Jean’s Cuisines - Summer 2024

As a family, we’ve always enjoyed cooking around the campfire. Sometimes it’s on a flat rock surface in the fire pit, a hole dug next to the fire lined with briquettes or using our seasoned griddle, with a bucket of water close by just in case.

We also like utilizing the many resources in our mountain backyard, where raspberries line lush trails, deer and elk meander along trails within the forests and using what we harvest from our own bounty-filled garden and pastures.

My husband was an amazing camp cook. He knew exactly how many briquette coals it would take to heat up the Dutch oven, and just when to pull the meal away from the fire to serve. Since his passing in April, these recipes mean even more to me. I can see his hands preparing the biscuits and then cutting them in half and heaping cream sausage gravy over the top. He had a knack at making the best biscuits and gravy. This was one of the first things we thought of camping this year…his Dutch Oven biscuits and gravy.

That recipe and several others  come with beautiful memories of treasured family time together. Campfire season is almost over, but each of these recipes can also be made in the kitchen. All of these recipes start with a standard sized Duch oven that’s been seasoned.

May the warmth of the bountiful blessings gathered around your harvest table be abundant and filled with joy. – Jean

Dutch Oven Biscuits

1 can of refrigerated biscuit dough, 16 oz making 8 biscuits
Butter-unsalted

Directions
Campfire needs be hot enough to heat 32 coal briquettes enough warm a standard sized Dutch oven. Place the biscuits an even distance apart and apply half a pat of butter on top of each. Cover. On a safe, non-flammable solid surface, such as a flat rock on the fire ring, place 14 heated briquettes as the base on the solid surface. Next lay the Dutch oven containing the biscuits on top of the briquettes. Using tongs, carefully place the remaining briquettes on top of the Dutch oven’s lid. Let the biscuits cook until golden brown.
Serve with chokecherry or huckleberry jam, honey or smothered in creamy sausage gravy.

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

There’s no better way to prepare a melt in your mouth roast than in a Dutch oven. Tossed with a few garden-fresh carrots, potatoes and onions is a perfect meal plan.

Ingredients
2-3 lb roast-beef, elk, bison or deer
1 can of lite beer
1 packet of Aus Jus gravy mix
1 heaping Tablespoon Better than Bouillon-Beef flavor
1-1/12 Tablespoons Montreal Seasoning

Directions
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat meat with Au Jus, Montreal Seasoning and lite beer, place in Dutch oven. Slow cook for 8 hours. Check the moisture of the roast after four hours. Scoop any juices and drizzle off the meat. Continue cooking until it pulls apart. Serve with baked potatoes, rolls and garden fresh veggies. 

3 Ingredient Dutch Oven Berry Cobbler 

While I like to cook, I love to bake. Everyone loves this three-ingredient, quick, easy and delicious cobbler. With fresh berries, plopped into the mix, it just can’t be beat.

Ingredients

3 cups fresh berries-raspberries, blackberries, blueberries or huckleberries 
1 box yellow cake mix
1 can of Sprite - optional
½ tsp lemon juice
1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions

The coals of the campfire need to be glowing hot. Use a flat surface next to the fire or prepare 24 briquettes for baking the cobbler. Place freshly picked berries on the bottom of the Dutch Oven and evenly cover with the entire package of cake mix. Next, drizzle the Sprite across the top of the cake mix without stirring it. For added zest, drizzle lemon juice across the top of the dessert and secure the lid on-top.

Place the Dutch Oven on the side of the campfire or place it on top of 8 coals and cover the lid with 14-16 ready briquettes. If the cobbler is cooking by the fire, ensure to rotate it so the cobbler cooks evenly.  It will take about 30 minutes to cook. It’s ready when it’s golden brown and the berries are bubbling. Optionally dust the cobbler with powdered sugar using a sifter or tea strainer. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream. 

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Who wouldn’t love a caramel apple wrapped into a gooey cinnamon roll bake? Granny Smith apples are great for this recipe, but any kind can be used.  

Ingredients

1 can of refrigerator cinnamon rolls
2 apples
1 can apple pie filling
3 Tablespoons caramel sauce

Directions
The campfire coals need to be glowing hot. Create a flat surface next to the fire. Cut and quarter the cinnamon rolls and place at the base of the Dutch Oven. Next, mix the apple pie filling and apples and layer the filling evenly across the cinnamon rolls. Cover and cook until the cinnamon rolls are golden brown, and the apple pie filling is bubbling. Remove from heat and drizzle with caramel sauce topping. Cool and serve.