I suppose this could be the house that Jack built. It's big enough for someone to live in it. This summer, whilst needing and undergoing back surgery, Jack (with the help of his granddaughter) built what he thinks may be the world's largest Dutch oven.
The base is a cauldron discovered abandoned on the ranch and the top is the end of a propane tank. I wish I had more pictures of the process, but here it is before:
And here it is in action, doing what it was designed to do: cook an entire side of beef at once.
The fire was stoked at 4am to heat the oven in time to cook the steamboat round for a 6 pm serving time. It was cooked entirely with embers from a burning elm log.
At the party that night, the bonfire burned alone. We all gathered around the oven!
The oven weighs 540 pounds (per the cattle scale) and holds 72 gallons. The handle is a welded horseshoe. The base has three legs welded on to keep it off the heat. A pulley system had to be installed to lift the lid. Luckily, enough tractors were handy to move it!
1 comment:
holy cow (no pun intended;) that is one HUGE dutch oven! tres cool Jack! have you contacted the Guinness World Book of Records?? you should!
hope it's a fabulous day in WY! NE says hi!!
joan
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