How to Cook a Roast in a Camp Oven

Is there anything better than a juicy roast with crispy skin, and crunchy-but-soft-in-the-middle roast vegetables?

The answer, of course, is no. Nothing is better.

Getting these things just right in a camp oven can be tricky – but not impossible by any stretch! In this blog, our Snowys bloggers flex their rustic camp cooking muscle with an easy method to cook both a roast pork and a roast lamb in a camp oven – and both work every time!

Note: the roast pork recipe is a slightly revised version of the Yummy Pork Roast featured in the Camp Oven Recipes cookbook by the Cast Iron Boys.

For more camp oven cooking recipes, check out my Camp Oven Recipes e-book. Oh, and don’t forget to check out my damper recipe! Image: Mick Viller

Roast Pork in a Camp Oven

by Mick Viller

Ingredients

• 2kg pork (whichever cut you prefer)
• Olive oil
• Rock salt

Method

Step 1: Prepare your Camp Oven

Light your briquettes or a fire. Wrap a trivet in tin foil and place in the bottom of your camp oven.

The camp oven is ready to go with a foil covered trivet. Image: Mick Viller

Step 2: Pre-Heat your Camp Oven.

It is important to place your roast in a hot camp oven. I use about 14 briquettes on top, and 10 or so underneath to preheat the camp oven.

Tip: You will need to keep changing the coals or briquettes when they start cooling down, to keep up the constant heat in the camp oven. Go here for more tips on heat control. 

The camp oven with 14 (ish) briquettes on top and 10 underneath. Image: Mick Viller

Step 3: Prepare the Pork

There are so many ways to prepare your meat for cooking – this is just how I like to do it. First, I dry the pork with a paper towel. Then, I oil and cover it in crushed rock salt, before placing it into a preheated camp oven for about 20 minutes.

The pork has been dried and is ready for salting before popping the lid on top. Image: Mick Viller

Step 4: Crack the Lid

Moisture will build up in the camp oven, so it’s important that you let it out. After the first 20 minutes, crack the lid using a piece of wire or a folded up piece of tin foil.

Simply place under the lid; doing this will allow the steam to escape and help create that perfect crackling you are looking for.

A wedge of folded foil is enough to crack the lid of your camp oven to let all that steam out. Too much steam means no crackling! Image: Mick Viller

The remaining cooking time will vary depending on how big the piece of meat you’re cooking. As a rule of thumb, give each kilogram an hour; for example, a 2kg roast will take 2 hours.

Look at that crackling! Image: Mick Viller

Step 5: Dinner is Done!

Serve with your favourite veggies and gravy.

Doesn’t look half bad, does it? Delicious with a rich gravy, spuds, beans, corn, and pumpkin. Image: Mick Viller

Roast Lamb in a Camp Oven

by David Leslie

Ingredients:

• 1 x leg of lamb (approx 1-1.5kg, to feed 4)
• 2 x large potatoes
• 4 x carrots
• 2 x large onions
• 1/2 pumpkin
• 2 x tablespoons of flour

Tools of the Trade:

• Camp oven (Large 9Q cast iron, 12 inch Bedourie or 12.5ltr steel)
• Long-handle shovel
• Long-leather gloves
• A large kitchen knife
• Long tongs

Method:

1. Prepare your Camp Oven

First, get the fire going; you will need a good amount of coals to cook the damper in.

Scatter a shovel load of coals on the ground next to your fire and place the oven on top with the lid on to preheat.

2. Prepare your Food

Take a completely defrosted leg of lamb out of its plastic wrapper, and rub with a good coating of cooking oil. Season with a generous amount of salt, pepper, and herbs (Italian herbs or thyme works a treat).

Chop up your veggies into bite-sized chunks.

Ready to go! Image: David Leslie

3. Cooking Time

A good rule to follow is 1 hour per kilogram of roast, plus an extra 30 minutes for veggies.

Now that your oven is preheated, it’s time to start cooking. Add a little oil to the oven and place the roast in the centre; a trivet is handy, but not essential.

Put the lid on and add a shovel load of coals on top. Relax with a cold beverage!

4. Check your Roast

After 30-45 minutes, open the oven and check the roast. It should be grey in colour, as it is starting to cook through. At this point, add your veggies.

Put a shovel-load of fresh coals on the lid, but no more underneath. Have another drink while the sun sets.

5. …Check it Again

After another 30-45 minutes, check the roast and the veggies; place a sharp knife into the veggies, and cut a deep slice into the middle of the roast to see if it has cooked through.

If it is not ready, add another load of coals and check every 15 minutes until cooked.

6. Make the Gravy and Enjoy!

Serve up your gourmet camp oven roast.

Mix 2 tablespoons of plain flour in with ½ a cup of water. Add to the camp oven, and mix with the juices from the roast to make a cracking gravy!

Pour over your roast – and enjoy!

Some camp ovens will cook differently to others, depending on how big they are and what they are made of – so don’t be afraid to check your roast a little more regularly than what I have mentioned above. Once you’ve done it a couple of times you will be an expert.

With a cold beer in one hand, and a plate full of roast lamb and veggies on your lap, sitting around a glowing campfire, your bush camping experience will be just about complete!

Have you got any campfire cooking tips? How do you cook a roast in the camp oven? What are your favourite veggies to serve with a pork roast? Leave us some comments so we can all become experts!