Romertopf troubleshooting
March 2, 2016 6:15 PM
I got a Romertopf clay pot over the holidays. It seems like 80% of the time, whatever I was cooking ends up way too dry, which is the opposite of how I understood clay pot cooking to work. Making matters worse, the Romertopf FAQs are poorly translated from the original German. Needless to say, my dishes do not remain sapful.
What's your clay pot cooking process? What are some tips to ensure moisture remains in whatever you're cooking?
Items that have gone dry include a wide range of pot roast cuts, chicken breasts, and a whole chicken. The flavor is always good, but the tenderness is not present, even when I hit my ideal inner temperatures. I have had success with Cornish game hens and vegetables.
I feel like the whole perk of clay pot cooking is that it was relatively resilient to overly long cooking, so this is pretty vexing for me.
Also: please feel free to share beloved clay pot recipes!
Items that have gone dry include a wide range of pot roast cuts, chicken breasts, and a whole chicken. The flavor is always good, but the tenderness is not present, even when I hit my ideal inner temperatures. I have had success with Cornish game hens and vegetables.
I feel like the whole perk of clay pot cooking is that it was relatively resilient to overly long cooking, so this is pretty vexing for me.
Also: please feel free to share beloved clay pot recipes!
I'll admit I haven't used my Romertopf that much, but it does need to be soaked and I do add liquid in with the meat.
My favorite recipe that I cook in the Romertopf is a whole duck, dump as much white wine over it as looks safe, and let it cook for a good long time at 325 or so. Best duck ever.
posted by littlewater at 7:05 PM on March 2, 2016
My favorite recipe that I cook in the Romertopf is a whole duck, dump as much white wine over it as looks safe, and let it cook for a good long time at 325 or so. Best duck ever.
posted by littlewater at 7:05 PM on March 2, 2016
I'm sorry not to have different advice, but if anecdata helps, as MonkeyToes and littlewater mention, we soak ours (top and bottom, around 15 minutes) before using, and also add some wine, broth, or water to contents, and haven't had problems with dryness.
posted by taz at 1:27 AM on March 3, 2016
posted by taz at 1:27 AM on March 3, 2016
The German instructions say to soak it in water, eg put it inot the sink and fill the sink and leave it there for 10 minutes. I think the term "sponge" is misleading, they do not mean that you sponge it off with a wet sponge but actually soak it in water for at least ten minutes, and it absorbs the water. They go on to say that it absorbs enough water for a 3 hour period at 180° to 200° Degrees Celsius.
You can also see it in the video .
posted by 15L06 at 3:43 AM on March 3, 2016
You can also see it in the video .
posted by 15L06 at 3:43 AM on March 3, 2016
Also: please feel free to share beloved clay pot recipes!
I bake bread in mine, and the crust is always lovely. (More on bread and clay pots from The Fresh Loaf.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:42 AM on March 3, 2016
I bake bread in mine, and the crust is always lovely. (More on bread and clay pots from The Fresh Loaf.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:42 AM on March 3, 2016
I never really became friends with my Römertopf mostly because it has a big overlap with the dutch oven, and I ended up giving it away. But I do cook in tagines, cazuelas and other clay pots and your question made me curious: maybe this site is more useful?
Searching around, I found Bram - wow! Very inspiring, good 101, and they have some cookbooks as well.
posted by mumimor at 7:33 AM on March 3, 2016
Searching around, I found Bram - wow! Very inspiring, good 101, and they have some cookbooks as well.
posted by mumimor at 7:33 AM on March 3, 2016
I definitely soak it. I follow all the basic instructions provided with it, and have tried a couple different temperature settings.
posted by palindromic at 10:55 AM on March 3, 2016
posted by palindromic at 10:55 AM on March 3, 2016
dump as much white wine over it as looks safe
I laughed when I read this, but I think littlewater's on to something*.
it absorbs enough water for a 3 hour period at 180° to 200° Degrees Celsius.
Which I take to mean that it lets moisture go slowly over that period, and not that it adds a ton of moisture to the contents. I think I'd experiment with increasing the amount of moisture/liquid in the recipe (adding wine, or more vegetables, or whatever). I was just thinking about the whole chickens I've done in a clay pot--oiled, yes, but also stuffed with lemon halves and garlic to provide moisture on the inside of the bird. If I have a little leftover chicken broth, that goes in there, too. For chicken breasts, I think I'd throw in a layer of lemon slices and garlic and a little oil/broth as a bed for the chicken.
* I am a terrible cook. Please regard this as experimental advice.
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:02 PM on March 4, 2016
I laughed when I read this, but I think littlewater's on to something*.
it absorbs enough water for a 3 hour period at 180° to 200° Degrees Celsius.
Which I take to mean that it lets moisture go slowly over that period, and not that it adds a ton of moisture to the contents. I think I'd experiment with increasing the amount of moisture/liquid in the recipe (adding wine, or more vegetables, or whatever). I was just thinking about the whole chickens I've done in a clay pot--oiled, yes, but also stuffed with lemon halves and garlic to provide moisture on the inside of the bird. If I have a little leftover chicken broth, that goes in there, too. For chicken breasts, I think I'd throw in a layer of lemon slices and garlic and a little oil/broth as a bed for the chicken.
* I am a terrible cook. Please regard this as experimental advice.
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:02 PM on March 4, 2016
I am an excellent cook and yes MonkeyToes has it.
You soak that thing, but it doesn't absorb more than, perhaps, a quarter cup overall? And that small amount of liquid dissipates in the entire oven, not just inside the pan.
Keep in mind it's dry enough inside there to bake bread. More moist than a dry oven but still moist. The clay is porous so it may even be dryer inside than a Dutch oven.
If meat is dry it's for the same reasons meat is dry in any cooking - it was treated incorrectly for its cut or it was cooked too long or too hot.
If you place meat dry inside there, cook it similar to something you would roast normally dry (like a chicken). Don't cook it longer or hotter.
If you add liquid now you can treat it like a Dutch oven/crock pot, like my duck recipe. Low and slow here, 325 or so for an hour or maybe more is ok.
posted by littlewater at 7:37 PM on March 7, 2016
You soak that thing, but it doesn't absorb more than, perhaps, a quarter cup overall? And that small amount of liquid dissipates in the entire oven, not just inside the pan.
Keep in mind it's dry enough inside there to bake bread. More moist than a dry oven but still moist. The clay is porous so it may even be dryer inside than a Dutch oven.
If meat is dry it's for the same reasons meat is dry in any cooking - it was treated incorrectly for its cut or it was cooked too long or too hot.
If you place meat dry inside there, cook it similar to something you would roast normally dry (like a chicken). Don't cook it longer or hotter.
If you add liquid now you can treat it like a Dutch oven/crock pot, like my duck recipe. Low and slow here, 325 or so for an hour or maybe more is ok.
posted by littlewater at 7:37 PM on March 7, 2016
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I've had good luck with chicken in a clay pot, but I oil the heck out of the skin.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:36 PM on March 2, 2016