Clay cooker
 

Found my clay cooker - hadn’t used for ages. Could be known by other names - it’s a terra cotta roaster. I made seasoned pork tenderloin, potatoes & onion in it - so flavorful. Next will be a whole chicken. I hear cooking magazines are featuring them again, it’s a throwback to 1970’s.

I had one years ago - lol - they were great!!

tranum-I'm glad you gave the before you cook tips, I bought a nice "terracotta" pot with lid at a yard sale last year but haven't used it yet. Thanks for the tips.

Where are the before cooking tips?

Soak in cold water for about 10 - 15 minutes, blot dry. Place the pot and ingredients into a oven. Some clay dishes have a glazed bottom half on the inside, some don't - mine is not glazed,
Wash without soap/detergent etc, the unglazed clay will absorb, and it can affect your next cook/baking.

I haven't used mine in a while, but I remember it made meat very tender and flavorful. I have some giant chicken breasts - hmmmm. Might be a good way to cook them so they aren't dry. Thank you for the reminder.

I made bread in mine this week. Yeast bread, second proving in the clay cooker (after soaking and blotting dry), into a cold oven at 220C for 30 mins, top removed and continue for 10 mins. The bread was delicious. Will be making bread using the clay cooker again on Friday. So, no need to waste 20 minutes power heating up the oven. Who knew.

interesting !

Thanks for reminding me that I have one, shoved way back on a bottom shelf. I used to use it a lot and think I'll try bread in it. For American ovens, I think 425 degrees would work. And I think I'll brush a little olive oil on the inside of the bottom to make sure it doesn't stick.

I put parchment paper underneath the dough before proving in the clay pot. I read this tip online somewhere when I first looked at baking bread in the clay pot. I also sprinkled/dusted the parchment paper with a little semolina. The parchment paper made it very easy to remove the loaf from the pot too.