I have 2 one a genuine Ballarat foundary iron and another is one of these spun metal Aussie camp ovens , I bought that because of the light weight for our Central Australian Trip, it is okay ,bit like a Bedourie as far cooking though goes a bit faster than the old iron one. Really prefer or am more in tune with my old Iron one .
To prepare it for cooking the first time, I put it upside down over a mild fire small flame lots of coals, to burn or leech out all the crap in it, let it cool , scoured it out and then light oiled it.
The secret to cooking with a camp oven is plenty of coals , a pit that is not too deep , preheating and a good ear .
Peheating is best done by putting the oven upside down for a short time on a bed of coals, usually about ten minutes , retrieve from the coal bed and right it , in dim light a good test is scrape a tent peg as if you were striking a match , a dull red spark is what you want to see, always cook on a trivett .
How long is by the usuall calculations . Listen for sizzle , you want a nice steady one nothing too fast !
We nowadays cheat a little bit with using heat beads as if the wood is a little on the green side , therefore not producing good coals, the result is just as good !
To clean , again upend on a simillar coal/flame base to burn out all the fat and crusty bits, take it out of the fire , let cool , you will find in washing up that with a final scrape the edge of and egg slice you will get a good clean surface, a scoure is just as good. When dry always use a light oil to oil her up before putting it away .
1/. Cooking for 40+ with the help of Experts 1 & 2
3/, Just what everyone need, another bloody expert !