If you are a fan of braising and slow-cooking, then a tagine (pronounced ta-zheen) should be an integral part of your cooking arsenal. Tagines have been used across North Africa for centuries, but they are mostly known for their use in the cuisines of Tunisia and Morocco. The term tagine refers to both the cooking vessel and the cooking technique.
A traditional tagine has a fairly shallow base and a large conical lid sporting a distinctive, hand-grasping knob (it's also a great place to rest a stirring spoon...). It is made of glazed earthenware, and the lid can range from plain to ornately carved & colored. Ours is not ornate, and we were able to find it on Amazon.com for about $50 delivered. Obviously, the more ornate the lid, the higher the price. You can also pay several hundred dollars for tagines made of cast iron, stainless steel or a veritable plethora of other space age composites. However, unless you have an excessive amount of disposable income, why sway from the original? We would love to hear from anyone who has done a side-by-side cooking comparison and found a noticeable difference in the flavor or texture of the finished dish.
A tagine traditionally simmers for hours over a charcoal brazier, with the conical lid retaining all of the moisture and flavors. We have chosen to modify our cooking technique somewhat, since we have a commercial Garland stove/oven in the kitchen rather than a charcoal brazier! We do any preliminary vegetable sauteing or meat browning stovetop in standard cookware, then transfer these items to the tagine, which is placed in the oven at low temperature (we never go above 300 F.) for slow cooking. You will find details of our technique, along with some recipes, in future blogs, so stay tuned.
When searching the web prior to purchasing our tagine, we noticed an amazing number of negative reviews posted for virtually every traditional tagine on the market. How can a product be used for centuries and receive so much negative feedback??? We purchased ours, with some trepidation considering it's relatively low price, and have been pleasantly surprised - it worked well from it's very first use! Here are some "common sense suggestions" to follow if you want to avoid becoming a negative reviewer:
- There are two types of tagines - cooking tagines and serving tagines. Always buy a cooking tagine unless you only plan to use it as a serving piece! Serving tagines are not fired to a sufficiently high temperature to withstand the heat of a stovetop or oven! If you place a serving tagine in the oven it will shatter, and you may have more than just a messy oven on your hands!
- Even cooking tagines can eventually crack. To avoid the potential of an oven mess, consider placing a deep baking pan under your tagine as a precaution.
- If you plan to use your cooking tagine stovetop, use a heat diffuser. No matter what your fuel source, the heat will be more intense than a charcoal brazier, and you run the risk of cracking your tagine - even if it is a cooking tagine. To avoid this potential problem, we choose to only use our cooking tagine in a low temperature oven.
- When you remove your tagine hot from the oven, always place it on cloth or wood. Never put it on a cold surface or cool it with water - it may crack from thermal shock.
- Before it's first use, always season your tagine following the manufacturer's directions. This process strengthens the earthenware which could crack if used without seasoning. If directions are not provided, you can find several alternative techniques easily on the web.
- After use, always hand-wash your tagine with soapy water. Never use a dishwasher.
We hope this peaks your interest to experiment with a very traditional & ethnic cooking technique.
Happy Slow-Cooking!
