Dutch Oven Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

My whole family is from the south. I grew up in Southern Nevada, which my mother always called “simulated south.” She planted trees and cooked me grits and taught me how to talk real good like them nice folk down in North Carolina. It wasn’t ever easy gettin things like grits and sweet corn in the the desert, so I gained a huge appreciation for these items and other seasonal produce, especially in the spring and summer. You still can’t find grits in my current home of Southern California, but there is a lot more produce available here. Right now, strawberries are in season, and they are everywhere!

I think strawberries are supposed to be a summer fruit, but not here. I went to the market to get supplies for our Easter family camping trip this weekend, and strawberries were only $0.79/pint! I bought six, not knowing that Aimee was finding herself a great deal too, and purchasing a giant package. I also bought rhubarb, a tangy “fruit” that almost always accompanies strawberries in cooked desserts.

We spent the weekend at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, nestled in our own secret spot among the green rolling hills and endless fields of wildflowers. We snacked on the strawberries as we frolicked, and thought about the possibilities for the perfect recipe to include them in. Our original plan was a dutch oven strawberry rhubarb pie that would act as my mother’s birthday cake Saturday night. Having three Dirty Girls on a camping trip, however, continues to mean three separate dinner recipes to test at once. All the full bellies combined with a surprise icy wind changed our minds, and the strawberry rhubarb pie turned into an Easter breakfast item. It was well worth the wait.

Instead of pie crust, we topped the fruit with biscuits and brown sugar. The cast iron dutch oven was placed in a bed of coals, and evenly cooked the cobbler recipe until the biscuits were browned and the strawberries and rhubarb were bubbly. I hadn’t thought to bring any cornstarch or flour with me to thicken the cobbler, so the fruit ended up almost as a soup. It kept the bottom from burning, but I would have liked it a little thicker. I added flour to the recipe posted below. Also, I used a can of refrigerated biscuit dough, but I’d be willing to bet that any biscuit dough would work here.

The cobbler paired nicely with the Easter candy that had been hidden around the campsite for us “kids” to find (I’m the youngest at 25). I can’t imagine a more perfect spring recipe on a more perfect spring weekend!

Dutch Oven Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Yield

6-8 servings

Prep Time / Cook Time

15 minutes / 15 minutes

Activity Guide

Car Camping

Ingredients

• 2 pints strawberries, halved
• 3-4 stalks rhubarb, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
• juice from 2 limes or 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 large refrigerated biscuits, halved like buns
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Tools

• Campfire or grill
• Dutch oven
• Knife
• Mixing spoon

Method

1. Get a campfire going. You need a bed of hot coals to cook your cobbler on.
2. Add the first seven ingredients to the dutch oven, and stir together to coat fruit.
3. Cut butter into pats, and distribute along the top of the strawberry rhubarb mixture. Place biscuit halves around the top of strawberry rhubarb mixture until covered. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of biscuits, and cover with dutch oven lid, making sure there is a little space between the lid and the top of the biscuits. Take some strawberries out if necessary.
4. Place dutch oven on bed of hot coals, making sure it is stable and even. Shovel coals onto the top of the lid to make an even thin layer.
5. Open the lid and check the cobbler after 5 minutes, making sure not to get coals into the dutch oven. If one side is cooking faster than another, turn the oven. Check again every 5 minutes until the biscuits are golden and the fruit is bubbly.
6. Serve one biscuit and a spoonful of fruit per person, hot.