Camp oven coal charts for cooking

These are some charts I found, for the number of coals you need when cooking in a camp oven.

I also found this calculator, an invaluable resource. Note that temps are in both celsius and fahrenheit.

It all depends on the size in diameter of your camp oven, and what temperature you want.

300 and below is considered low heat; 325 is medium low; 350 is medium; 400 is medium high; more than that is high heat.

On a cold or windy day, you may need to add more coals as the food cooks, to maintain temp.

For deep frying, the coals all go on the bottom; For broiling, they all go on top.

Otherwise, it's 2/3 on top, 1/3 on bottom. You don't want the bottom too hot, or the food could burn.

I wondered what to do, as far as preheating the pot and lid before you start to cook?

What you do IN the kitchen, is what you do OUT of the kitchen.

For example, when you bake on the stovetop, it's absolutely essential to preheat the lid.

So when baking breads, desserts, or pizza in a camp oven, you want to load the coals on the lid to preheat, before you add the food.

When making a stew, you want to preheat the pot over the coals, in order to brown the meat. You can put the lid on the pot while it's preheating, but you don't necessarily have to add coals to the top, before you add the food.

I am just now learning about cooking with coals. I learn by doing, and as I learn, I post.

That's a big part of my purpose for this blog; As I learn, I post, and then others learn.