It’s been a while since I’ve waxed lyrical about my Römertopf bakers, but I’m still completely besotted with them.
Last week, I defrosted a small piece of free range belly pork and half a Burrawong Gaian duck, with great plans for an elaborate dinner. But as the day went on, I ran out of steam. So I dragged out my Römertopf bakers, knowing that they’d provide us with an easy meal, and more importantly, that when dinner was over, they’d go straight into the dishwasher. Both the large and small pots were left to soak in water while I prepped the meat.
The duck with washed, lightly oiled and salted; the pork fat was scored and rubbed with salt and pepper. Each went into a separate baker, then both were placed into a cold oven and the heat turned up to 200C with fan.
I then went out and forgot all about them for two and a half hours. I was sure both meats would be dried out and overcooked, but that wasn’t the case – the pork was moist and shredded easily, and the duck was so tender that it broke into pieces in my hands…
After dinner, I poured both the duck and pork drippings through a muslin-lined sieve into a jar. It set overnight in the fridge…
The following morning, I made bread sticks, using 130g of the combined fats and wild garlic salt. The original recipe is here, and they were very moreish…
There’s still half a jar of roasted fat drippings in the fridge. Jamie Oliver’s new book suggests that it will be fine there a couple of months, but I’ll be trying to use it up sooner than that. It was nice not having to waste it!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
You are a cooking legend, Celia, no doubt about it! Love the sound of this, especially Beth’s duck… now I really, really, really, wish I hadn’t left my Romertopf behind with my ex. Gah! Happy cooking love.
Thanks love! Hope we get to see you soon! xx
Your post reminded me that I have not used my Chinese sandpots for a while, should locate them and put them to use again. Would love some of those breadsticks now, I find bread sticks so fun to eat.
Norma, they’re great fun to make too, I don’t have to fuss too much about the dough rising or shaping, it’s like working with playdough! :)
I would love to try these, Celia- are they as heavy as they look? I can’t handle really heavy bakeware- my wrists are arthritic ( your are too, aren’t they?)- I do love to use cast iron= but have to limit it to when Frank is home to move them about. These look a little lighter, perhaps?
Also- I put up a breadstick recipe today- great minds do think alike! :)
Heidi, I can’t do cast iron anymore, I know they’re wonderful and expensive and gorgeous, but it’s just too hard on both our hands. The clay is much lighter – the Emile Henry Flame range is 30% lighter than comparable cast iron – I wrote about them (years ago now) here:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/07/29/emile-henry/
I don’t find the Romertopfs too heavy – I weighed mine and it was 7lbs, which sounds like a lot, but that is for both the base and lid and it takes a whole duck or chook or leg of lamb. Maybe you could weigh your cast iron pot as comparison?
I love how you don’t let anything stop you and you didn’t get stressed when you thought you’d forgotten them in the oven. I spend too much time berating myself for being silly. :) I have a clay bread baker that was included in my divorce from my ex. We both wanted it. I won.
That meat looks fantastic. I don’t save fat and I’m going to start.
Maureen, I get stressed about lots of things, but almost never about cooking. When we were younger, we used to have an annual Christmas party that grew from about 80 guests to over 150 by the time we stopped having them. Some years we would spend weeks getting ready, but other years, when things were just too hectic and overwhelming, we’d serve sausages on a bit of bread on a paper napkin – we didn’t bother with plates those years. And every year, folks had a great time, regardless of what we served! :) Do save the fat – I’ve got a couple more recipes coming to use it up! :)
Celia these must taste absolutely amazing! They wouldn’t last long around me.
Claire, they were delish – my mum and uncle loved them and took a bag of sticks home with them!
Calorific but delicious, I am sure :)
Ah well, I figure if I’d made them using butter, it would have been just the same calorie and fat-wise. And lard and duck fat are actually lower in saturated fat.. ;-)
I wasn’t complaining at all lol!
No, that was just me justifying it to myself! :D
As long as you are guilt-free!!!
Always. :)
i save all my fat drippings as well. but recently i have been boycotting pork. too many horrible pig factories. may all sentient beings be at peace. can’t kick the duck confit habit.
Confit duck is sooo delicious – I don’t make it often, as my sons just devour it without sparing a thought to the amount of time it takes to make it! :)
my husband and dogs do the same : 0 Duck is very affordable here in China When things settle down I am going to try a few of your recipes.
I love your style of cooking…using all the little bits and pieces and not letting it go to waste. :)
Laila, thank you! The irony of course is that the things that taste the best are often made with leftovers! :)
Oh what a yummy dinner Celia! I’ve still got my duck fat drippings left in the fridge from Christmas, I usually freeze it after each use but have just been too slack :) Great way to make the most of all that yummy flavour xox
Becca, I often use my lard and drippings in bread – gives it a lovely flavour. My freezer is filled with duck fat, lard and rendered beef fat – there was so much already in there that I really didn’t want to put any more in! :)
Never thought to use dripping in bread sticks. They must be amazing! I have a similar clay pot – one made for me by a Greek potter in a traditional Balkan shape and absolutely love slow cooking meat in it. The only difference between the Römertopf and my clay pot is the fact that it is glazed on the inside and you do not need to soak it. I have to defrost that pork belly in the freezer now!
The Romertopf is glazed inside as well, but it needs soaking – not just to stop it cracking, but also because it returns the water to the dish and steams it as it roasts. I love them! Your handmade Greek one must be gorgeous! :)
Keeping dripping in the fridge for months on end works fine it’s what my mum used to do and we’re still alive to tell the tale :)
Claire, it just seems a shame to waste it. Thanks for the reassurance that it will be fine in the fridge! :)
Oh…so that’s what a dripping stick is. I saw the picture of the casserole and was trying to work it out. I didn’t know you could put the casseroles in the dishwasher. Now there’s a tip. Thanks!
Fiona, not sure all clay pots go in the dishwasher, but the ones we have certainly do! I’m always astounded how well they clean up in there too! :)
Great idea to make bread sticks! I’ve saved pork fat from cooking and used it in risotto, but this is a new way to use up leftovers. So tasty too.. :-)
Saucy, it’s great in bread! I’ve got another recipe coming in a week or so! :)
I love the sound of those roasting dishes. I don’t have any like that. The duck looks amazing and I bet it was full of flavour. And that’s great you were able to save all the fat not only for your bread, but it makes the best crispy potatoes xx
Charlie, they’re the bee’s knees. The only thing we have to be careful of is to make sure they go into a cold oven, and also to make sure they don’t get pulled out and put onto a cold bench. They’re a bit sensitive to big changes in temp. There’s a smaller version of ours on sale at PoK at the moment!
Yeah baby, always save the fat. Makes the most delicious roast potatoes. Must get Pete to do some baking with it though, those sticks look fab!
Kavey, let Pete know they make the best beer snacks! :D
You are an inspiration!
That’s very kind, thanks Misky! xx
My sister in law always uses a Romertopf. She got her first one about 50 years ago when she was living in Germany.
I always save the dripping as well! I’d never thought of using it in breadsticks. Great idea.
Sadly I’ve never had any cast iron dishes ~ when I was young, I couldn’t afford them and now I can’t lift them.
Pat, I’m sure I’ll get in trouble for this, but I never liked the ones I had. They cost a fortune, they were a bugger to clean, and the Emile Henry clay pots work better in my opinion. :)
Dripping stick, ooo, they sound good!
Have a super day.
:-) Mandy xo
Thanks Mandy! You too! xx
I had one of those clay pots years ago but cracked in placing in a cool sink while it was still hot. I should try another one. I’m sure the dipping sticks were crispy and delicious with the fat used from your meal.
Karen, it was so nice not having to waste it! And I cracked the glaze on my first Romertopf trying to bake bread in it – I heated it up in the oven and then plonked in cold dough, which was a mistake! Promptly went out and bought a replacement at the sales! :)
Hehe I still have duck and goose fat from a year ago. It seems fine! :P
Oh that’s good to know! :)
Oh my, those bread sticks look fantastic! I have some duck fat in the fridge that might have to be used up for some :)
Tandy, they’re great fun to make, and it’s a good way to use up any leftover fats! :)
Every so often I eye up the Romertopfs in the shops and then I think, another thing to store somewhere and I really don’t have room. But you do make them sound good! I never quite know what the definition of overcooked is when it comes to meat, with this current fad, particularly over here, for all these pulled meats, which to me are seriously overcooked. However, if it is edible and enjoyable then of course it is cooked just right! A bit like the distinction between plants and weeds, a weed after all is just a plant growing in the ‘wrong’ place. It all looks fabulous! Must make bread sticks again soon like you and Heidi ! You are all such wonderful cooks xx
Hehehe…I have a recipe coming very soon for Romertopf pulled pork – my boys loved it! It cooked for hours! And my next post is on edible weeds! :D
Dripping and the jelly that was part of it was on the menu when I was young. Mostly I must admit, at my grandmother’s house. I do remember that it was delicious on toast with salt and pepper and as this was in England neither my parents or my grandmothers had fridges. My grandmothers lived to good, independent, old ages so keeping dripping can’t have been bad. How I would love to be a time traveller and go back and talk with them about their cooking and I’m sure they’d love being in your kitchen Celia – not to mention your garden!
Jan, Pete draws the line at us smearing our toast with pan drippings. But added to bread, or used to flavour roast potatoes or fry onions for a stew – they’re all acceptable! :) Come back and visit soon Jan, it would be lovely to see you and Peter! xxx
Beef dripping with beef jelly on a flat dense rye bread and fried onions on the top… a Scandinavian smorgasbord delicacy, maybe with a slice of gherkin to top it off.. (I didn’t say that did I, ‘gasps’ but Jan’s comment reminded me of eating this quite a lot as a child, you have to have the jelly to make the fat bit work though)
I think the jelly is sublime – it makes me think of the yummy stuff on top of pate. For some reason I have a memory of 70s dishes with jellied consumme cut into little cubes. :)
“I save all my fat drippings” he, he, he… I am in a silly mood, and for some reason that made me laugh and laugh and laugh… I am at work, so I better behave!
Celia, you are truly an inspiration, and I agree with Maureen, an example for us worriers. I would be unable to have ANY FUN until arriving home to check on the food. You? You just surf through it all…. perfect!
Oh hon, you know I worry about stuff, just not really in the kitchen. It helps to have sons who will eat whatever I cook without complaining though! :D
I just love the looks of that baker & it sure sounds like magic to me. I haven’t seen duck for years in the stores so I always order it out if I see it on the menu. I love it but yours looks so succulent and tender. (I can relate to what you said about running out of steam too).
I truly wish that I had some of those breadsticks right now to munch on while I’m reading and I’m thinking of all the different things that I would dip them in or scoop up with them.
Diane, if you lived closer, I’d tie up some bread sticks in a bundle with a bit of string around the middle and trudge through the snow to deliver them to you.. :) The clay bakers are a godsend – Pete and I really struggled with the cast iron ones we had with sore hands and joints, plus they didn’t go in the dishwasher! Both the Emile Henry and the Romertopfs do – the latter usually come out spotless. I have another recipe coming soon!
I’m going to have to try to find them here, thanks for the tip. I had no idea they could go in the dishwasher. I know exactly what you mean about the cast iron cookware. I’ve had that sciatic nerve kicking up and picking up one of those babies is just too much.
Di, here’s the post I wrote about the Emile Henry. The Flame range (not all of their pieces, but just these ones) can actually go straight on the hob, and they’re 30% lighter than cast iron. We made the switch a few years ago and have never looked back…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/07/29/emile-henry/
The Romertopfs aren’t nearly as versatile, but they do bake stuff magnificently in the oven. They’re much more sensitive to changes in temp – I cracked the glaze in one by heating it up and then plonking in cold bread dough. It’s a good thing that at the time they were clearing them out over here at $30 each, so I hadn’t spent a fortune on it! (The Romy links are in the post above) xx
Thanks for the link, I appreciate it & it sounds like something I could really enjoy.
Those bakers look fab, the idea of putting them in the oven and forgetting about them for a few hours sounds ideal to me. And good for you not wasting the dripping, I bet it will make wonderful roast potatoes. Still have home-rendered lard in the freezer – in fact, must use it soon!
Andrea, I’m a huge fan of them – we roast all sorts of things in them. And best thing we’ve ever made with home-rendered lard? Lardy cakes, of course! :)
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2013/04/22/lardy-cakes-a-follow-up/
I’m so impressed that you wasted nothing at all! The bread sticks look so good. I’ve seen those beautiful cookers before and thought they were so attractive, but I’ve never owned one. I can see they are quite practical. Nice to know they’ll survive the dishwasher! :-)
Thank you! The clay pots really are great – we use ours (either the Emile Henry or the Romertopf) every day! :)
Just a quick query Celia, if I may? Does the meat brown when cooked in the Romertopf?
Terry, yes it does, but we usually put it back in the oven for a bit at the end with the lid off to brown it a bit more. With the belly pork, we took the lid off, poured off the fat, and then turned the top element on with fan to crisp up the crackling. There are some photos here of roast duck in the Romy as well…
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2010/08/01/romertopf-roast-duck/