The Potjie Pot seems to have its origins in the Netherlands, hence it’s close association with what we know as ‘Dutch Ovens’, and made its début in Africa sometime in the 17th century via Dutch explorers. The Potjie replaced the clay pots currently in use by most peoples of the time, and became a mainstay of African cooking, becoming both a thing (pot) and a method (of cooking) and the name of a dish: ‘potjiekos’.
There is a great deal of similarity between cooking in a Potjie Pot over an open flame and the South African Braai which again is a thing (BBQ) and method (of cooking over open flame, not gas).
And so, as I found myself with my 30 year old, flat-bottomed, number 3 Potjie full of baked beans resting on a pizza stone inside my BBQ, which alas is gas, I thought what a strange juxtaposition of cultures was happening in my own backyard on my personal time-space continuum. Here I was using a device centuries old to make my own recipe for baked beans on a different continent, in a different hemisphere, under different stars.
And the device, for all its history hasn’t been changed in any substantial way. Some people claim that food cooked in a Potjie gets into the ‘pores’ of the cast iron and that letting food sit overnight will increase the flavor. I’m not sure about that, but certainly cast iron does get ‘cured’ as it gets used.
The enduring desirability of Potjie Pots is a little difficult to explain in today’s world of Instapots, slow-cookers, and air-dryer ovens. They are heavy, hard to wash, and when full of hot food downright dangerous. Yet here we are, the original Falkirk products a thing of the past but with companies such as Best Duty kicking the things out in a vast array of styles and sizes. Sizes range from 1 to 25 with 25 holding 18.75 gallons and weighing in at 160 pounds.
Just a few thoughts from a nostalgia-prone cook who still thinks that using a vessel dating back to 1652 that crossed oceans to get to Arizona and get stuck on a pizza stone in a modern gas-fired BBQ is somehow romantic.
Or maybe the cook is just full of beans…
Take care everybody!
Steve
