Out of choice I already use a camp oven quite often.
After many unsuccessful outcomes I came across this hint which has been of great help with my cooking from chocolate cake to full roast. Timing is a breeze now:

Test the heat of the camp oven by placing a small piece of paper inside.  If the paper goes yellow it is likely to be moderate (162 190 deg C), light brown likely to be hot (190 205 deg C), dark brown likely to be very hot (260 deg C) and if it goes black very quickly and even burns then the camp oven is way too hot.

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

Camp Ovens are great to cook in Dave, either on a stovetop or how they were designed for. These days though, you might have trouble finding a place you can have an open camp-fire while travelling.
Cheers,
xina.

-- Edited by xina on Monday 20th of April 2009 03:31:17 PM

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

DAVE! Dirty? My camp oven is NEVER dirty. But even if it was a bit of dirt never hurt anyone eg. look at the latest generation of kids so sanitised that they all suffer from allergies.
If you even come this way I will show you how clean and productive my camp oven is.....roast lamb, veges and damper on the side. Trust me

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

I have not had great sucess with the cast iron "dutch ovens".... Good for a quick damper, nothing beats a restaurant if you want table d' hote cusine....

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?

camping recently a group of us used our choofers...with heat beads...while camp cooking using camp ovens https://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd116/Smokeydk1/Towitta0909/Choofers/ No mess here Dave

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.

I get jealous of all these stories of camp fires, camp ovens and choofers.

I'm seriously allergic to wood smoke.