good luck and enjoy

I have one as well, I was very happy with mine cooking with the coals, so opted to get the gas ring. To date I am not happy with the gas ring set up as I cannot get a roast to cook in a fair time frame.

By this I mean I have tried to cook a roast chicken and after 3 hours still had to put in (house) oven for 30 mins to cook a size 1.7kg so not large. I have also tried roast meat and still no success. I have no issue using beads to cook my roasts the above size chook takes about 1 - 1 1/2 hours with beads.

I have tried different things, screens to stop any breeze, leave the gas on full and still I cannot get success. I know the last time i was able to touch the bottom outside of the camp oven and it was barely warm let along hot enough to cook anything in it.

Now before I get shouted down, I have spoken to hillbilly about it and have been told to just keep turning the meat or chook every 20 / 30 mins. Not sure how that will go with roast pork?

When hillbilly come back to Brisbane I will go see them as I feel my gas ring is not working as it should and may simply be faulty albiet they don't think this is the case.

As for the camp oven using beads they are great and very happy with it and use it all the time.

If your in Brisbane you can use my gas ring and see if it works for you and give it trial.

Thanks
Brian

Sarg,

I also have had a Hillbilly camp oven for three years or so and just love it.

The best way to cook with it I have found is to use Heat Beads.
You place two less heat beads on the bottom and two more heads beats on the top, than the diameter of the oven.

Therefore, for the Bush King (12" diameter) 10 beds on the bottom & 14 on top gives a consistant heating source to cook a big roast up.

I place all the beads on a "cake stand" in a cast iron skillet and light-em up. When they are burning sufficiently, take 14 out and place on the lid and leave the rest on the stand/skillet. Place the oven on top. This allows sufficient air circulation under and around the heats beads so they will not be extiguished.

Still love my campfires, but use the heat beads for controlled cooking using the camp oven.

Yep- hill billy stuff rocks- we've also got the folding handle frypan/ skillet- just make sure you clean equip well and then a light wipe with veg or olive oil soaked paper towel before putting him to bed!

How do you clean them aftyer cooking? Just scrub out with detergent?

EV

Combine your Hillbilly with a Camp Oven Mate and a 2 burner cast iron gas ring.

A perfect combo for roasts, bread baking and whatever.

Regards

Bob