Car Camping / Trip Reports / Photos / Buildouts / “Overland” / Expedition Rigs Area (homeless?)

We heat up our pans in the oven to about 350*, apply flax oil, and bake for another hour or two.

Some pans we re-season pans annually. Depending what gets cooked in them, some foods eat away at the seasoning.

 

And, as it turns out, that non-stick stuff is a health hazard. But that is a discussion for another thread...

 

So is beer.......

 

Lol I dunno it's my birthday i had quite a few beers

 

I have been Dutch Oven cooking for most of my adult life. My go to method for a solid seasoning is this.

Prepare the cast iron for first seasoning with sand blaster if heavily rusted, soap and water and 250F until dry. Otherwise hot soapy water and a good scrub, rinse and 250F dry.

While still warm, completely oil the entire pot/lid with high flash point oil very thinly.

Put in oven as high as your oil can handle, 450-500F is best so you don't later cook off the seasoning at 350F. Heat until all smoking stops. Allow to cool completely.

If this is a touch up seasoning, I'm done. If this is a base seasoning, I will repeat 2-3 more times over the course of a week.

My seasonings last many years with 20 or more meals a year per oven.

Hot water cleanup is usually all that is needed. Rarely need a scraper.

 

Happy belated birthday!

 

I've recently been watching some videos about Dutch ovens and how to cook with them. They seem like a lot of work but they are awesome.

 

Not too much work really. 90% of meals in a DO are 45 mins to an hour cooked or baked at 350F.

The rest of the time its soups, or deep frying.

Some freestyle DO use:
Flip the DO over so the legs are pointing straight up. Put your hot coals on the bottom of the DO between the legs.
Now set the lid down onto the legs with its handle facing down into the hot coals.

With the lid upside down like this, and oiled properly, it works like a really shallow WOK, or dish, and is awesome for stir fry, perfect round pancakes, or fried eggs, etc.

 

The scrapers are great! Love mine.

A flap disk cleans those old garage sale skillets up quick. And I swear the older ones are better metal.

 

Oh you’re absolutely right! We brought a bunch of old cast iron stuff back from her dads house it’s really good stuff. She just cleaned it up, seasoned it, good to go! You ought to taste her pound cake. She uses her grandma’s recipe and cooks it in an old cast iron bunt pan it gets all crispy around the outside. Damit now I’m hungry

 

I think you need to post that recipe.

 

That flipping the DO over is an awesome idea. You should patent it, call it a dottle or ovettle or something, market on the social medias to overlanders, and laugh a the way to the bank.

 

Lol she won’t even give it to friends. The only ones she’s shared with us our daughters

 

I use these a ton. The river outfitter I work for stocks them in sets for our trips. They are awesome as cooking pots, and a set of graduated sizes nests together really well, so they don't take up a ton of space.

Baking in them doesn't actually work very well. I think it's a combination of the shape, and no legs, and the aluminum. But nobody on our crew uses them to bake in.

 

They already know about it, they sell round stands that fit just inside the coal ring on the lid exactly for that pourpose

 

I'm ok with the Camco 41545 flushable toilet, used it for a 7-day trip and 3-day trip. It isn't necessary to fill the flush tank, simply urinate into the bowl once to prime it for a #2. Then TP or handiwipe, burn or bag that.

I transported it with the holding tank full, no leaks, no stink, not heavy. The drain spout swivels to make it easy to dump. Just keep the bowl slide moist when not in use with water in the bowl or I guess olive oil will do. The rubber gasket for the black tank drain of course will have to be kept moist.

Seems like a handy unit. I got used to having a travel trailer with an inside toilet, sans trailer I figured this would work.

It doubles as a chair, and starting out on a trip the bowl stores the TP, wipes, etc. I looked at the Luggable Loo type offerings, figured the Camco for $72 would be better. Don't have to bag every #2. Before the trailer and the Camco, yeah, it was cathole, pit toilets, McDonald's or its equivalent.

 

Dang, forgot the hummingbird story - I'm semi-snoozing in the lower bed, rear hatch closed, side and front doors open, Black Lab snoozing on the bed.

A hummingbird zips in one of the doors and bangs into the rear window. Wakes me up, also wakes the Lab. 65lb Lab naturally tries to nab the hummingbird, meanwhile trampling me.

Hummingbird is too slick for the Lab, avoids every snap of the jaws, but hummingbird doesn't exit the way it came in, keeps trying to get out the rear hatch.

I manage to escape the battle, do a U-turn out of the sliding door and open the rear hatch, hummingbird goes on its merry way.

Rear hatch only has an 'emergency' release from the inside, difficult to access, however with application of a wire loop it can be released easily. Done it before on other VW vans I've owned, time to do it on this one.

 

And here's the last installment of our Memorial Day trip to Montana. Lot's of fun on the trails, some unexpected excitement on pavement, and we ended with an amazing campsite - 270+ degree views and great weather. Was an awesome trip with a great set of folks.

Read part 4: Our Longest Campfire - Montana in May (part 4)

Full story and dozens of photos: Our Longest Campfire - Montana in May (part 4)

- - - - -
Read the story from the beginning [part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

.​