Roast Pork Leg (Pernil Assado): Classic Step-by-Step Recipe
Carnes
Glossário Culinário
Baking Pan
The baking pan is the low, medium or high-sided vessel used to take preparations to the oven, like savory pies, lasagnas, cakes, breads, roasted vegetables and meats. Unlike a regular pot, it spreads the oven’s dry heat over the whole surface of the food, letting it brown evenly, form crusts and cook inside without drying out when used at the right temperature.
Characteristics
Baking pans can be rectangular, square, round or oval, with heights ranging from a few centimeters up to about 4 inches (10 cm) in the deep models for lasagnas and pavês. The most common materials are aluminum, which heats fast and is light; tempered glass, which lets you see the bottom and holds heat well; ceramic, which spreads heat gently and goes straight to the table; and nonstick, which makes unmolding cakes and pies easier. Models with side handles help handle heavy preparations safely.
Uses in the kitchen
- Pies and savory tarts: creamy chicken pie and quiches are assembled and baked directly in the baking pan.
- Gratin dishes: lasagnas and escondidinhos need high sides to hold sauce and cheese.
- Meats and poultry: pork leg, chicken thighs and ribs roast in the baking pan, often on a rack or a bed of vegetables.
- Oven sweets: plain cakes, cucas, sweet pies and oven-baked rabanada use greased or lined baking pans.
- Vegetables: potatoes, squash and carrots caramelize when spread in a single layer.
Substitutions
Without the ideal baking pan, you can adapt: springform cake pans serve for pies; glass oven dishes replace baking pans in almost every oven recipe; shallow trays work for meats and vegetables. For cakes, prefer dedicated pans, as height and shape influence how the batter rises. Avoid regular plastic containers or bowls not rated for oven use, which can melt or crack.
Fun facts
Greasing and flouring the baking pan is still the safest method to unmold homemade cakes, but parchment paper on the bottom keeps the base from sticking without changing the recipe. Dark baking pans brown the edges faster, so they ask for extra attention to temperature. Leaving space between pieces of meat or vegetables, instead of piling them up, is what guarantees that crispy golden finish instead of steam.
