Moroccan Tagine Cooking

[FlyingChopstik]

I just went to the website and the extra large rifi is listed at 12 inchs wide. Is this the one you have Smithy? I also asked the company which tagine would be ideal for 4 to 6 people and the woman responded that the extra large rifi wouldnt be large enogh and it would be better to cook with 2 tagines to feed 6. Ive been wondering if that was an attempt to upsell.

[Smithy]

Yes, I have the extra-large rifi tagine.  I've fed 4 people from it with leftovers.  I've never fed 6 people from the tagine but it might be possible, since there are usually additional dishes making up the meal. (In other words, I don't know whether it was honesty or attempted upselling on the saleswoman's part.)  I wouldn't in any case get two rifis, when there's that beautiful souss tagine calling out to me also. I'd start with one and use the Japanese tagine for extra volume if the Moroccan tagine weren't big enough. I predict that you'll have fun comparing the results of cooking in an unglazed and a glazed tagine.  You can always get a second unglazed tagine later if you want.

[FlyingChopstik]

Ohok that should be sufficient maybe even the large might work out better for me too. I am curious as to what the difference would be in cooking in both. Didnt you do an experiment like that a while back? I rember reading it on one of the threads. Btw, havent forgotten about the other donabe pics. I will post those today. I had it boxed up since i havent used it in a while.

[FlyingChopstik]

The sous looks cute too. Are you going to get one??? Do you think thete will be a difference in the outcome of

The food?

[Smithy]

Ohok that should be sufficient maybe even the large might work out better for me too. I am curious as to what the difference would be in cooking in both. Didnt you do an experiment like that a while back? 

 

I'm not sure I follow the question.  We did a lot of tests comparing the outcome in different materials and finishes, but I don't recall comparing what happens in an oversized tagine vs. a small one.

 

The sous looks cute too. Are you going to get one??? Do you think thete will be a difference in the outcome of

The food?

 

I have no plans to get a souss tagine, but only because I don't have storage space without getting rid of something else.  It's smaller than my rifi and the cone geometry looks like it would provide less overhead volume even if it were the same size.  

[FlyingChopstik]

I meant im curious of the difference in the dish if cooking in an unglazed vs a glazed tagine.

[Smithy]

I meant im curious of the difference in the dish if cooking in an unglazed vs a glazed tagine.

I've been reviewing this topic - a good exercise for me, because I'm relearning things I learned once already - and there's a lot of good information here. I recommend going through it. Maybe we can get a good conversation going again.

My tests indicated two differences in the results of cooking a tagine in a glazed clay pot vs an unglazed clay pot. The glazed clay pot had slightly less liquid loss due to evaporation, meaning slightly more sauce from the glazed pot, at least until it was concentrated by boiling down. The far more important difference to me was that the meat was noticeably more tender when cooked in the unglazed pot. You can read about the specific test in this post: #98. A fair amount of discussion ensues.

I also tested cooking the same dish in enameled cast iron vs. unglazed clay pot. There was much, much less loss of liquid - hence more sauce, as well as more fat thrown off - in the enameled cast iron. I posted about that here: #58. Again, there was a lot of discussion afterward.

I haven't read as far yet as when I actually got the rifi tagine. If you're interested, I recommend going back to the beginning and reading the topic through. You may come up with questions as you go. Unfortunately many of the original participants are gone, but there are bound to be new people who can contribute.

[Hassouni]

What's the deal with tagines.com? Do they put the orders in from Morocco, which is why some people had to wait forever?

[FlyingChopstik]

I've been reviewing this topic - a good exercise for me, because I'm relearning things I learned once already - and there's a lot of good information here. I recommend going through it. Maybe we can get a good conversation going again.

My tests indicated two differences in the results of cooking a tagine in a glazed clay pot vs an unglazed clay pot. The glazed clay pot had slightly less liquid loss due to evaporation, meaning slightly more sauce from the glazed pot, at least until it was concentrated by boiling down. The far more important difference to me was that the meat was noticeably more tender when cooked in the unglazed pot. You can read about the specific test in this post: #98. A fair amount of discussion ensues.

I also tested cooking the same dish in enameled cast iron vs. unglazed clay pot. There was much, much less loss of liquid - hence more sauce, as well as more fat thrown off - in the enameled cast iron. I posted about that here: #58. Again, there was a lot of discussion afterward.

I haven't read as far yet as when I actually got the rifi tagine. If you're interested, I recommend going back to the beginning and reading the topic through. You may come up with questions as you go. Unfortunately many of the original participants are gone, but there are bound to be new people who can contribute.

Thanks for the links Smithy. I will check those out!

Hassouni-- theres no issue with tagines.com now. That was years ago. I just ordered a tagra from them and it arrived in about 7 days.

[Hassouni]

Their site is a bit screwy though, trying going to page 3 of their cooking tagines.

[FlyingChopstik]

I also noticed that i can only view up to page 2. Im going to email them about that. Ill let you know what they say. What are you going to get?

[Hassouni]

No idea, but I'd like the site to be fully functional before I decide

[patrickamory]

I got my Rifi tagine from them - super smooth and fast, no problems.

 

I'm iffy on the unglazed. Maybe it's gotten a bit musty from not using it all the time - I seem to remember Wolfert posted some advice about that. Time to re-season maybe.

 

But I've also been thinking about getting a glazed or semi-glazed instead. The unglazed definitely has the prior dishes' flavor. I'm just not certain I always want that. Maybe I just want the slow-cooking conical rehydrating functions of the shape. TBD.

[FlyingChopstik]

Hi Patrick

Thanks for sharing! Thats interesting! Im actually looking to get an unglazed pot for that reason because the food tastes better with each use supposedly. id love to hear what results you have from reseasoning again. The tagine that i have from Toiro kitchen is glazed in the inside. You may want to check that out. http://toirokitchen.com/products/fukkura-san/

[FlyingChopstik]

I just spoke to Vanessa at Tagines.com. She said that they have to update their website but under cooking tagines, they only have in stock the tagines on page 1 and 2. There is nothing else past page 2 under Cooking Tagines.

 

She also told me that the most popular tagine that they sell is the Souss tagine. Their personal favorite is the Rifi which is made by housewives but both are handmade. The Souss comes from the Sahara and is rich in mica clay. She mentioned that the flavors come out stronger in that one. I corresponded with Trouthound and he said that mica clay can withstand heat better and he owns both the rifi and the souss. Mica clay can also be found in the Chamba pots from Columbia.

 

I've been debating whether to get 1 or the other. So far I am leaning more towards the Souss. I just seasoned my tagras that I purchased from tangines.com for a 2nd time and I turned the heat up too high I guess because my apt started smoking. I'll post photos later. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Try http://www.bramcookware.com

 

That's where I bought my unglazed tagine.  They also sell cookbooks signed by Paula W.

[FlyingChopstik]

Brams makes beautiful tagines and pots. Which one did you get?

Here are the tagras after soaking in water for two hours and seasoned with olive oil, salt, and grated shallot( i didn't have onion) as per Paula's tip in The Food of Morocco. I baked it in the oven for about 2 hours. The shallot blackened amd left marks in the tagra which irked me at first but im sure that the bottom will darken with continued use.

Vanessa from tagines.com also mentioned that you can use the tagras on the stove top at low heat. Has anyone tried this?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Brams makes beautiful tagines and pots. Which one did you get?

 

http://www.bramcookware.com/product_info.php?products_id=1084&osCsid=92b05a8642259a8c2f9447cd0cbf36da

[Smithy]

I have cooked on stove top (electric coil and glass cooktop) with my clay pots from Egypt as well as my rifi tagine.  I've done the same with ceramic cookware from Crate and Barrel.  I've experimented with heat diffusers, wok rings, and direct contact.  I'm convinced that any of these items can be used on the stove top if the heat is gentle enough.  The trick, of course, is knowing what "gentle enough" means.  It depends on the thermal characteristics of the fired clay (how quickly and how much it expands due to heat, and how quickly the heat radiates outward so the entire pot heats and expands) and how concentrated the heat source is.  So yes, I think you can cook on stove top over low heat with the tagra.  I'm not sure I've tried it with my elongated clay pot - which may or may have been intended as a tagra.  It just looked like a good pot for cooking chicken or duck to me, and nobody suggested otherwise when I bought it.  

[patrickamory]

I use my Rifi tagine on the stove top all the time. I generally use a flame tamer and don't go much above medium (gas).

 

[Edit: You need to allow yourself extra time. Particularly when the instructions say to bring something to the boil. Can be as long as 30 minutes. And be sure not to add cold ingredients to hot tagine, or vice-versa. It's all about matching the temp of the ingredients to the clay, and being comfortable with gradual.]

Edited October 11, 2014 by patrickamory (log)

[Hassouni]

I did read through all 15 pages of the thread, but what are the differences in terms of cooking between the Rifi and Souss?

[FlyingChopstik]

Hassouni that us what was hoping to find out from current owners. Maybe we came a 9 years too late? Supposedly the souss tagines gives stronger flavor to the food---this is from the mouth of the employee at tagines.com. Trouthound has both and he said that if he had to do it all over again, he would go with the souss. The rifi is rustoc and contains a morw porous clay. Patrickamory and Smithy also own rifi tagines. I think that either 1 will be ok but perhaps they can share more of their experience?

[FlyingChopstik]

I use my Rifi tagine on the stove top all the time. I generally use a flame tamer and don't go much above medium (ga

[Edit: You need to allow yourself extra time. Particularly when the instructions say to bring something to the boil. Can be as long as 30 minutes. And be sure not to add cold ingredients to hot tagine, or vice-versa. It's all about matching the temp of the ingredients to the clay, and being comfortable with gradual.]

Thanks for the tip! Im thinking of cooking scallops or the calamari tagine.

Edited October 11, 2014 by FlyingChopstik (log)

[FlyingChopstik]

I have cooked on stove top (electric coil and glass cooktop) with my clay pots from Egypt as well as my rifi tagine.  I've done the same with ceramic cookware from Crate and Barrel.  I've experimented with heat diffusers, wok rings, and direct contact.  I'm convinced that any of these items can be used on the stove top if the heat is gentle enough.  The trick, of course, is knowing what "gentle enough" means.  It depends on the thermal characteristics of the fired clay (how quickly and how much it expands due to heat, and how quickly the heat radiates outward so the entire pot heats and expands) and how concentrated the heat source is.  So yes, I think you can cook on stove top over low heat with the tagra.  I'm not sure I've tried it with my elongated clay pot - which may or may have been intended as a tagra.  It just looked like a good pot for cooking chicken or duck to me, and nobody suggested otherwise when I bought it.  

Good to know! Thank you!

[patrickamory]

I love my Rifi tagine. Beautiful, easy to use, and it's turned out dozens of delicious dishes. Everything I've cooked in it has turned out tender and shot through with all the flavors of the ingredients. It works like a tagine should work.

 

But note: It's a completely unglazed vessel, and it does really have a characteristic smell and flavor, which gets more pronounced over time. I guess I could describe it as "earthy," though that doesn't really capture it - it's more distinctive than that. I'm assuming this is from the seasoning that an unglazed pot gathers from all the meals cooked in it, combined with the bouquet of the original porous clay and its first seasoning with olive oil, and in my case, ashes.

 

You may or may not want this in a given preparation, which is why I'm thinking about getting a glazed tagine to use as well. Just something to consider.

Edited October 12, 2014 by patrickamory (log)