have you ever cooked with a schlemmertopf?
(Great for Holidays ‘06)
You may recall Ranald’s German Feast from a few weeks ago, which featured the most yummy roasted lamb. That dish, along with many others, was cooked up in a schelmmertopf (above), a glazed terra cotta dish. Before you cook any dish in a schlemmertopf, you must first soak the whole thing in cold water; thirty minutes the first time you use it, then ten minutes from there on. Also, once you’re ready to cook, you place the dish in a cold oven, rather than a pre-heated one. This will prevent the clay from cracking in high temps. Whatever you put in there will soak in its own juices and serve up moist and delicious.
Here’s a simple recipe for Chicken Okotobertfest (still tasty in November!):
Salt one frying chicken inside and out, and fill with sliced onions parsley and butter. Place in the schlemmertopf, cover, and put in cold oven. Turn on the temperature to 425 and bake for 90 minutes.
What could be easier? You can buy a schlemmertopf online at germandeli.com, for $34. — Angela M.
November 7th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
We almost always roast our chickens in one of these, you just have to take the lid of for the last 10 minutes or so if you want crispy brown skin. And the liquid you pour off at the end makes the best stock for risotto (with the leftover chicken) the next day. It’s a lovely flavourful way to cook.
December 18th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
We use ours all the time when we have people over for dinner - it is the easiest way to make juicy delicious dinners while you are actually sitting on the couch visiting with your guests!
D - thanks for the tip about the stock!