I used a post hole digger and a shovel to dig a Dakota fire hole in my back yard. This was a great experiment and relatively quick to complete despite my heavy clay soil (or maybe because of it?).
I’m not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs, but my wife sure is, so with her blessing I made her some snacks for the week.
I liked everything about it, except: I think the rocks holding up the grates were unnecessary. The hole was several inches bigger than the Dutch Oven, so I think I could have had more success with less wood if I had used the old oven grates alone.
I fueled this with cutoff scraps of mostly cedar and a little pine. I sure wish I had measured better, maybe starting with a box of a specified weight, then weighing it at the end. It felt like such a small amount of wood.
There are two cottonwood trees within 5 feet on either side, which have branches almost directly above the fire hole itself… absolutely nothing was wilted, much less scorched.
A far cry from even the most banal campfire.
Despite my reservations, I couldn’t help but check to see how well I did. To my surprise, I think the eggs came out textbook-perfect!
8/10, would repeat for fun and am definitely recommending to family and friends!
To get certified for this Badge Bit you must provide pics or video (<2 min) of the following:
- The spot where the Dakota fire hole will be dug
- Building the Dakota fire hole
- Starting materials before fire with cold Dakota fire hole
- Fire started
- Additional wood added
- Food cooking
- If using a pan or pot, show it resting on something to keep from plugging the exhaust of the system
My attempt at building and cooking with a Dakota fire pit.
The “- Fire started” and “- Additional wood added” Pictures are from the second time using the fire pit. I forgot to get them the first time I used it.
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Build and Cook with a Dakota Fire Hole - PEP BB rocket.sand.dakota
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