Ingredients
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2 Chicken BreastChopped
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1 Red OnionRoughly chopped
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1 Red PepperRoughly chopped
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500g New PotatoesHalfed
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1 large handful MushroomsQuartered
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1 bottle BBQ Sauce
Directions
OK, so I’m still pretty new to the idea of Dutch Oven cooking but this easy BBQ chicken recipe is a good place to start. You need to be fully committed to it because, let’s face it, there are easier, faster ways to make your dinner when you’re out camping or even if you’re just making the most of a nice evening in your garden. They are heavy, they’re big, they can be tricky to get them to the temperature you want. But trust me, once you’ve had a couple of vaguely successful Dutch oven cook-outs, you’ll be hooked.
The idea is that you keep a bit of a fire going beside your oven to keep charcoal or wood burning, you then use a shovel or tongs to transfer burning fuel to the oven. The fuel goes either under or on top depending on the temperature you’re going for. I generally use my Dutch Oven as, well, an oven and so typically set it up like this: to maintain a temperature of around 180°C, I use around 24 charcoal briquettes on my 12” oven, with 16 on top and 8 underneath. There are loads of resources on the web spouting different rules, quantities and ratios but this seems to work for me.
Like I said, I’m still getting used to using these so this is a simple recipe for those out there who just want to use their oven and gain a little confidence.
This simple recipe more about actually using the ovens and doing something that can’t really go wrong. Then next time you can try something a bit more challenging… Did I just say, “can’t really go wrong”? Well, a tip for when you try this is to use a proper lid lifter and make sure the edges of your oven are ash free. That way you will enjoy your BBQ Chicken without the authentic ash and coal grit that I had to endure one time after cooking this.
Steps
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1
Done
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Light your fire. You'll have time to prepare everything before the charcoal is ready. |
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2
Done
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Roughly chop your peppers, onion and mushrooms. Half the potatoes and then set all vegetables aside. |
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3
Done
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Then chop up the chicken into equal sized pieces (I tend to do meat last as it reduces the risk of cross-contamination) and add to the oven. Add a little oil to the oven and get it on the coals. When the oil is hot, fry the chicken. You aren't trying to cook it through, just get a little colour going on the outside. Set anything which has been in contact with raw chicken aside. |
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4
Done
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Add the chopped vegetables to the oven and stir in your BBQ sauce. Put the lid on the top and now we can start cooking properly. As this is a meal for 2, I used my smaller 8” oven. The smaller size obviously requires less coal and so to get that cooking temperature of around 180°C I used 15 coals, 10 on top and 5 underneath. |
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5
Done
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Keep an eye on the coals and let this bake away for around 1 hour to an hour and a half, until the potatoes are cooked. I have served this BBQ Chicken with corn on the cob and also with some fresh salad in the past. |
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6
Done
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TIPTry adding boneless chicken thighs instead of the breast meat and it will be even juicier. be sure to fry these skin side down in stage three to crisp the skin up a bit. |
