Food warmer for Thanksgiving

[Santamarina]

With 16 people headed our way for Thanksgiving and only one oven, I’m working on ideas to get all the food cooked and served…while still being hot when it’s time to sit down for dinner.

My current idea is a commercial food warmer, like this…


It has six 1/3 pans - just the right number for all our hot dishes. Amazon has this for $182.

My idea is to batch cook with as much as I can get in the oven at once. Then load those foods into the warmer at 150° (ish?) and cover until everything is ready.

Serving from here would be perfect, as we’ve been doing buffet style service for Thanksgiving for many years now - this leaves the table open for decor.

Love the concept of being able to keep things warm during multiple cooks, as well as keep it warm for seconds…or that turkey sandwich some of us go back for a couple hours after dinner!

What do y’all think about this idea? Any other suggestions? I thought about a Cambo or even an electric food warming cabinet, but I really like the idea of serving from this and keeping food warm all night.

And since we just moved I don’t have any outdoor cookers to cook/hold in. Just my 36” Blackstone that made the move.

Thanks in advance for all the great input from the Pit!

[Johnny Booth]

We have managed to acquire the actual buffet serving trays with the sterno-holders. Not sure how.
There are aluminum sterno trays available at Walmart, Amazon etc. They are wire frames that use the standard aluminum pans. The aluminum pans are also great for storing the leftovers.

Search for sterno buffet trays. 3 large pans with racks would hold six small pans like the size in your pic.

[captainlee]

I had one similar years ago, it did burn the food on the bottom of the pan, even trying to be careful. If you can find one with a water bath in which the bottom of the unit in which your serving Pan is heated on the water you won't have burning. We just really heat up the serving dishes and plates and call it good. Food cools so quickly here everybody is use to it.

[SheilaAnn]

I was just about to ask if it has water like a Bain Marie. While they ain’t sexy, I really like the cambro food cabinets.

[Santamarina]

This model uses water.

[captainlee]

That should be good to go.

[Donw]

We just use chafing dishes and bought additional serving trays of different sizes so we can customize each to hold various foods. I appreciate the water bath beneath the trays, heated by sterno, that keeps everything warm but prevents burning. They also can hold ice in the bath tray so cold things can stay cold. Kathy also added some round 6 quart chafing dishes to the collection for things like her crab dip.

[WI Bubba]

An electric smoker might fit the bill for what you need. I think something like this one would have better capacity than a warmer and might be also be good to use as a resting oven when it's not the holidays. Like everything, there is a wide range of prices. The folks over at Serious Eats seem to like this one.

[randy.56]

Those work well, last year we got on of these. It works also.

https://www.vevor.com/countertop-food-warmers-c_10614/vevor-electric-warming-tray-buffet-food-warming-w-temp-control-stainless-steel-p_010484179448?adp=

[Santamarina]

I’ve also looked at this type of warmer - then utilizing nice serving bowls. I’m sure my wife would like this better. 🤣

[RonB]

Unless you think it will get a lot of use, renting might be better. A party rental shop might have one, or a good rental shop might.

[gboss]

I have something similar, it's a single full size steam tray. It's essentially an electric bain marie. It's more bulky than a sterno setup, but it avoids open flame, refueling, and most burn hazards.

I've found it incredibly useful. Keeps safe temps without scorching the bottom of the trays. Easy to clean.

It's just a little bulky. If you have the space to store it, I think it'd work well for the situation you describe.

[Santamarina]

Those are exactly the draws this has to me over the sterno models - no open flame or fuel to replace. and don’t need to worry about the younger kids in the family poking the fire!

I’m also a fan of being able to dial in temps.

[Dan Deter]

I got SWMBO one of these last year for Christmas: https://miller.market/. It works really well, and is easily portable, but does need a plug. We're considering a second one, gonna see how much space we need this year.

[jfmorris]

Santamarina I am intrigued by that. Post a link to it. I've got the wire frames to hold steam table trays with sterno cans and do the water in a large tray, and drop half size pans in over the water, but you really don't know what temp you are holding at. I like the idea of something temp controlled, that could be set up on top of the buffet or on the kitchen counter...

[Santamarina]

jfmorris Here’s a LINK to the product on Amazon. Temp control is a big draw for me. As is long holds. I’m envisioning its use at future parties with a buffet that stays hot all day without having to change out sterno fuel.

[jfmorris]

Thanks. Added to my "cooking" wishlist on Amazon! I like that it includes its own pans. And although "1/3" size, they are pretty deep, so I imagine they might hold as much as a standard 1/2 size pan. I envision you would need to bake in the oven in a normal pan, then spoon into these deeper pans for holding. So casseroles or dishes that need a certain "presentation" or have a crust may not work as well as more soupy stuff.

[Santamarina]

My thought was to bake in a normal 9x13, then transfer to these pans to keep warm while I keep cooking the next batches of food. If I make two pans of stuffing it’ll still have some texture to it.

And as you said, these things are massive even with their 1/3 footprint. With this depth I’m thinking of switching out one for a couple 1/6 square pans. That would be plenty for things like regular corn for the kids and gravy.

[dpearce]

A buddy of mine, who hosts a killer 4th of July party here in our neighborhood just uses the wire racks with standard aluminum pans and sterno cans. Two pans each. Bottom pan holds the water, top pan holds the food. Works well for sides as well as all the different pulled pork he makes. His only complaint is, he needs to check the water level a few times over the course of the day.

I've debated long and hard about chafing dishes. They come up for sale on FB marketplace from time to time. 1. I don't have any place to store actual chafing dishes. 2. My wife would probably get irritated with 'another' thing that needs stored for the kitchen/outdoor cooking. 3. I can keep the wire racks stacked in the garage, out of sight, out of mind. 4. No clean up. just toss the aluminum pans when done with them.

[jfmorris]

You can get the wire racks at Sam's Club, along with Sterno. You buy a stack of the full size disposable aluminum hotel pans, to hold the water, and then you can drop 1/2 size, which are not quite as deep, into the full size. I reuse the big pans many times before tossing. I ALWAYS keep the 1/2 size pans and lids here, for BBQ, food we want to take to folks without worrying about getting a casserole dish back, etc.

[SheilaAnn]

Santamarina hey! Are there any “bars” between each pan? If so, then you have even more versatility in that you could also do two 1/6 pans in the same space as one 1/3 pan.

then, if you don’t plug it in and fill it with ice, then you can do a taco bar or a pizza bar or a Bloody Mary bar using three 1/9 pans in each 1/3 pan space… But I digress. 🤯😱🤣🤣🤣

🥳

[Santamarina]

I suspect it doesn’t, given its shape and the pans it comes with, but I imagine I could add bars to make 1/6 pans work.

..and I like the direction you’re thinking! SO many possibilities this thing may never see the inside of my garage!