The Terra Cotta Pan Bobby Flay Swears By For Cooking Seafood

Bobby Flay may have a reputation for grilling and cooking with Southwestern flavors, but he has another culinary passion that doesn't get as much attention: preparing seafood. Flay loves seafood so much that he even recently swapped out his legendary restaurant, Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace, for a coastal Italian seafood restaurant called Amalfi. And his New York City restaurant Gato, which closed during the pandemic, had a Mediterranean menu featuring dishes like roasted octopus, crispy oysters, and steamed halibut. So when Flay gives advice about cooking seafood, fans may want to listen.

One of Flay's best seafood cooking tips is also the easiest, because it's not a technique you have to learn, but rather a piece of kitchen equipment you need to acquire. When Flay reaches for a pan that can sautee shrimp, oven roast salmon, or fry squid, he opts for a terra cotta dish called a cazuela rather than a cast iron pan or stainless steel skillet. Popular for preparing the traditional cuisines of Spain and Mexico, cazuelas can be used not only in the oven, but even on the stovetop and for campfire cooking. Once you see how versatile this cookware can be, you'll be itching to add one to your own collection.

Bobby Flay has been using cazuelas for decades. Back in 2003, he shared a salmon recipe in The New York Times that was cooked in a cazuela, telling the publication that he favors the terra cotta dishes because they "have a very even heat, like the al forno dishes in Italy." A cazuela can't replace every pan in your cupboard — it doesn't produce "that searing heat that aluminum or stainless steel have" — but it's perfect for lower-heat sautéeing, braising, and slow-roasting.

Flay also loves that cazuelas can go from oven to table for a "festive, relaxed way of eating," he says. Cazuelas come in a variety of sizes, though the Food Network star is known to prefer the 8-inch pans. You can find options that have lids or don't, miniature versions, flat versions, and color-glazed versions instead of the usual terra cotta color. They're also affordable compared to many other types of cookware, likely because terra cotta is a less expensive material than steel or cast iron. Whether you're making shrimp scampi, slow-roasting your favorite fish fillet, or making a hearty Spanish-style fish stew recipe, a cazuela can do the job.