My first try cooking bacon was with hot charcoal briquettes under a cast iron dutch oven, and hot briquettes on top of it... a minute later when i opened the lid, not only did i burn my bacon, but there wasn't anything left but grease with teeny tiny bits of meat... lol.
Those cast iron dutch ovens are hotties, and cook quick! I like 'em, ...once i learned how to use 'em, lol.
The way I use dutch oven 80% of the heat comes from the top of the pot.