Clay chicken roaster

[dancingbear]

They might, but the cost of a custom, hand-thrown pottery item like that, would have to be high. I have a dear friend who's a potter, I had no idea how much work goes into a handmade ceramic item, until he showed me a lot of it.

I'd check ebay, flea markets, and yard sales. Here's one like mine, on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Litton-Simmer-P...9569931QQihZ016QQcategoryZ25465QQcmdZViewItem

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
I did, and I found this one (see below) in perfect condition for $10 + $11 shipping. It arrived today. Anne really likes it, and she says that it's definitely large enough to roast a chicken. Seems that Litton is either out of business or they're no longer making simmer pots. THANKS
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110288123917&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:US:1123

 

[seeker55]

Thanks very much for your link to the Litton Stoneware eBay site. Great price! Have a comment though. The Romertopf type of cookware is UNGLAZED clay and requires soaking in cold water for 15-20 minutes before each time you use it. It MUST be used from a cold start, i.e. a cold oven. It takes a longer time to cook than many other bakeware, including STONEWARE. BUT it does a great job.

UNGLAZED CLAY cooks by a process DIFFERENT than what happens inside a GLAZED STONEWARE or CERAMIC GLAZED CAST IRON. Similar, but different. It creates a bigger head of steam, as the water absorbed by the unglazed clay heats up and is released into the cooking chamber. In all other cases, the steam must come from the water driven out from the food itself.

So the Litton Stoneware and the Romertopf are not at all Comparable, in spite of their external appearances being nearly identical. It is a shame that the Romertopf is so expensive that people like me cannot afford to buy any of the useful sizes. I saw a lady who had turned her beautiful huge Romertopf, a turkey-sized one, into a geranium planter. After that many years, the pores get clogged, and its life as a cooking vessel is over. For the same reason, a romertopf-type unglazed vessel is not soaped, only scrubbed with salt and a stiff brush.

The Moroccan Tagine, in its original inspiration, is similarly unglazed. Paula Wolfert has written very thoughtfully on this pot and the types of cookery it inspires. There are many types of clays, she says, and each has physical characteristics that leads to a certain type of construction that in turn dictates what [and how] things can be cooked in them.

[Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco by Paula Wolfert (Paperback - Feb 18, 1987)
Buy new: $19.00 $12.92 48 Used & new from $6.64 Amazon]

"Sandy Pots" from China, and their Korean and Indian equivalents, make excellent unglazed stovetop or ovensafe cookware. People close to Koreatowns near LA or elsewhere or who have Korean friends should check out these beautiful pots. These are NOT the same as their STONE pots that are made of stone, for another purpose [ dolsot pots for bi-bim-bap]!!!!

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Thanks for the information about cooking with "unglazed". Do you or anyone else have any for the glazed pots like our Litton?
I went on Amazon and couldn't find a book of directions/recipes. I ended up buying a used book, The Clay Pot Cookbook by Sales for the highway-robbery price of $ .01 (plus $3.99 shipping). I don't know if it has any information about glazed pot cooking.

 

[brandywine]

Thanks for all the detailed info, Seeker55.

I have a combo pot -- the lid is unglazed, and the inside of the bottom is glazed. We do soak the whole thing before using. I never thought of scrubbing with salt -- I've just been using one of those green mesh scrubbie things and plain water.

No idea where it came from -- my Mom got it at a yard sale, never used it, gave it to us. We love it. I use it mostly for roasting chickens and corned beef. A lot of steam comes out of the lid, and there's also the effect of evaporative heat loss from the outside of the bottom part of the pot.

Any more suggestions about fully utilizing this pot would be most graciously suggested.

 

[seeker55]

This recipe is for a Chinese Sandy Pot, glazed inside, inside the cover & cooking space, used on gas or electric stove but started from cold surface, avoiding sudden temperature transitions. Can be used in ovens, with same precautions. Therefore, recipe is transferable to glazed ovenware like Litton: you can do any frying steps on stove in frying pan and move to oven for slow cooking.

http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/02/clay-pot-chicken-rice.html


http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=75962

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=76568&st=30

#38

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=76568&st=150

#154

http://www.mollystevenscooks.com/recipe.php?recipeID=9

http://www.mollystevenscooks.com/recipe.php?recipeID=17

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2006/01/18/mahogany-short-ribs/

http://www.epicurious.com/tools/bro...t=127&pageNumber=1&pageSize=10&resultOffset=1

 

[kinnip]

Quote:
Paula Wolfert is one of my culinary idols!!! Her books on Mediterranean cooking set the bar high. I love clay cooking vessels. One day I'd like to have a tandoor oven.

 

[seeker55]

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=96580&hl=tandoor*

http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?language=2&Display=10&resolution=high

http://www.woodstone-corp.com/products.htm

in a dry heat e.g. fireplace, stone hearth, Primo Grill, etc. the tandoori effect is well-replicated, so don't tie yourself to a single purpose oven sch as the tandoor, get a stone- hearth oven like those above, and make bread, pizza, roasts, rotisserie etc. for sales to neighborhood as well.


http://www.nsbequipment.com/tandoori.htm


If you incorporate as a small business [dependng on your town's zoning laws, certain types of food business are ok from home, and may be set up as a "sole proprietor" simply by filing a DBA [doing business as] with the town clerk].

Then there may be scope for showing your investment as a business expense, taking tax deductions as permitted by law.There may even be micro-credit available for small business, offsetting your capital investment.

Local credit unions AND cooperative extension offices may be able to help you with setting up a small business and accessing micro-credit. However, please ALWAYS consult an experienced business lawyer before entering into a home/small business venture or before taking tax write-offs.

 

[kinnip]

Ambitious! I already have two businesses. I'm tapped. I agree about the multi-use oven. Honestly, I feel that if it accomplishes the job a particular thing accomplishes, it can be called that thing (what the hay?). "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
The real goal is to get to a place where all the coops are done (

), then I can get the oven built.