Introduction: Easy Peach Cobbler Cooked in a Dutch Oven

By Scapes - Land, City, People
About: Retired after 40 years as a photojournalist working at 8 different newspapers. Now freelance photographer and fine arts landscape photographer (www.waltstricklin.com). Love the outdoors and camping. Married wi…

My brother and I have camped for more years now than we are willing to admit. We tried for years to do peach cobbler in a cast iron dutch oven. At first we had every thing wrong - wrong oven and wrong recipe. We finally got the right oven, but ended up chiseling out more burned batches of bad cobbler than what we ate. Finally a friend gave us this easy to make recipe.

Step 1: Charcoal Chimney

All Dutch oven cooking starts with coals and the most efficient way to get them is to use a charcoal chimney. Two broad sheet newspaper pages waded up in the bottom and 25 minutes later you have enough to cook just about anything. The bonus is you do not have to use any lighter fluid.

Step 2: The Right Dutch Oven

Now let's talk a little about the correct Dutch Oven. To cook with in at your campsite or in the backyard, it must have a couple of things. The lid needs to have about a 1" (2.5 cm) lip around the top to hold the coals on top. It must also have legs about 1.5" (4-5 cm).

Step 3: For Ease of Use

A lid lifter and a lid rack make things a lot easier especially when you have a lid full of 500 degree charcoal and need some place to sit it down without getting it dirty.

Step 4: The Ingredients for the Easiest Peach Cobbler in the World.

Now the easiest part of making the peach cobbler.
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of self rising flour
1 #10 can (29 oz)  of Peach pieces or slices in heavy syrup
Sprinkle the top with cinnamon
The ratio holds for bigger batches - that is why we use it. All you have to remember is 1-1-1 and done!!

Step 5: Lightly Mix

When you put all the ingredient together, do not stir them too thoroughly. You want to still see some dry flour in the mix. It will cook into pockets of dough in the cobbler. If you mix it too much, you end up with peach cake - not bad, but also not cobbler.

Step 6: Easy Clean Up Starts in the Kitchen

Mixing in an aluminum pan and putting it in the Dutch Oven makes the clean up almost nonexistent. We just found them a couple of years ago and before that it could take a long time to chisel out the caramelized sugar of an over cooked batch.

Step 7: Charcoal for Under the Dutch Oven

Here is where the legs come in on the Dutch Oven. The legs keep the oven off the coals and let them have air to burn.

Step 8: Cooking Time About 45 Minutes

A good load of coals on top, Lid rack ready and lid lifter in place. Now we just wait and in 45 minutes we will give it the first check.

Step 9: Taking a Peak

Carefully lift the lid, put it on the lid rack and this time it was about 55 minutes.

Step 10: Chow Time - Yum!!

Add a little ice cream and you are ready to eat. This time the ice cream was easy because I took it from the freezer at home. Maybe my next Instructalbe will be "How to make Ice Cream in a plastic bag - at your campsite."