Our Favourite Piece of Camping Gear Our Spun Steel Aussie Camp Oven
There is one piece of camping gear that we will never leave without and that is our spun steel 12-inch Aussie camp oven. We really wish we purchased a camp oven many years before we did as it is one of our favourite bits of camp cooking gear. A spun steel camp oven in our opinion is the most versatile piece of camping gear that you can add to your setup. They are lightweight, in expensive, have multiple uses, are so easy to cook a fantastic camp meal, and are the best option when cooking for larger groups. In this post we show you why we believe our spun steel 12-inch camp oven is fantastic and why we recommend everyone has one in their camping setup.
Southern Metal Spinners
Most spun steel camp ovens that you will find in Australia are made in South Australia by Southern Metal Spinners. Several brands that sell spun steel camp ovens have Southern Metal Spinners rebrand their camp ovens with their logos. All the Southern Metal Spinners Aussie camp ovens are made from high quality spun carbon steel. You can check out their website here and see how they manufacture their camp ovens out of a sheet of carbon steel and then spin the steel into the required shape. It is cool how they make them.
Can Cook So Many Different Meals
The reason we love our spun steel Aussie camp oven is how easy it is to cook with and the different types of meal you can produce away from home. As they work like an oven you can bake almost anything. Our favourite is beer damper bread. There is a bit of preparation required with mixing ingredients, but the result is fantastic. If you do not like the smell of freshly baked bread, then there is probably something wrong with you. Having freshly baked beer damper while camping takes your meal to the next level. We have also baked cakes for special occasions keeping it simple using cake mixes from our local supermarket. Any roast is extremely easy to cook. You just need a bit of practice and get the heat distribution right. You can cook any type of slow cooked meal such as lamb shanks that always come out superb. All liquid style dishes are extremely easy to cook such as curries, stews, casseroles, and anything else you can think of.
We have already shared a few simple camp oven recipes which you can read by clicking on the below:
- Beer Damper Bread
- Beef Roast
- Baking a Cake
- Beef Stew
- Slow Cooked Indian Curry
- Lamb Shanks
- Simple Chicken Casserole
- Lamb Roast
We will continue to add more, so click here to see any others we have since added.
Spun Steel vs Cast Iron Camp Ovens
So why did we decide to go with a spun steel camp oven verse the traditional cast iron option? For us it was a few key benefits, that being weight, versatility, cost, strength, and ease of use.
Weight Difference is Massive
Our 12-inch steel camp oven only weighs around 4-5kgs and is easy to pack and carry around. Compare this to a traditional cast iron camp oven that weighs closer to 15kgs. That is a significant difference when weight is so important in any touring setup. The heavier the camp oven also makes it more difficult to store and secure safely. As our spun steel camp oven is lightweight, it is easy to store in either our 4WD or camper trailer DOT373. If we need to pack it away on top of something else or move it around, it is extremely easy. With a cast iron camp oven at around 15kgs, you are going to be limited to where you can pack it away ensuring it does not damage anything else. As spun steel camp ovens are light it also makes carrying it around and cooking that much easier.
Versatile With Many Uses
The Southern Metal Spinners 12-inch Aussie camp oven is extremely versatile. It is not only used as a camp oven compared to a cast iron option that is predominantly only used as camp oven. As there is no need to preheat the camp oven because the steel is thin, you can use the spun steel camp oven as a saucepan (pot) over coals, fire, or gas to cook any meal. This is extremely useful when you need a large pot to cook a meal for a big group of people. We have used our camp oven as a pot on many occasions when cooking up a big pasta dish for a large group over our gas cooker. With our Aussie camp oven, we can also use the base or lid as fry pan. A Bedourie camp oven has one additional benefit over our 12-inch spun steel camp oven as the Bedourie lid can be flipped over and used as a smaller pan.
Heats Up Quickly but Does Not Retain Heat as Well
One big benefit of a spun steel camp oven over a cast iron camp oven is how quickly a spun steel camp oven heats up. With a cast iron camp oven, you must preheat them before cooking. Preheating is not a problem it just adds more time and does make it more difficult to use as a saucepan. The one disadvantage with this when comparing spun steel to cast iron camp ovens, cast iron camp ovens retain their heat far better leading to a more consistent heat. As a result, you will find that you need to add more coals to a spun steel camp oven when cooking for longer periods as well as having to check the progress of your cook more often. With time though, you will get a good handle of how best to manage the heat for different types of dishes.
Spun Steel Camp Ovens Are Cheaper
There is a big difference in cost between spun steel and cast iron camp ovens. You can pick up a 12-inch spun steel camp oven for under $70 compared to a cast iron camp oven being well over $100. The money saved between the two can then be used to purchase a good quality Australian made canvas storage bag and a pair of fire (heat) resistant gloves.
Strength
Spun steel camp ovens are stronger than cast iron camp ovens. They will not crack or break if ever dropped. This is how the Aussie camp oven came into existence at Bedourie Station in our home state of Queensland. The stockmen that worked at the station found that if they ever dropped their cast iron camp ovens from their horses they would break. As a result, the Bedourie or Aussie camp oven was created. The Bedourie camp oven has a slightly different design to our 12-inch spun steel Aussie camp oven. The lid sits over the base of the oven compared to our camp oven where the lid sits inside the base of the oven. This does mean that the Bedourie camp oven lid can be flipped and used as a smaller pan.
Flavour
Traditionalists who love their cast iron camp ovens will always tell you that the cast iron camp oven produces more flavour that a spun steel camp oven. We are not completely convinced on this point. However, for slow cooked meals as a cast iron camp oven retains and distributes heat far better than a spun steel camp oven there could be the perceived benefit of a better cooked meal with more flavour. However, over time as you master cooking with a spun steel camp oven, you can replicate the same result so we do not see how there could be much difference in taste between the two.
Easy To Maintain & Keep Clean
Overall, a spun steel Aussie camp oven is extremely easy to use, maintain and keep clean. To keep our spun steel camp oven free from rust and ensure it lasts forever, we make sure it stays lightly oiled after every use. After we have cooked a meal, we usually add a little clean water and sit the camp oven on hot coals or gas until the water simmers. Then we empty the water and wipe out the inside with paper towel or a cloth. Once dry we then lightly oil with paper towel and pack away in our Underkover Australia canvas bag. Cast iron camp ovens are known to rust if they are not kept well oiled. Once they rust, they are usually useless.
Camp Oven Temperatures
A while ago we added a post on camp oven temperatures which you can read here. This post is a good starting point for any beginners as we discuss how to manage temperatures using briquettes. Briquettes can be a good option when first starting out as you can count how many you are using. However, we prefer to use hot coals directly from the fire as this is much easier.
But to give you a good idea on getting the right heat for different types of meals this is what we recommend. When baking breads or cakes you need to ensure that you sit the dough on top of the roasting trivet to keep the base of the dough off the bottom of the camp oven. We always use a baking dish as well which adds a bit more protection to the bottom. When it comes to coals with baking, you want to have most of the heat on top of the camp oven, not the bottom. This creates a similar effect to a normal oven. Therefore place 60-70% of the coals on top of the camp oven. When baking you should not need to use many coals. So, it is probably best to start off with less and check how well it is baking and if you need more then add more. Rather than adding too many and burning the bread.
When cooking liquid dishes such as stews, curries, and casseroles, you want more heat on the bottom. So, we usually place 60-70% of the coals on the bottom with far less on top. We usually use a lot of coals with liquid dishes, but again just check the progress of the cook regularly to ensure you do not have too many or too little. With slow cooked roasts you can have a more even distribution of coals, but we prefer to place more on top than the bottom. Trial and error are the best option when you first starting cooking with a camp oven. Over time you will master the number of coals required and where you need them for the different types of meals you are cooking.
Other Gear We Recommend with Your Camp Oven
Most spun steel Aussie camp ovens will come with a roasting trivet. This is used when baking breads and cooking roasts. The trivet sits on the bottom of the camp oven ensuring that the food is not sitting directly on the heat allowing it to circulate better. You should not need to purchase one. If you are going to be baking, we recommend you buy a round baking dish or cake dish. These are not expensive and can be stored inside the camp oven when not being used. A baking dish is great as it makes it easy to put your dough inside the camp oven as well as offer a bit more protection when baking. Fire or heat resistant gloves are also a great addition to a camp oven. This makes it extremely easy to remove the lid while cooking as well as to pick up the camp oven to add more coals underneath and when finished cooking. We used to use a pair of old baking gloves but have since bought some Campfire heat resistant gloves which are great while cooking around fire. Finally, the best addition to your camp oven setup is a good quality Australian made canvas storage bag. We chose to buy an Underkover Australia canvas bag to store our 12-inch spun steel Aussie camp oven. This bag does make it easier to carry the camp oven around, protect our other gear when stored in our 4WD or trailer, and reduce any noise from rattles.
Best Addition to Your Camp Setup
If you do not already own an Aussie camp oven, we highly recommend adding one to your camp setup. They are inexpensive and take your camp cooking to the next level. Cooking with them is extremely easy and they allow you to cook so many different meals. We have not even scratched the surface of what we can cook up in them. Clean up is simple and they are great for big groups. We do not leave without our Aussie camp oven, and it is one of our favourite bits of gear in our setup.
For more cooking posts you can read them here. For all our camp oven recipes you can find them here. To keep up to date on future posts join the 4WD Adventurer community here. For more regular updates follow us on Instagram.
Thanks for reading.
The thoughts of Peter.
