Dutch Oven No Boil Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs

Instructions

1. Preheat Dutch Oven
2. Add olive oil and minced garlic.
3. Break the spaghetti in half in small bundles and lay them on the bottom of the pot
4. Add the oregano, salt, a good sprinkle of black pepper, pasta sauce, fresh basil, and water and then use a spoon to gently let the water and sauce go in between the dry pasta.
5. Cover and bake with 8 coals under and 12 on lid, for 25 minutes
6. After 25 minutes give the past a stir. Add parmesan cheese and mix thoroughly. Then add meatballs to the top.
7. Replace lid and continue baking for 15 minutes
8. Once noodles are fully cooked, cover with shredded mozzarella cheese, return lid and bake until cheese is melted. Top with some more fresh basil and serve.

How To Determine How Many Coals To Place On, And Under Your Dutch Oven:

The amount and placement of coals on and under your Dutch Oven is important. We often just use the coals from a fire which takes some practice as the heat produced from that is more difficult to measure. We recommend using charcoal briquettes for the most consistent results.

The perfect amount of briquettes is based on your Dutch Oven diameter. For example, if you are using a 10" Dutch Oven, you will need two coals per inch, or a total of 20. To figure out how many coals to place on and under you oven all you need to do is remember the number 2.

For the lid you'll want to place 2 more than the oven size on the lid and for underneath you'll want to place 2 less than the oven size. So for our 10" dutch oven we would place 12 on the lid and 8 on the bottom. For a 12" dutch oven you would place 14 on the lid and 10 on the bottom. This works out to about a 350 degree oven which is just right for most recipes.