I use the warming drawer in my oven to hold cooks for short times and to heat plates. No special treatment.
Some times I will hold a pork butt wrapped in foil at 175° in the oven instead of a faux cambro for longer holds.
That’s all I got. 😁
Smoker_Boy actually not quite. In some older ovens, and the range my daughter bought not long ago, that is just an open drawer that is not heated at all. On some higher end models there is a warming drawer that actually holds a temperature.
This video might help in answering your warming oven questions. I have not pulled the trigger on one yet myself, but i'm about too after watching Brad from Chuds BBQ use this as his brisket warmer.I have seen this model in the video go on sale for $299.00 but normally retails for $399.00. I like the fact that you can set the warming temp down to 145-150 degrees for how ever many hours needed.
I couldn’t find much information on this topic and figured this group might know best.
What’s everyone’s thoughts on warming ovens, I’ve seen mixed reviews on them.
What kind do you use?
Is it worth it?
Does it actually increase the quality?
Does it dry the meat out?
Does anyone use their food warmer to re-heat like a sous vide?
is there certain meats it’s better for, eg: brisket but not chicken?
How long can you leave your meat in it for?
Do you wrap your meat in plastic wrap or paper/foil before putting into the warmer?
I use several different options. I have a propane smoker I can use, a 24" Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 cabinet. This works great, although to keep it at 150ºF I have to keep the door cracked about a half inch, except in the coldest weather.
My Yoder YS480 pellet smoker will hold at 150ºF.
My indoor Breville toaster oven is large enough for a moderately large brisket to hold at 150ºF for up to 24 hours or more. I've done up to 20 hours.
Does it make a difference? Yes. Yes, I believe it does. No, when wrapped it does not dry out. The quality is much improved with a very long hold - pulling brisket out around 192-195ºF and wrapping and holding for 8-15 hours have yielded my best results. I generally wrap in foil. I finish with a foil boat, then wrap around that. This does sacrifice the texture of the bark, but still looks great, still adherent and doesn't come off, still tastes fabulous.
Interesting, I’ve never been a big fan of pellet smokers, but I’m always looking for excuses to buy new equipment. Never thought of them for holding a low temperature.
Another option is the Ninja Outdoor Oven like the one I won here several months ago. It will go down to 140° or 150°. Which you want would depend on whether you would prefer an air fryer or a pizza oven.
It did well on a pizza the first and only time I used it, but I think the min temp is 140°. The cooking chamber is 12" wide and a bit deeper than that. I just checked and it will fit a half sheet pan, ( 11X17).
We have a built-in Monogram one separate from the oven. The instructions manual does state not to use it for reheating from cold. Worth it to us for keeping food warm when we have take out that arrives too early or holding foods after cooking while we wait for other dishes to finish cooking. Actually do occasionally use it to warm up dishes and bowls. I’ve used mine for holding foiled wrapped briskets and butts but usually I use a cooler as I usually smoke in quantities. I do really like the Proof setting when baking though, and that is when I use it the most. As far as holding meats both briskets and butts definitely improve with long hold times. Never held a chicken or felt the need to.
I use the low temp settings on either the electric or gas ovens, no issues in holding. I will wrap in foil when I hold. I got tired of trying to time everything as cook times do vary for the same size meat. I plan to get it done before serving time then just hold. Makes life simpler and I have no issues with the results. I noticed while in Texas at the MeatUp the BBQ places all had commercial holding cabinets with the product wrapped. That was enough to convince me.
I have a warming button on my top (small) oven of my range. I use it a lot for various things. Never considered getting an actual warming oven though, don’t think I would need it that much. For meats, I generally use a cooler and towels. That seems to work great for me.
I'm currently looking at a second propane cabinet smoker I just found on Marketplace for use as another holding oven. I'm thinking it would be perfect. Having 2 side by side, use one big propane tank with a splitter... OR keeping one out at the shop so I can pull stuff to hold when I am smoking out there. I dunno.... decisions decisions...
It's sort of like that - a roasting oven, usually metal, maybe a bit larger and more able to set temps, as a crock pot/slow cooker is usually high/low/warm, but a roasting oven I think often allows you to choose specific temps with the dial.
I just found another cabinet smoker that runs on propane - looks to be almost identical to my Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24, though it's a different brand. I may try to talk the lady down a few bucks and pick that one up as well. Having 2 of those to serve as holding ovens will drastically improve my ability to do larger amounts of meat for something like catering or larger events, etc. I wouldn't need it often, maybe a coupla times a year, if that, but if I can get it for $50 then why not?
Well... except The Wife will pitch a fit if I bring home ANOTHER smoker! lol. Especially ANOTHER one IDENTICAL to one I already HAVE! lol
Ya know.... like that 2nd Weber 22" kettle I picked up a month or two ago... she still hasn't seen that one, hiding out under a cover behind my Yoder.
I’m a big fan of long holds for barbecue. My oven’s warm setting sits around 170°, so I’d like to add an electric warming oven for those holds.
RE: reheating in a warm oven…
Yes, it will reheat food (eventually) like sous vide, but will end up very dry by the time it gets hot. Would not recommend.
Sous vide works on long slow reheats because it keeps all the moisture in the bag.
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