well done you even though I HATE dirty little horrid camp ovens with a vengeance (mainly because I dont know how to use them) this is indeed good info

no dramas around here, nothing left to catch fire!!!

yes, yes, I know I have seen a camp oven in expert hands and it is a magical thing but I will not be tempted ever again to venture over to the dark side,

I purchased a ubeaut camp oven (furphy) complete with canvas bag and tripod, took it out placed it by the fire to heat up, chucked in the obligatory piece of paper, immediately caught fire and burnt me, hmmm!! thats not right thought I (I never was that quick)

ah haah!! too hot, pulls it back from the fire disturbing ashes, coals and logs and filling my eyes with smoke and ashes and basically blinding me, let it cool down, chucked another piece in, yep just right, filled it up with ingredients for a stew, simmered away and turned out an average type of meal

next day ready to move on, hmmm!!! stew burnt to side of oven, went to pick it up, handle facing fire, probably hot, grabbed the fire gloves moved it out from fire and started to clean the mongrel thing

outside covered in black sooty stuff that transfers to anything that is within 10 yards of the damn thing, so all over my gloves, arms, face, trousers and shirt, by this time we are not Friends anymore

cleaned it and put it in the bag, next time I went to use it, the damn thing was rusty, my fault I should have oiled it

we returned from that trip and I threw the thing in the corner of the carshed and there it stays until it gets more sense, I know it is just waiting for me to take it out again and it will get me all filthy and grumpy again, it is just sitting there waiting, watching me, just waiting for me to yield just a little

cast iron has extreme patience

I went and bought a "COBB", well, heaven on a stick, I cant go wrong with it, everything cooked to perfection, no paper, no black soot, no average meals, no rust, once again my faith restored in camp oven cooking

tempt me not with your devilry, begone with your witchcraft, nevermore will I dabble in such archaic, black magic, evil sorcery

Dave: Love the way you tell a story, always beings a giggle bubbling up. Know what you mean about the soot though, it does get messy. Even my inside kettle which heats on a gas ring gets black stuff on the bottom and seems to get everywhere.
Basil: A "restaurant" what's that?

I learnt the secret of no "sooty outside" on the camp oven, the fire must not be "smokey" and it must be in "live" coals or the soot will gather and it will then transfer to all and sundry

we tried ours again up at a camp just back from uluru and it made a hell of a difference, tucker was still ordinary but that's just me and my cooking, some of our group had some magical meals in theirs.

still not a big fan of the camp oven.