Camp Oven Temperatures
Camp Oven Temperatures
Getting the right temperatures for your camp oven is not straight forward and takes a bit of trial and error. More excuses to go camping mate.
There will be many folks out there that have very different ways of doing things, nothing wrong with that. This is just how we do it and what works for us.
Using briquettes makes it a lot easier to try and get somewhere close to the right temperature that you need depending on the dish you are cooking as you can count how many you are using. With your liquid dishes you aren’t going to be too fused as the exact temperature shouldn’t matter to much as long as your are checking on it now and again.
Temperature guide for a 12 inch spun steel camp oven
The below table is a guide to assist in achieving the correct temperature using briquettes in a 12 inch spun steel camp oven. We don’t use a cast iron or 10 inch one so we can’t comment on those. This is only a guide and will vary depending on the conditions especially the wind.
Temperature (Degrees Celsius) | Top | Bottom | Total |
120 | 8-10 | 6-8 | 14-18 |
150 | 10-13 | 7-9 | 17-22 |
180 | 12-15 | 8-10 | 20-25 |
200 | 15-18 | 9-11 | 24-29 |
The above might not work exactly for everyone and it will depend on the conditions on the day. But hopefully it gives you a guide for getting started and getting somewhere close the right temperature. Also please remember that we use a Potjie King so the camp oven is not sitting directly on the briquettes. If sitting the camp oven directly on the briquettes then use the lower number in the bottom section of the table above.
See below images. The top two images are cooking beer damper bread. We used 10 briquettes on top and 6 on the bottom (total of 16) to get a temperatures somewhere between 120 and 150 degrees. This was cooked in a bush camping area with little wind. See the recipe here.
The below two images are cooking a lamb roast. We used 13 briquettes on top and 10 on the bottom (total of 23) to get a temperature somewhere between 150 and 180 degrees. This was cooked while beach camping and there was a lot of wind and as a result the top briquettes burn far more quickly – if we had a fire going we would have used less on top and added more as they burnt out. If there was no wind we would have used more on top. See the recipe here.
Different types of dishes
The below list is a guide on how to distribute the briquettes for different types of dishes. When referring to the table above if the distribution is not the same then focus more on the total number of briquettes.
- Liquid dishes – most of the heat from the bottom.
- Roasts – use the table above, some people prefer more of an even distribution.
- Breads / Cakes – most of the heat from the top.
The above is just a guide and is meant to give starters a good place to begin. Over time you will work out your own methods and what works for you.
The thoughts of Peter.