When I took the dutch oven out of the box the chicken was almost done but the potatos were not. I had to place the oven in the stove and cook it for another hour and a half. I think the reason for the lack of cook was not enough mass to keep the heat up long enough for the food to get done. Looks like the farmers box is good for stews/chili and crock pot stuff with a lot of water for thermal mass.

-- nine (nine_fingers@hotmail.com), January 29, 1999

Answers

Potatoes and other veggies would need to be chunked up. I've done a bit of Dutch oven cooking, albeit in a conventional oven, and low and slow (lower temps and longer cook times) works best for tough meat; carrots take longer to cook than potatoes; if you brown the meat first it doesn't stick nearly as bad as it would if you didn't brown it. I would quarter potatoes, or cut them in 1 1/2 inch thick chunks, and cut carrots in quarters the long way too.

-- Karen Cook (browsercat@yerf.net), January 29, 1999.

Flesh is fickle; vegetables and other ingredients are not so demanding. Make sure adequate moisture is available. NEVER OVERCOOK!

-- dinosaur (bumblepuff@hotmail.com), January 29, 1999.

I dunno.....we are told not to let chicken sit around because of the salmonella factor.....two to three hours in the sun seems like it would give it plenty of time to really multiply the bacteria. I've read about this box, there was a website....maybe crockpot stuff is ok, but I dunno about poultry.....unless it was cut up in little pieces and would cook quickly...in a pre heated box.

M.

-- Mary (blufrogg@garlic.com), January 30, 1999.

Ah yes, My old buddy Sal, Sal Monilla. You really gotta watch out about this stuff cause It will ruin your whole day. Please be sure how you prepare your food. I'm just playing around at this time with alternative techniques so I can get pumped up for the real event.When in doubt turn up the heat.

-- nine (nine_fingers@hotmail.com), January 30, 1999.