Would it really be possible to cook a fish in clay?
Awhile back I read about in a fictional book a person who had no cooking utensils placed a gutted, cleaned fish in clay and baked it, and afterwards broke the pottery on the outside to get the fish out. If someone were to really do that
A) would it work? If so how long would it take?
B) What would the benefits of doing so be over skewering the fish and cooking it over an open fire? and
C) What would its flavor be like (i.e. would the clay impart any flavor in and of itself above any beyond any seasonings used on it)?
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Baking fish in clay is like baking the fish in an impromptu duch oven: it keeps the moisture inside the meat, unlike roasting the fish on a skewer.
The clay should impart only very little flavour. If you use the clay directly on the fish, the skin typically sticks to the clay and is removed with the clay. Other methods wrap the fish in large leaves first and then in clay. Hay is also used occasionally, also for flavour. In all cases, the clay won't actually touch the bits you eat.
As for cooking times, this varies greatly, depending on
the size of the fish
the thickness of the clay layer
the heat and position in, on or next to the fire.
Sources vary from "ten to fifteen minutes on each side" (small trout in 1/2 inch of clay, right in the embers (1)) to "up to three hours" (2 inch thick clay layer, baked in heated stones and covered with soil (2)). The clay layer should be totally solid by the time the fish is done and depending on the type of clay, might show some cracks.
Yes & chickens. You need a white clay. Or here you do. Gut fish or chicken. Stuff with wet grass not to tight. Dig round hole in sand. Start fire in hole. Let burn to coals. Add a little more dry wood. While doing this prepare your clay. Should be like molding clay by adding water. Wrap fish or bird in clay 2 inch's thick. Place on coals. add some rocks around it & 2 metal pipes 1 to each side for vents. Next cover with sand. The vent pipes let some air in so coals burn slow. Cook 4 hours. Dig up. Clay should be baked like pottery. Lay on flat rock. Hit with other rock by hand to break clay. Pull clay loose. this will remove the skin on fish or feathers & skin on a chicken. Living in a land were only 50% of the people have electric refrigeration 25%. It is better to take a live bird or fresh caught fish. Than eat spoiled meat in the tropics. So this is still done here on outings.
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