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Dutch Oven & Camp Cooking

Until the mid 1980’s, folks knew Cee Dub as either Butch Welch; or, in his official capacity as Senior Conservation Officer, C. W. Welch, with the Idaho Department of Fish & Game (IDFG). But as often happens in life, a nickname is born for reasons unknown. In Cee Dub’s case, one of his river running buddies started the whole thing by calling him by his initials, “C.W.” At some point on that particular river trip, his buddy’s tongue became a little thick after downing several cold beverages, and it came out as Cee Dub. (It “sthuck”!) Anyway…meet C. W. “Butch” Welch, the host of DUTCH OVEN & CAMP COOKING!

Butch, known as Cee Dub to his fans, grew up in Southeast Idaho. He learned at an early age about self-sufficiency on his family’s small acreage by doing the many chores associated with gardening and taking care of the stock. Cee Dub started exploring the outdoors by hunting and fishing with his Dad almost as soon as he could walk. Family camping outings were a regular occurrence as well, and a 12” Dutch oven, some cast iron skillets, and a two-burner gas stove made up their camp kitchen. But it was the weekend hunting and fishing trips with his Dad that provided the stimulus for Cee Dub ultimately to become a game warden. And at the same time, Buzz, his dad, began teaching Cee Dub Dutch oven cooking around campfires as they traipsed around Southern Idaho.

SPUDS AND ONIONS AU GRATIN Nothing goes better to compliment your baked ham than potatoes! This recipe is a crowd pleaser! Ingredients 2-3 lbs. russet spuds, sliced as thin as you can get 2-3 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine 2-3 medium yellow onions, sliced thin 1 15 oz. can of cheese soup 1/4 cup milk Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup cracker or bread crumbs (seasoned if you wish) 1 cup grated cheddar cheese Take a paper towel and wipe a 12" Dutch oven with a little olive or vegetable oil. Place one layer of spuds in the DO and brush with some of the melted margarine and add a little seasoning. Then put in a layer of onions and keep layering spuds brushed with butter and seasoning until you've used all your spuds and onions. Thin the soup with the milk and pour over the top. Sprinkle the bread or cracker crumbs over and add any additional seasoning. Set the Dutch in the firepan with 4-6 briquets underneath and 16- 18 on the top.Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove the DO from the firepan and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top and let set for 5 minutes or so before serving. Serves 6-8.

TANGY GLAZED HAM Want to prepare an easy, but elegant, meat entree for your summer backyard get-togethers or camping outings? This recipe is sure to please your guests and campers, but is so simple it nearly cooks itself. Cee Dub fixed this for Easter Sunday, the first wonderful spring Sunday on the South Fork. (Recipe adapted from Cee Dub's Dutch Oven and Other Camp Cookin', Page 111) Ingredients: 5-7 lbs. precooked ham 1 15 oz. can pineapple rings 1-2 oz. bottle maraschino cherries, optional 1 cup water Glaze: 1 -8 oz. jar orange marmalade 1/2 tsp. Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce 6 oz. Amaretto, or almond/cherry liqueur Mix the glaze ingredients together and let sit while you're getting the charcoal ready.Place the ham on a rack in a deep 14" Dutch oven along with juices from the cherries and pineapple and the water. Brush the ham with the glaze and any other seasoning you wish to add. Place pineapple rings on the ham with a maraschino cherry in the center of each ring, if desired. Use toothpicks to secure pineapple rings and cherries to ham, if needed. Set the DO in a firepan with 8-10 briquets underneath and 12-14 around the outside of the lid and cook for an hour. Brush ham with the remaining glaze 2-3 times during cooking.

Cee Dub began a thirty-five year formal association with IDFG when he joined an Explorer Scout Post sponsored by IDFG in 1964. Cee Dub went straight from being an Explorer Scout to working as a Bio-Aide on IDFG research projects while attending college. After attending Idaho State University, he transferred to Utah State University where he graduated with a BS Degree in Game Management in 1974. While working on temporary wildlife research assignments for IDFG, he spent a summer as a guide on a dude ranch, seasonally worked as an operator/truck driver for a large potato farm, spent three field seasons trapping grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park for the Inter-Agency Grizzly Bear Study Team, and drove a long haul semi truck.

In September of 1978 he hired on permanently as an Idaho Conservation Officer, based in Challis, Idaho. Cee Dub spent a lot of time patrolling a big chunk of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area. He ran a white water raft patrolling down the well-known Middle Fork of Salmon River over thirty times. During the fall big game seasons, he “jerked a pack string” on patrols into the “Frank Church” from one to three weeks at a time. Simultaneously, Cee Dub’s reputation as a good cook soon spread within IDFG to include the regional and headquarter offices. He found himself detailed to special assignments cooking for VIP’s and high-level department meetings. Cee Dub later broke new ground both for IDFG and himself in June of 1987 when he became their first full-time undercover investigator with an emphasis on poaching operations. Some years later, while serving in a patrol area in Southern Idaho near Nampa, Cee Dub did Dutch oven catering on the side and pecked out his first cookbook, CEE DUB’S DUTCH OVEN & OTHER CAMP COOKIN’. He completed his twenty-one year IDFG career as a designated backcountry officer in Grangeville, Idaho, in September 1999.

Some folks think Cee Dub began his television career after he traded his gun belt for an apron in 1999. Wrong! He actually started in August 1991 when he did a cooking episode for INCREDIBLE IDAHO, a monthly half-hour television show co-produced by IDFG and KTVB, the NBC affiliate in Boise, Idaho. He participated in several other episodes of INCREDIBLE IDAHO, some about rafting and being a game warden, and of course, some parts about cooking. In the fall of 1998, he and his bride, Penny, filmed the first eight episodes of the series, DUTCH OVEN & CAMP COOKING, between backcountry horse patrols for IDFG!

After leaving IDFG in 1999, Cee Dub continued to film television shows and to write cookbooks. A total of thirty-nine episodes were produced over three seasons for distribution originally on Public Television, now on RFD-TV. The series was filmed entirely outdoors. The main objectives were to demonstrate Dutch oven cooking techniques, and that outdoor cooking, especially while camping, did not have to be just beans, hot dogs, and hamburgers. The recipes are quite simple and easy to prepare. But the best part is the entertaining manner in which Cee Dub prepares the dishes as he is cooking. He is definitely a storyteller, and enjoys sharing his life experiences with his audience as he cooks. The feedback is proof that Cee Dub grabs the attention of the viewers who range in age from toddlers to grandmothers, and many that do not even cook with Dutch ovens or in the outdoors!

Cee Dub has written two more cookbooks. MORE CEE DUB’S DUTCH OVEN & OTHER CAMP COOKIN’, was released in 2000; and, CEE DUB’S ETHNIC & REGIONAL DUTCH OVEN COOKIN’, in 2002. He writes a regular column featuring Dutch oven cooking in the magazine BARBEQUE & Beverage, published in Grand Junction, Colorado, since the magazine began in May 2002. Along with more cookbooks in the planning and gathering stages, he has begun writing a book of a much more serious nature.

Cee Dub and Penny, aka PDub, live and operate their businesses from their home overlooking the South Fork of Clearwater River near Grangeville, Idaho. Their internet site www.ceedubs.com is a commercial site where they sell outdoor cooking equipment and accessories, including Cee Dub’s three Dutch oven cookbooks and a video. The website www.ceedubsproductions.com was launched for the purpose of being an information site for Cee Dub’s television shows, including his newest series, DUTCH OVEN COOKIN’ WITH CEE DUB. Cee Dub and Penny spend time traveling doing cooking demonstrations, teach Dutch oven cooking clinics, and make personal appearances, in addition to producing and promoting their television series.

Premiers each friday on RFD-TV

Contact Information:
Penny L. Welch
C. W. “Butch” Welch
ceedub@ceedubs.com
PO Box 190
Grangeville, Idaho 83530
Phone/Fax 208-983-7937