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Spun Steel Camp Oven Cooking Basics
History
The Aussie camp oven came into existence at Bedourie Station in Queensland. The
stockmen that worked at the station found that if they ever dropped their cast iron camp
ovens from their horses they would break. As a result, the Bedourie or Aussie camp oven
was created.
What is a spun steel camp oven?
Basically a spun steel camp oven is a very versatile piece of cooking equipment which can
be used for many purposes. It is spun on a lathe at high speed with or without heat and then
through manipulation formed into various different shapes.
In its most common use, it can be used as a mini oven where the heat generated is either
supplied from a heat source under the base or from a heat source from the top, in this case
on top of the lid or a combination of both depending on what you are going to cook.
Wet stews and casseroles can be cooked with the majority of the heat source from the base
whereas roasts and dampers cook best with more of the heat source from the top.
What else can you use it for?
In the case of the Southern Metal Spinners Aussie Camp Oven, the base can be used as a
pot with or without a lid on coals or a gas burner.
With the lid on it makes an effective oven for cooking roasts, making stews or baking breads
and cakes.
The lid can be used as a fry pan for frying up some bacon and eggs, sauteing vegetables or
pan frying some fish.
What can you cook with a spun steel camp oven?
- Roast beef, lamb or pork
- Damper bread
- Stews
- Roast chicken
- Roast vegetables
- Lamb shanks
- Curries
- Cake baking
Advantages of spun steel camp ovens vs cast iron
- Spun steel camp ovens are about 1/3rd the weight of their cast iron counterparts. Due to this weight saving, they are easy to move around the camp kitchen, saves weight on transportation.
- Spun steel camp ovens heat up and cool down very quickly however cast-iron camp ovens retain their heat better. With practice though, you will get used to controlling the heat.
- Spun steel camp ovens can be used over any heat sources. Coal, direct fire or gas burner.
- Spun steel camp ovens are cheaper than cast iron camp ovens.
- Southern Metal Spinners camp ovens are 100% Aussie designed and made.
- Spun steel camp ovens are strong and will not break when dropped, at worst they will dent. Cast iron camp ovens are prone to cracking if dropped on hard surfaces.
- Spun steel camp ovens are easy to maintain and clean. After your spun steel camp oven has been properly seasoned, a simple cleaning process of detergent and light washing with water is all that is required after use.
Seasoning your Southern Metal Spinners Spun Steel Camp Oven
Have you ever noticed the inside of your BBQ or your old, blackened, and brown pots and pans in the kitchen at home? Particularly the ones that you have used for deep frying. Whilst these may not look aesthetically appealing, believe it or not these have been seasoned through use over time. We then spend ages scrubbing and cleaning, trying to take all that seasoning off and bring it back to bare metal, or close to, condition.
Whilst this is OK for the pots and pans at home, the opposite strategy is what is required for your carbon steel camp ovens that you use around the campsite. We want to retain all that black and brown goodness which will protect them from rust, make them a little non-stick and even enhance the flavour of what you are cooking.
When it comes to spun steel camp ovens, seasoning is very important when you first get your brand-new spun steel camp oven.
The following simple steps will explain how best to do this. Don't start this until you are ready to commit to the whole process as rust will start forming between the initial cleaning of factory coating and the start of the seasoning process:
1.
When you first receive your spun steel camp oven, it will be coated with the factory oils and greases used in the manufacturing process. This all needs to come off otherwise the seasoning will be blotchy and not consistent. With mild dish washing liquid and a sponge scourer or similar and warm water, scrub and clean off the protective coatings from all the parts; oven, lid, trivet inside and out and then thoroughly dry all surfaces with some paper towel.
2.
Get some high temp cooking oil, like Rice Bran Oil and coat all the surfaces using paper towel to apply it, inside and out. Just enough to apply a thin coat. A kitchen pastry brush will also work perfectly.
3.
In your home hooded BBQ, preheated to about 200 to 250 degrees Celsius. Place the camp oven inside the BBQ for about 20 mins. It should smoke a bit as the oil heats up and burns off. You can also do this at camp over hot coals on an elevated fire trivet / pot stand.
4.
Take out the camp oven and parts and let them cool down. You should notice a browning of the metal surfaces, it may be uneven at first but don’t worry this is all part of the seasoning process and will continue to darken as you season further and start to use the camp oven.
5.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 above one more time.
6.
That’s it.
Cleaning and storing
When it comes to cleaning your spun steel camp oven after you have used it at camp, don’t go crazy trying to scrub everything off. Simply add some water about ¼ full and put it back on the hot coals of your campfire, let it boil for a little bit then tip out all the water. This should get rid of the majority of solids and sticky food remains. Then just lightly wash with mild detergent and warm water and let thoroughly dry. After it has dried, lightly coat the camp oven with the same oil you used to season it and then put away preferably in a camp oven bag and store in a dry location.
If you follow this process, you should have a lifetime of use cooking up your favourite camp oven roasts and dampers.