Hi guys, in the market for a camp oven, cast iron or spun steel? I’ve only used cast iron camp ovens with great success, any real reason why should get a spun steel over a cast iron camp? Your opinions good and bad please
Cheers
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Hi guys, in the market for a camp oven, cast iron or spun steel? I’ve only used cast iron camp ovens with great success, any real reason why should get a spun steel over a cast iron camp? Your opinions good and bad please
Cheers
I picked up a good cast iron model from rebel sport of all places, it was way cheaper than the big stores and seems just as good, an Aussie model, cheaper than the American one I was looking at.
The heavy cast iron ones seem to hold the heat well, which is good for slow cooking, be it stew or bread, the heavy lid lets your pour coals on the top to get heat going into it from all angles and it’s tough as, just make sure you clean and oil it and it will last forever.
It’s not light though, fine for boat, chopper or 4x4 access, would not want to pack it in though.
Backpacking camp oven is a small roll of tinfoil
Those south african dutchies with the legs on the bottom look good
Several years ago now tagged along with some Aussie mates for a 4 week 4wd trip from Cairns up to Weipa, up to the tip of cape york, back down the eastern side to Cairns again. Plenty of beer (until the ice blocks finally melted and the bottles all smashed) and fishing along the way. Had never come across a camp oven before that trip. Impressive what they could cook in one!! Our group bumped into a young couple from Perth on their second lap of Australia. The girl upon learning it was my birthday baked the most amazing sponge cake in their camp oven I've ever had. Or my judgement may have been clouded by a non-stop diet of steak, sausages, bacon and beer. Nah it was definitely a good cake.
There's nothing wrong with the cast alloy ones, we cook in ours nearly every week, my wife would kill me if I took "her" one hunting.
Both our kids have received as "leaving home gifts" cast alloy ones and they both use them too!
@kbrebs might still have a 12" NZ made Alucast camp oven, was in the for sale thread a few months ago.
Edit: I see you're in Canterbury, so maybe no good sorry.
I have a aluminium one two cast iron ones aluminium one just as good
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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4ba0e29a08.jpg
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Aluminium one work good
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my cast iron one came from the warehouse of all places.
try ashburton ..outdoor adventure sports,think it is...they had camp ovens last time I was in there.
Cast iron is the way to go. Holds the heat so much better than thin spun ones, or alloy. During winter when the log fire is going 24/7 I cook in ours maybe 3 times a week, Once you know how to use them they can crank out most any type of baking/stews/roasts. Brought 100kgs of "Best Duty" poitje pots back from Africa many years ago and haven't looked back. Oh, and have to be the most healthy metal to cook off. Teflons and ally may have long term health effects.
https://www.completeoutdoors.co.nz/c...10-quart-12366
This camp oven has got my attention
Whats the best size? 2-4 people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
I’m working on the theory of size is proportional to a leg of hoggett
Never used aluminium, always cast iron. Never liked the look of the old pitted ali pots and wonder where all that aluminium has disappeared to... while cooking your food?
The pot you choose, if you only want one, is dependent on what you want to cook most, how many you are cooking for, and what heat source you use.
I have both of the units listed above.
The 4.5 quart is a great general purpose pot that will easily feed 4-5 people a stew or a soup if you have no extra side dishes like rice. You can easily bake a nice round loaf of bread in it, and it will roast a decent sized whole chicken.
The 10 quart is just over double the volume so approx. 8-10 people, will bake an oval loaf of bread, and you can fit two whole chickens side by side, or a small leg of lamb if you cut the knuckle and fold it back. Will also fit a couple of venison shanks.
These pots have the raised lipped lids, which are the only way to go if you are looking to cook over an open fire as it lets you put coals on top of the lid to make it into an oven (heating top and bottom at the same time - very important if you are looking to 'bake'). It means you can lift the lid to check the cooking without ash falling into your food.
I also have a #3 Potjie with legs, a #3 without legs, and a #8. The #3's have a max capacity of 7.8L, and the #8 is 18.5L, and weighs about 19kg!
Pots with legs work best for open fire or lpg gas ring, no legs best on stove top (wood or gas or electric) or in the oven. You can also get (or make) leg stands for the pots with no legs which makes it more versatile. I use all of my pots with no legs in the wood fired pizza oven depending on what's being cooked.
Where the potjies come into their own is the all in one pot meals (as opposed to baking or roasting). They have a curved bottom on them that makes it super easy to stir your food off the bottom to stop it burning. The curved bottom of the pot makes it super efficient to heat, and once up to a boil, event the #8 filled to the top will stay on the boil with just the inner most ring of a three ring LPG burner set to less that 1/2 fire, or a couple of coals rolled under it on a regular basis.
I have fed 40 people vegie soup in a single sitting out of the #8 filled to the gunnels when accompanied with fresh bread buns, fed 20 teens a beef stew with it 3/4 full.
They are great pieces of kit, and once you master the art of using them, you will want more than one.
Attachment 147099
#3 Potjie sitting on a home made LPG bottle fire place.
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Venison stew
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As served
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A couple of ovens in the WFO .......
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........ baking bread
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#3 no leg Potjie in the WFO
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Venison stew
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Venison shanks cooked in the 10 quart in the WFO
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The 10 quart with a couple of chickens ....
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The mighty #8 in its purpose build cooking stand with its 3 ring lpg burner. Best way to feed a crowd.
Wow! Very well thought out cooking stand. Never managed to find a #8 to buy when over there. Looks like the business.
A couple of my pots are enamelled. The flat bottomed versions. Makes cleaning them super easy, and they never rust when cooking a tomato based casserole.
The hardwoods in Africa maintain a flame so well that in many campsites we stayed in, there would be a #8 burbling away with just three long sticks poked inbetween the legs. Meeting in the centre of the pot they would just glow away all day cooking the meals. Every onw and then someone would walk past and kick the sticks back into contact with each other under the pot. Super simple, and left more time for telling lies and drinking beer
Quote:
Originally Posted by XR500
https://www.biltongplus.co.nz/product/3-leg-potjie-8/
CI is the way to go I made my own years ago.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c4a16fc5b3.jpg
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If I needed ( maybe I do ) another oven that oval design would be the way to go. Sometimes the roundy isnt just quite long enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bent Barrel
That's a skill not many have mastered. I see what you did there, used an old alloy camp oven as your pattern and cast it in Cast Iron. Nice!
Yip I did my trade as a moulder in a foundry.Quote:
Originally Posted by XR500
We made alot of this sort of thing but the best and most used is this also in cast ironhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...b8cf834322.jpg
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CleverQuote:
Originally Posted by johnd
Now that IS impressive.Quote:
Originally Posted by hotbarrels
The spun steel ones are called Bedourie ovens. The reason for their being is spun steel is not brittle like cast and lighter. The Drover’s and old bush truckers like the Bedourie for these reasons. Cast ovens will crack if not packed well in a “box” or milk crate when your heading bush. Mostly it’s the lid that breaks if you allow it to vibrate and bang on the pot, (bashing along corrugated roads. so wrap the lid in a bag or old shirt and or pack separately.
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Got myself an oval camp oven from Complete Outdoors
First attempt on the barbecue turned out really good ... no complaints
That looks good! Did you grab a trivet for it also? if not certainly worthwhile.
Attachment 147629
Being the practical type, I cut up an old concrete saw blade found on the building site, works a treat
