Spring is officially here and for the first time in a while, we’re actually having spring like weather. With this spring weather comes all kinds of plans for getting out and enjoying the out-of-doors.

I’ve enjoyed being outside since I was younger. Growing up in a family that loved being outside made it easy. When I was 12 I joined the Boy Scouts of America and my love for the out-of-doors continued to grow. Being a scout taught me how to be a better citizen, to help those in need and certain skills (knot tying, basic first aid, basic survival skills, etc), that I still use to this day.

To show our support for all the different scouting programs around the world, OutdoorCooking.com offers a special discount to all those involved in scouting. It doesn’t matter if you’re a scout leader, a scout, or to which scouting organization you belong, just fill out the scout program form and we’ll get you registered. Once registered you’ll be able to enjoy a scout discount on just about everything on OutdoorCooking.com.

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In a previous post we highlighted Gary’s smoked mac n cheese recipe. Here it is again but this time with a supporting cast that is DE-LIC-IOUS!

Check out Gary’s video of how this amazing meal comes together.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bacon Candy, Candied Bacon, Chocolate and Bacon or whatever name you wish to call it, it is good! My first introduction to Bacon candy was at Phat Matts BBQ in Oakland, Ca last year; I was instantly hooked with the sweet, smoky coating melted on a delightfully crispy piece of thick cut bacon.

Many of you have never even heard of such a creation I am sure but let me put you at rest by sharing my two versions of this delectable morsel. I would recommend Bacon Candy at any party or Tailgate event but do not think for a second that you can get away with just a couple of slices, just not going to happen, prepare a couple of slabs. Consider yourself warned!

What I am introducing here on Cooking-Outdoors is two versions of Bacon Candy smoked on my new Camp Chef 18” Smoke Vault*. Easy to prepare Brown sugar with a bit of heat Bacon Candy and Brown sugar Cocoa with a bit less heat Bacon Candy. Both versions were smoked using cherry wood chips from my friends at Best of the West.

Smoke time two hours at 250 F.

The Camp Chef 18″ Smoke Vault.

Sprinkle your candy topping on each slice of bacon. I made a dry mix but you could easily use a wet mix here. Approximatly 2 tbsp of mixture per slice.

Best of the West Cherry chips smoking away!

As the heat and smoke rises to cook the Bacon, the candy mixture starts to melt. You could spread the candy around as it melts but I left mine sit.

After one full hour most of the candy has melted on the Bacon. Time to flip it over.

Apply another 2 tbls of candy mix on the Bacon. Smoke for another hour.

That is all it takes to make BBQ Smoked Bacon Candy on the Camp Chef 18″ Smoke Vault.

Here’s the recipe:

Macaroni and cheese has been a staple in my house for generations. Defying culinary greatness, the simple recipe of macaroni noodles and cheese sauce has been paired with the likes of choice hamburger patties and graced in design with silly outlines of cartoon characters in my home. However, nothing compares to the savory rich smoky flavor and smell of smoked Mac n Cheese made from scratch and BBQ’d to perfection. Most have kept to the original concept of “Yellow” Mac n Cheese, a tried and true style favored by most.

I have tried several in my days, with many being over the top in cheesy delight but this recipe is my first original creation and (IMHO) it holds its own with the best that I have tried. Not a tradition “Yellow” Mac n cheese but full of flavor and smoky goodness with bites of smoked bacon to tease your taste buds. Several types of cheeses and a crunchy corn flake and bread crumb topping that will turn a golden brown when smoked to completion, balancing it all together.

Hickory was my choice of smoke for this recipe when I prepared it in my Camp Chef 18″ Smoke Vault. Hickory chips were the “Best of the West” all natural smoking chips curtsey of Two Trees Products. Bacon was smoked for two hours using Applewood chips from Two Trees also. I never stopped to take any pictures during the cooking process so I had to use screen captures and the quality is not what you may be used to, but this is about the recipe not the pictures right?

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you aren’t familiar with Gary House, check out his website.  He has all kinds of great recipes for cooking outdoors.

Parts one and two of “Taking your Dutch oven to the Max” brought you cooking with Skewers/Kabobs and Smoking in your Dutch oven. Part three will give you an opportunity to expand your Dutch oven cooking to even greater heights. This technique pushes your cooking arsenal of “One Pot Cooking” to really mean “One Pot Cooking!”

How many times have you gone camping and had to lug so much equipment with just to satisfy all of your styles of cooking? If you think back to you last camping trip, did it include your Dutch ovens, Camp stove, BBQ/Grill, etc? I bet it did! Could you camp for a week without all of that gear?

Could you camp for a week with just one Dutch oven? Yep! Besides ever great Dutch oven recipe in your arsenal, I have showed you how to cook Kabobs and smoke food in your Dutch oven. So that just expanded your arsenal of cooking techniques to make that camping trip enjoyable. But I have a few more “Max” techniques up my sleeve.

Have you ever tried a BBQ recipe that really worked? Probably. I know my Dutch oven ribs are over the top and you might have a few that are as close to good BBQ as you’ll ever get out of a cast iron pot. Not traditional BBQ by any stretch of the imagination but close enough for backwoods cooking.

This time you are going to push that old Dutch oven a little bit more and add “Grilling” to your arsenal. Yep, grilling! Same concept as part one where you cooked skewers on your Dutch oven. This time we are adding a grill grate and you will be grilling steaks, chicken, vegetable and fruit and what ever else makes your tummy growl.

No need for me to give you detailed instructions on how to grill but I do have a few pointers:

• Line your Dutch oven with foil.
• Purchase a grate that fits properly on the top of your Dutch oven.You don’t want it wobbling.
• Use good charcoal. 100% hardwood will give you the best flavor.
• Single layer your charcoal for cooking.
• Put your grate on right after you place your charcoal in your Dutch oven. This will get it hot enough to leave grill marks.
• Hold your hand over the grate and use the hand count method to tell if its time to grill. 1001, 1002, 1003 go!
• Need more coals, lift up the grate carefully and add more before you need it.
• Add some smoker chips also – maximize that flavor!

Here are some pictures of how I do it!

Give this a try and let me know how it went for you! My steaks were awesome how was yours?

Thanks Gary for some wonderful tips on Dutch oven cooking.  Be sure to check Gary’s Cooking-Outdoors.com blog.

Taking Your Dutch Oven to the Max, Part 2
My love for BBQ, Grilling, Dutch oven cooking and Open fire cooking has allowed me to try many different styles of cooking. Recipes galore have been available to explore, compare, deviate from and blend with my outdoor cooking arsenal. However, when I get the desire for some down home comfort food, I usually go to my Camp Chef Dutch ovens for inspiration and fulfillment. Creativity has inspired countless dishes while inspiration has created a few clever tricks to do what cannot be done, (So they say).

In this, three part series, “Taking Your Dutch oven to the Max” I am sharing with you some of my “aha” moments of creation while Dutch oven cooking. Part one explored transforming your Dutch oven into a Kabob Grill (Taking your Dutch oven to the Max part 1).

Part two is a takeoff from my love of BBQ – Smoke!

Yes, you can smoke food in a Dutch oven!

Not like BBQ or even close to traditional BBQ, though I have eaten some mighty tasty BBQ recipes cooked in a Dutch oven, you can and should try adding a little bit of smoke to your next Salmon, Chicken or Pork chop recipe. Now, do not get me wrong, I am not saying add smoke sauce or bottled smoke flavor. I am saying smoke, as in real wood chip smoke!

No fear here and no splinters in your food either!

You have probably seen those smoker boxes they sell next to the BBQ’s and Grills at your favorite outdoor cooking store. They come in several sizes and materials. The one that caught my eye was the cast iron one. Cast iron smoker box = Cast iron Dutch oven = smoking in Cast iron = smoking in my Dutch oven and so the thought process went.

After sharing this new discovery with a few friends one mentioned that they knew someone else that did something like this also. Oh well! Dashed my dreams of patenting this concept and hanging around on the beach watching those big checks roll in!

Dutch oven smoked Salmon

This technique will work with almost any type of food you choose but keep in mind you do have a short smoking window of about 30 – 45 minutes depending how many wood chips you use. I choose Alder chips for my recipe, it blend very well with Salmon. You could use Apple, Mesquite, Hickory, Cedar or many of the other flavors of wood out there. Just take the time to match it up with your food.

For Dutch oven smoking, I do not soak my chips, they go in dry.

This was also the first time that I used “Coconut” Briquettes from www.Coshellcharcoal.com and they are fabulous!

Steps:

1. Place a hand full or two of wood smoker chips onto the bottom of your Dutch oven
2. Place a wire trivet over the smoker chips
3. Line the inside bottom and sides of your Dutch oven with aluminum foil
4. Poke several holes in the bottom of the foil. I used a sharp knife for this
5. Pre-heat your Dutch oven with coals (12″ = 12 coals, 14″ = 14 coals, etc) on the bottom for 10 – 15 minutes to get the chips smoking
6. Place your food on the foil
7. Cover and add coals to the top (12″ = 8, 14″ = 10, etc depending on what you are cooking)

The cooking process will vary depending on what you are cooking and how long till it’s done. I can’t help you there, but for my Salmon and Pear slices, I cooked them for 20 minutes.

That’s it! Really!

Just follow these simple steps to add a unique flavor to your next Dutch oven meal.

One final pointer: If you are cooking some thing with a lot of juices, then place an insert over the foil or just poke some holes on the sides instead of the bottom. You don’t want those chips to get wet!

Give this a try and let me know what you smoked in your Dutch oven!

For more pictures visit my Flicker page: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjvergVs

Gary

“Taking your Dutch oven to the Max part 3″ coming up next.

Click here to view the embedded video.