Cooking in a Römertopf (Clay Cooker)

My eldest daughter is turning 25 this week, so I gave her a Römertopf plus a couple of smoked chickens for her birthday. To our family, Sunday afternoon isn't complete without the aroma of a smoked chicken or roast coming from the oven -- at least in the cold season (which feels like most of the year, given we still have several feet of snow on the ground right now!).

Here are some recipes I translated for her from the french pamphlet inside -- who knows why they were not in German or English? But I had fun, and only had to look up 1 word! I found it funny how many of them were "Borealkraut-style" in that they gave no quantities at all!

To me, cooking in the Römertopf is the epitomy of simple home-cooking. The ingredients are nothing fancy, but the rich flavor comes from the slow cooking/steaming that intensifies in the the juices.
I've taken to picking half a dozen organic chickens at a time when I'm at Costco, which I brine (1 c each of salt and sugar dissolved in 1 qt water) and smoke. I vacuum-pack and freeze them, then take out a chicken midweek to thaw out in the frig. It's good for at least 2 meals-- we eat Roast Chicken on Sunday, then I cook the carcass into stock and serve chicken and dumplings mid-week (but I have to hide the left-overs in the frig so my husband eat them all)...

French Onion soup

6 big onions

2 cloves garlic

30 ml butter

1 ml dried thyme

310 ml beef stock

250 ml white wine

salt, pepper

6 slices french bread

250 ml freshly grated parmesan

250 ml grated swiss cheese

Soak clay cooker for 15 min. Meanwhile, sauté the onions in butter (or oil). Place in clay cooker, cold oven, and heat for approx 1 hr at 200C, checking and stirring onions occasionally, until nicely browned. Add thyme, beef stock and wine, and return to oven for another hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Before serving, toast the bread, place over soup with grated cheese and return uncovered to oven at 230C for 10 minutes, then increase to 290, broiling until cheese is bubbling, around 2 minutes.

Roast Beef

1 roast (your preference of cut, approx 1.5 kg)

salt, pepper

potatoes

onions

carrots

parsley

bay leaf

red wine, optional

Soak the cooker. Salt and pepper the roast. Place in cooker, together with all the other ingredients around it. Cover and place in cold oven. Bake at 250C for 40-90minutes, depending on cut and desired doneness.

Römertopf Meatloaf

450 g ground beef

250 g bread crumbs

250 ml milk

1 egg

25 ml dried onion powder

24 ml tomato paste

15 ml horseradish

5 ml salt

5 ml pepper

potatoes (optional)

Soak the cooker. Mix all the ingredients. Shape into loaf and place into the cooker. Cover and place in cold oven at 230C for 75 min. It’s good to place cut potatoes under or around the loaf to absorb the juices.

Country Roasted Chicken

1 chicken (approx 1.5 kg)

salt, pepper

1 onion

parsley

celery leaves

butter (optional)

thyme

white wine (optional)

vegetables cut small (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc)

Soak the cooker. Clean the chicken, and fill the cavity with onion, celery, salt, pepper.

Place in cooker and optionally rub with butter. Add vegetables and wine, as desired.

Cover, place in cold oven and bake approx 85 minutes at 230C.

If desiring a crust on the chicken, remove vegetables and juices (for gravy) and return to oven uncovered until browned as desired.

Potpourri of savory vegetables

Zuccini, tomatoes, onions

Salt, pepper

Parmesan cheese

Soak cooker. Peel and cut vegetables (not too small). Put all ingredients in cooker, cover, and place into cold oven. Cook at 230 C for approx 30 minutes – cooking time depends on size and quantity of vegetables.

Baked Fish Fillets

900 g fish fillets (fresh or previoulsy frozen)

mustard

lemon juice

salt, pepper

paprika

fresh chives, chopped

Soak the cooker. Spread mustard over fish fillet and place in cooker, and sprinkle remaining ingredients over them. Cover and place in cold oven, bake at 230C for 30-40 minutes until fish is done.

Baked apples

6 medium apples

butter

sugar

cinnamon

raisins

pecans, chopped

125 ml white wine

15 ml rum essence

Soak the cooker. Mix sugar, cinnamon, raisins and pecan in a bowl for filling. Wash and core the apples (don’t peel). Spread butter on apples and place in cooker. Place filling in each cavity. Pour in wine and rum essence. Cover and place in cold oven and bake at 230C for approximately 30 minutes until apples are tender. Serve with the delicious juice.

(My mom's variation “Apfel im Schlafrock” or Apple in evening robe: encase each apple in phyllo dough and bake on sheet. Serve with whipped cream -- it was our favorite dessert when I was growing up!)