Holiday Dutch Oven Cooking at the Campsite

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Whether you are cooking over hardwood coals at a remote campsite or baking over a charcoal bed, a holiday-size meal starts with two decisions: the size of the oven, and the number of briquettes. This page gathers the sizing and coal math already published on Clouds Over Trees, for a group meal.

Size first: feed the whole group

• 10-inch (4-quart) flanged camp Dutch oven — feeds 3 to 4 people comfortably.

• 12-inch (6-quart) model — the gold standard for groups of 6, whole roast chickens, or baking campfire cobblers and sourdough boules.

A Dutch oven that is too small will not hold a whole roast chicken or a campfire cobbler. The Lodge 6-Quart Flanged Camp Dutch Oven is built with three integral cast-iron legs to sit directly over hot embers and a flanged rim lid designed to hold charcoal briquettes on top for true 360-degree outdoor baking and stews.

Coal math for a baking temperature

To hit a standard baking temperature of 350°F, take the diameter of your Dutch oven in inches and multiply it by 2.

• 10-inch oven: roughly 20 total briquettes (7 on bottom, 13 on top).

• 12-inch oven: roughly 24 total briquettes (8 on bottom, 16 on top).

Put about two-thirds of your total briquettes on the lid, and one-third underneath. If you put an even split of coals underneath and on top, the bottom burns while the top stays raw. Place bottom coals in a ring around the perimeter rather than piled directly in the center, to prevent a single hot spot. For roasting or baking at 400°F or 425°F, add 2 to 4 extra briquettes to the top lid — never crowd the bottom of the pan with extra coals.

Full coal math: see Campfire Dutch Oven Math on this site.

Full sizing help: see What Size Camp Dutch Oven Do I Need? on this site.

A bigger oven for a bigger table

The Lodge 8-Quart Deep Camp Dutch Oven has the same 12-inch diameter as the standard 6-quart oven, so it uses the same charcoal briquette layout, but its walls are a full inch taller — room for tall sourdough loaves, double-batch cobblers, or thick cuts of meat without touching the underside of the hot lid.