Dutch Oven

Last week my dad and I decided to take a dutch oven class offered by our local community. It's 2 nights total with a full dutch oven prepared meal to eat at the end of each class. Although we have cooked dutch oven meals while camping, we both realized that the pros will have a few tips that will help us create even better meals. One of the most valuable tips we've received so far is this: Don't put a hot coal in the bottom center. Although this tip seems obvious, it's not always the easiest to remember when your stomach is wanting food and you're still an hour away from a ready meal.

We're receiving some excellent recipes through this class, including a potato onion and cheese cornbread. It sounds weird, but is unforgettably delicious. I'll post a version of that recipe within the next few days.

I found this web site that offers some very valuable tips and great recipes.

Question for the world out there. I have found 3 different instructions for care of a rancid dutch oven. One says to heat it up, and that's all. One says to spray it with water and vinegar and wipe it out. The third says to heat it up really hot for a while then after cooling a little, scrub like crazy with hot water until it looks like new, then season it from scratch.

The third one seems to be the most thorough, although it's a lot of work if your pans go rancid from time to time. Do the first two methods mentioned actually work?