Reddit reviews Camp Chef 12 Qt Seasoned Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Live in a tent out in the woods. Buy a cast iron cooker and a bunch of dried beans, catch whatever wildlife you can and eat it with the beans. Buy some vegetable seeds and plant them near your campsite for fresh veges.

Get yourself a big ass cast iron dutch oven and make it in your camp fire. Don't follow the advice of /u/RandomAsianGuy and use a mix. That's just dumb. Making gravy doesn't take hours. You can make enough for 50 people using a huge dutch oven with one batch in about an hour.

edit: I linked to a 12 quart dutch oven. You may want to consider a 20 quart for 50 people.

Funny you should ask - I am in the process of making baked beans right now! I copied my recipe from a personal website (that documents my wedding) and pasted it below. I currently just finished step 4, rinsed the beans, and put them in the fridge overnight.

There are two things I am doing differently than the recipe. First off I bake them (starting at step 5) in a dutch oven. Specifically this dutch oven which fits 4x the recipe. Making 4x the recipe also means that I use exactly one jar of molasses (12 oz).

The second thing is that I throw in a handful or two of chicos. My Mom sends them to me from New Mexico, and they help give the beans a more smokey flavor. You can probably find them online if you search "chicos corn for sale."

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Baked Beans

Some people say it is best to use a ceramic bean pot for baked beans, but it will work in just about anything that is oven safe. I made 16x this recipe or 5 gallons for the wedding. I don't recommend you try to make 5 gallons at once, but you really should make your beans in bulk. Beans are some of the easiest things to make, but they are incredibly time comsuming. It's not much more work to double or triple this recipe, so make extra and freeze your beans - I have a 1 gallon of baked beans in the freezer as we speak. For the record, these beans are vegan.



Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups (i.e. 1 bag) dried navy beans, soaked overnight

1/3 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 Tablespoon Cumin

2 teaspoons tamari

2 medium onions, chopped

2 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

freshly cracked pepper

2 Tablespoons Vinegar

Sri Racha Sauce

i.e. Mustard Powder

Special Type of Soy Sauce with Distinct Flavor, most baked beans are made with salt pork or bacon and tamari can be seen as vegetarian flavor replacement. Tamari can be considered optional, but don't intentionally leave it out!

Must be Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce



Steps:

1. Soak your beans overnight - no excuses! They will cook better, and the soaking process allows them to begin the germination process.
   
   
2. Rinse your Beans (Oh yeah - as the packages say look out for rocks).
   
   
3. Throw your beans in a big stock pot and drown with a few inches of water over the top of your beans.
   
   
4. Boil your beans for 1-2 hours. Beans soak up alot of water, and this will prevent you from adding too much water once they have started baking. Stir Occasionally. If you leave them boiling for too long, they may become too mushy for your tastes (or leave them on longer if you prefer mushier baked beans).
   
   
5. Rinse your beans again and throw them in that oven safe bean pot.
   
   
6. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the molasses, brown sugar, mustard, cayenne, cumin, and tamari in a bowl. Add to the beans.
   
   
7. Add onions, bay leaves, garlic, salt, and pepper and mix.
   
   
8. Bake on 350 degrees for a long time - 3 to 5 hours. Longer is better - you'll know when it is ready.
   
   
9. Taste test it... now it will probably be too sweet. You questioned the molasses, and now you are regretting how sweet it turned out.
   
   
10. Add Vinegar to taste - This will cut the sweetness. I wrote 2 Tbs as ballpark, but you should really stir and taste.
    
    
11. Add Sri Racha to taste. I like alot - pour it on!
    
    
12. Throw that back in the 350 degree oven for an hour or so.
    
    
13. After a 1-2 day process, enjoy your home made from scratch baked beans.