Dutch oven cook off Saturday at Bull Shoals-White River State Park

My recent cooking lesson started off familiar enough - we sprayed the pot with Pam - except that pot was a Dutch oven sitting on gravel at my campsite on the White River in north central Arkansas. I was enjoying a cooking program given by interpreters at the Bull Shoals-White River State Park in Bull Shoals.

I'll admit I was hardly roughing it because I wasn't in a tent. I was lounging at one of the park's Rent-an-RVs with my husband and two boys. But, my goal was to learn how to cook some delicious meals for future family camping trips that don't include kitchen conveniences. And what else would one use for that other than the Dutch oven? It is, after all, the official cooking vessel of Arkansas, named so in 2001.

My preconceived ideas led me to believe this sort of cooking would be harder than it was. I mean, who knew there was a chart to tell me how many charcoal briquettes to pile under and on top of the oven? My family is going to be very happy I took a lesson because I would have buried the cast iron crock with flames licking every inch, the heat scorching everything inside.

Instead, my park interpreter Randy Pearson checked a chart to determine how many briquettes to use under the base of the vessel and on its lid in order for it to cook at the correct temperature. After getting the charcoal started in the fire ring at the campsite, he then placed the chosen few on and under the Dutch oven for about 10 minutes to preheat it.

It was indeed delicious and so much easier than anything we usually try to cook at the campfire.

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The program was extremely useful. I walked away with a booklet of recipes, information on how to care for a Dutch oven and some knowledge of the history of the vessel. Pearson provides lots of tips too, such as lining the vessel with foil to make clean up easier, not storing it with the lid on to prevent moisture build up, and more.

He also discussed buying Dutch oven cookware and how to season a vessel because you can buy them either way, seasoned or unseasoned. But, no matter which you choose, all pots must be seasoned before use.

If you have the opportunity, you really should sign up to take a full workshop.

The park holds at least two three-hour workshops each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. During the workshop, participants will cook beef stew, tamale pie, broccoli casserole, breakfast casserole and cobbler.

The park will host a Dutch Oven Cook-off from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Judging begins at 2 p.m. Call the park at 870-445-3629 to sign up to compete and for details. Spectators can pay a nominal fee for tasting cups to taste the dishes after the judging is complete. In addition to the cook-off, there will be craft demonstrations such as wood carving and flint knapping. Three music groups have been booked to provide country/folk music. The cook-off will take place at the park's lakeside property across the dam on Ark. 178.

Dutch oven events in The Natural State:

"Dutch Oven Dessert & Game Night," May 25 and Aug. 30, Cane Creek State Park in Star City. 870-628-4714

"Dutch Oven Cooking Workshop," Sept. 6, Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park in Scott. 501-961-9442

"Advanced Victorian Dutch Oven Workshop," Sept. 13, Powhatan Historic State Park in Powhatan.

"Dutch Oven Cooking Workshop," Sept. 20, Lake Poinsett State Park in Harrisburg. 870-578-2064

"Dutch Oven Basics Workshop," Oct. 4, Lake Charles State Park in Powhatan. 870-878-6595

"Dutch Oven Skills 2: Beyond the Basics Workshop," Oct. 4, Historic Washington State Park. 870-983-2684

"What's Cooking? Dutch Oven Workshop," Oct. 11, Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott. 501-961-1409

"Dutch Oven Breakfast Workshop," Nov. 8, Old Davidsonville State Park, Pocahontas. 870-892-4708

"Basic Dutch Oven Cooking Workshop," Nov. 15, Crowley's Ridge State Park, Paragould. 870-573-6751

"Holiday Sweets and Treats Dutch Oven Workshop," Nov. 22, Historic Washington State Park in Washington. 870-983-2684

"Outdoor Cookin' Workshop," Nov. 29, Lake Ouachita State Park in Mountain Pine. 501-767-9366