Dave Webb 

My buddies and I drew the assignment to cook Dutch Oven Potatoes for a group of 120 people. We did and the potatoes turned out great. Mine were the best, of course, because I used my simple recipe for perfect potatoes.

Past experience suggested these parameters, and they proved to be right on:

• 1/3 pound of potatoes per person

• So 40 pounds total

• No. 14 oven can handle five pounds of potatoes

• So we each did four ovens full

My buddy got creative and used four different recopies. They were all unique and all good. One keyed on honey. Another was heavy on garlic. But people liked my potatoes best. My recipe is easy, economical, and produces perfect potatoes.

Perfect Dutch Oven Potatoes Recipe

• 5 lbs potatoes cubed (or julienned or chopped somehow). I prefer unpeeled potatoes but the recipe works either way.

• 4 oz butter (one large cube)

• 3 oz real bacon bits

• 1 t salt

• 2 T dehydrated chopped onions

• 1 T dehydrated minced garlic

• 1 t black pepper

 These are the basic ingredients. If you have time, fresh chopped onions and garlic are better. You can supplement with a wide variety of additions including hot peppers and cheese.

 Instructions

• Start the charcoal or wood fire

• Cube the potatoes and put them in a pan of cold water with a dash of salt

• When the coals are ready, put the oven on and start it heating

• Add the butter and allow it to melt

• Add the other ingredients

• Stir to coat the potatoes with butter and spices

• Cook at 350 F until you can smell the potatoes. Then stir and allow to continue cooking. Stir periodically until done.

 Dutch Oven Tips

It is a challenge to cook a Dutch oven meal for a large group. These tips should help.

• I like Kingsford charcoal briquettes because they produce reliable heat.

• I use the rule of 3 to control heat: To get 350 F take the size of oven +3 for the number of briquettes on the top. Size of oven -3 for the number on the bottom.

• I try not to fill the oven more than half full. If you stuff the oven fuller you will increase the cooking time and make it less likely to get food to brown.

• New Dutch oven chefs often underestimate the time needed. It takes a half hour or so for the briquettes to get hot and about an hour to cook the potatoes. If you rush it the quality will suffer.

• This recipe is quite forgiving. You can vary the ingredients and you don’t have to have the temperature exactly right. But you do need to give it plenty of time to cook.

 If you have leftovers then fry them up for breakfast. I like to cook them with scrambled eggs, just like I would cook hash browns. They make an excellent breakfast.