How to Prepare and Use a Tajine Pot

With all my heart I hope you are reading this before using the beautiful tajine pot you have just acquired. To keep it beautiful and intact, there are a few essential steps to take before cooking with it for the first time. They preserve the clay, seal the surface and prevent cracking.

A tajine is made of clay. Even after firing, clay remains porous earthenware. It is sensitive to heat because air is trapped inside the material. If the pot is heated too quickly before it is prepared, the air expands and can create cracks that may eventually break the pot.

Below you will find the traditional method, inspired by Berber practice, to prepare your tajine with care and respect.

Step 1: Soaking the Tajine

Submerge the entire tajine pot, base and lid, in cold water for at least three hours, preferably overnight.

If you listen carefully, you may hear a faint hissing sound at the beginning. This is the air leaving the clay as the water slowly penetrates the pores.

Step 2: Drying the Pot

Remove the tajine from the water, pat it dry gently with a cloth and leave it to air-dry for at least one hour. The surface should feel dry before you move on to the next step.

Step 3: Oiling and Baking the Tajine

Coat the inside of the tajine base with a generous amount of olive oil. Do the same with the inside of the lid. Place the tajine in a cold oven and heat it slowly to 150°C or 300°F.

Bake the pot for two hours. Every half hour, check whether the oil is evenly distributed and adjust it gently with a brush if necessary. After two hours, turn off the oven and let the tajine cool completely inside the oven.

As the oil slowly carbonizes, it creates a natural non-stick layer and strengthens the clay structure, which reduces the risk of future cracking.

Do not apply oil to the outside of the tajine. A fully sealed exterior would prevent the clay from breathing during heating and cooling.

Step 4: Second Sealing

When the pot is completely cold, repeat the oiling and baking process with a lighter layer of olive oil. Bake again at the same temperature for thirty minutes and let it cool slowly in the oven.

Your tajine is now ready for long-term use.

Cooking with a Tajine

Always use a heat diffuser when cooking with a tajine. Whether you cook on induction, gas or electric stoves, direct heat is too intense for clay. Place the diffuser on the stove, then the tajine on top, and heat both slowly.

This gradual heating allows the clay to expand gently and significantly reduces the chance of cracking.

The First Dish

For the first use, prepare a dish rich in moisture. This allows the clay to absorb humidity and begin developing the subtle depth of flavour that makes cooking in a tajine so special.

I have created another blog with a recipe that is perfect for the first use of the tajine. It is a dish we prepared high in the Atlas Mountains, a place where food, landscape and tradition feel inseparable. You can find the recipe through the link below.

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