Cooking with the Ultra Pro dish

The Ultra Pro is the most used oven dish on the site, appearing in 121 recipes. This guide covers the temperatures we see most, common uses, a handful of recipes to start with, and basic care.

A dish built for the oven

Of the 121 recipes that use the Ultra Pro, most go into a conventional oven. The temperatures that come up most often are 180°C (356°F), 200°C (392°F), 220°C (428°F) and 210°C (410°F), depending on whether the recipe needs a slow, gentle bake or a quick colour at the end.

The median total time across these recipes is 74 minutes, prep included. This is a dish for cooking that takes its time rather than a ten minute dinner. Its deep shape suits mixtures that rise or that release juice as they cook.

A smaller number of recipes also use the microwave, at wattages between 600 and 1000 W. That mostly covers prep steps before the dish goes into the oven, such as melting butter or softening vegetables. This double use explains why the dish earns a spot in a kitchen that switches between the two methods depending on the day.

What gets cooked in it

Mains lead the way with 60 of the 121 recipes: roasts, whole birds, vegetable bakes. Baking follows with 24 recipes, then desserts with 17, often cakes or log-shaped bakes that suit the dish's long shape.

Starters stay rare, with only 5 recipes, since the Ultra Pro is mostly built for dishes that feed several people. It shows up as easily on a weeknight table as for a festive roast.

The dish's length makes room for a whole bird or a leg of lamb, with enough space around it to add vegetables that cook in the same juices. Its depth also limits fat splashing inside the oven, an advantage for anything cooking longer than an hour.

Six recipes to start with

These six give a fair spread across what the Ultra Pro handles best on any given week, from a festive roast to a simple loaf cake for an ordinary afternoon.

• No-churn chocolate ice cream log
• Soft Cherry Cake for Two
• Christmas Goose with Gingerbread and Chestnut Stuffing
• Butter-Free Green Avocado Loaf
• Festive Stuffed Guinea Fowl with Baked Celeriac Fries
• Roast Chicken with Spring Vegetables

Adjusting the cooking time

A cut of meat thicker than the one a recipe describes needs more time at the same temperature. Lowering the temperature slightly and extending the time keeps the outside from burning before the centre is ready.

For a whole bird, a thermometer pushed into the thickest part, away from the bone, gives a more reliable reading than a fixed time. Resting it for 10 minutes out of the oven lets the juices settle before carving, and makes carving noticeably easier too.

For a cake or a loaf, the logic flips: a larger batter than the recipe expects needs a lower temperature and a longer time, so the centre cooks through before the top turns dark. Covering the top with foil partway through protects it if needed.

Looking after it

Letting the dish cool before rinsing it avoids thermal shock. It is not built for a direct flame or a hob, only for the oven and the microwave as each recipe indicates.

A non-abrasive scourer handles most marks, including caramelised sugar or dried meat juices. Our recipes use temperatures up to 220°C (428°F) in this dish.

For long roasts, covering the dish with foil at the start and removing it for the last half of the cooking time keeps the inside moist while still letting the outside brown. A quick soak straight after use also stops baked-on residue from setting hard, and saves a fair bit of scrubbing the next morning.

Practical guides

• Microwave cooking times chart
• Which Tupperware product for which recipe?
• Cooking with the MicroPro Grill
• Cooking with the MicroCook Pitcher