This fall we discovered the best way to cook squash...in a dutch oven over the fire. We have cooked golden hubbard, turk's turban, and acorn squash so far and they have all turned out great!
First, I split the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and add about 2 T butter and 1 T brown sugar to each half. Sometimes the squash is too big for the dutch oven so we have to bake the halves separately. The most important part when cooking squash in the dutch oven is always keep water in the bottom; you don't want the pot to boil dry because you will ruin the cast iron. I add about a half inch of water in the beginning and periodically add water throughout the cooking process.
This is our setup when cooking over the fire. My dad welded us a stand with a hook for a pot.
Depending on the size of squash and the intensity of the fire, you want the squash to steam for about 30 minutes. In the picture above you can see steam escaping.
The squash is done when the inside scrapes away easily from the shell. Baking in the dutch oven keeps the squash moist and gives it a bit of a smoky flavor that we like.
2 comments :
I see you are cooking in an open pit fire and would like to suggest you take a look into building a rocket stove. I just recently built one for heating my greenhouse. I can heat it with just a handful of twigs per day.
Hi Anonymous,
Yes, rocket stoves are great and we have used them in the past. Maybe one of these days I will make a post on how to make them. They are super efficient to cook on!
Holly
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