A little background first.   Safe Food handling means "keeping cold food cold, and hot food hot!".      It's not a great idea for food to sit out at room temperature for long.   When food reaches the window of 40 degrees to 140 degrees, it's within the optimum temperature required for bacterial growth.   Food has about 4 hours in this window of temperatures (including all phases of prep, serving and storage) before it's considered "dangerous".      Remember, it can take hours even after you throw it in the fridge before the food gets cold.  The point is to keep food out of this range as much as possible, to stave off food borne illness.

I'm encouraging my pig roast customers to handle their own serving tables as a way to shave dollars off the cost of a roast.   But I'm finding that people don't know much about the steamtable operations.    So I've decided to take some time to spell it out as well as I can, so my roast customers can manage their leftovers after I leave.     Also, if other caterers or foodservice professionals find this helpful, then I'm glad I wrote it!

Fancy rented steamtables operate on the same concept, but are using much more expensive stainless steel hardware to do so.   (Fancier ones usually incorporate a built in lid).

Here's a picture of the wireframe steamtable, with the sternos, and some recommended tools.

Sternos:  They are roughly 3 1/4" diameter and 2 1/4" tall. (about the diameter of a coffee cup).   Be forewarned that they sell smaller ones (about the Diameter of a Red Bull Energy Drink) for fondue pots at many supermarkets (avoid them).     Sternos are available at practically any supermarket, Warehouse store (Costco, BJs, Target, Kmart), or restaurant supply center.     I recommend shopping at the warehouses, for "no-brainer" shopping.   They supply what caterers need.     I'd recommend buying a 48-Pack case for about $19.00.   "Blaze" being a common brand name.    For a pig roast, I can easily blow thru about 20.   5 steamtables are required for my standard pigroast for 80 people.    You can get about 2.5 hours burn-time out of a sterno, so two rounds of sternos to get you through a party is not unreasonable.

Wireframe:  Commonaly available at Costco/BJs or restaurant supply houses.   You can pay $4.00 on the cheap side, to $9.00 on the very expensive (rip off) side.

Tools:  A butter knife or equivalent helps pops the lids off.   A longhandled lighter helps light them. A dedicated set of tongs keeps you from burning fingers.

Setup:  It's essential to have the table level.  If the sterno trays aren't level, they just don't work well.   Don't prop the wireframes to adjust for levelness, prop the table instead, with some wood scraps.   

Save the sterno lids.  If you need to extinguish the sterno before it's spent, the lids help.   But some warnings:   The sternos are very hot, so watch your fingers.  Use tongs.  If you put the lids on to extinguish flames, they sometimes Pop violently.   At the end of the party, DO NOT store garbage bags with old sternos indoors, in the longshot chance that it's still a fire hazard.  It's some sort of alcohol based gel, so the flames are near invisible.  Just be careful.   Let's not have any tragedies, ok!

The next component is what's called a "Full Deep" foil tray.    The dimensions are 20 3/4" x 12 13/16" x 3 3/8".   It plops right into the wireframe.     Remember, this is a STEAMTABLE.   Not a double-boiler.  The sterno heats the steam, the steam surrounds the foodpan to ultimately keep the food hot.     As shown in the picture above, (tough to see, I know), all you need is about 3/4" of water!   Any more is anti-productive as it takes longer to get to steam temps. .  For very long serving times (3 re-sterno-ings or more) it's advisable to check to see if adequate water remains.  But 3/4" will get you through most parties.  Common Brands: Alcoa, Reynolds    Cost can be about $1.00 each.  A stack of 10 Costco can go for $9.00 or so.    Again, it's a steamtable, so watch those fingers when you're lifting pans out.   Warning:   The Bottom tray gets used over and over and over again.    Sometimes, they develop a leak.   Have a few spares.

Here's the food trays (with no food in them).   These are the "Half Deep, Half" trays.  2 per steamtable.   Roughly 2.5" deep, 12.5 " long, and 10 1/4" wide.    I believe you can get a stack of 20 these at the Costco, for something like $9.00.   Common Brands: Alcoa, Reynolds.  About 45 cents each if buying singles.  Be advised, supermarkets sell several sizes of pans that don't fit steamtables.   Some a little too long, too wide, not shallow enough, etc.

Here's a variant on the theme.  It's called a "Half Deep, Full" tray.   1 per steamtable.  Accomplishes the same job of holding food (great for longer items like shiskebobs, or a whole fish).  Roughly 2.5" deep, 12.5 " wide, and 20 3/4" long.  (Double the length of the half trays pictured above).  Common Brands: Alcoa, Reynolds   About 75 cents each if buying singles.  Not a common item at Coscto..might have to go to a restaurant supply house for this type.      They're not preferred for the pork, as they tend to disallow steamtable consolidation later in the foodserving.

Here's a shot that compares the full deep tray that holds the water (on the left)  to the half-deep food tray(s) (on the right) .  Notice the height difference.   When the food tray (either the full or half ones) sits in the deeper water tray, there is ample room for the steam to form.   A common mistake is to fill the water tray with so much water that it overflows when the food tray is added.   Idiots do this.  It doesn't keep the food warm either. 

IDIOT ALERT: Those big oval turkey roaster trays are useless here.   The food will have to be transferred to the rectangular foodservice trays like I have pictured here.   Idiots try to make oval pans work anyway.    I've seen idiots stick oval trays directly into rectangular wireframe steamtables, and allow the sterno to heat the food tray directly.   Ya might as well take a blowtorch to the food.  You'll achieve that nice charred burn flavor much quicker.  

HINT FOR WIND:  Outdoor events often have wind.  The wind takes your heat away, making the steamtable ineffective.  You can control this pretty well with a field-fix using a roll of foil.   I much prefer commercial, heavy duty, wide foodservice foil.  (make sure you buy the Heavy Duty stuff versus the regular/standard....it's a world of difference).     A roll can be about $25, but it'll last forever and comes in handy for lots of things.     You can also use standard foil like you can find in your kitchen, but it's a little flimsy and not wide enough.    If you're serving to children, the foil can also act to keep the curious little kids from burning themselves. 

Instructions to skirt a steamtable for outdoor wind management.  (This is the "Eddie way"...other caterers have tricks that may work just as well, if not better!).

I'm demo-ing on a short piece of foil.   Normally, I might take a very long piece of foil, enough to surround 5 steamtables pushed together.   See the bottom pic.   I surround the fronts and sides, but leave the back wide open for servicing the sternos.    If it's a severely windy day, I may even foil the backsides in such a way to allow access to the sternos.      I pretty typically only foil/windscreen steamtables in batches of 5 or less.  If the foodline consists of additional steamtables, I'll foil them separately.    When the party's winding down, this allows me to consolidate steamtables, remove the dead ones, while still maintaining wind protection on the remaining ones. 

Fold the foil as shown here, roughly 2/3rd of it's width.   The intention is that it's new width is still "taller" than the steamtable itself.

I then tuck the foil windscreen under the water tray.   I scrunch the foil around the upper wire of the wireframe steamtable (and handles) just enough so the foil stays in place, but still allow the steamtable to work.    If done right, you can even tuck the bottom of the foil under the leg of the steamtable, for added strength against the wind.       I try to keep one side accessible (the back side) open so I can check at-a-glance,  and re-sterno without having to remove the foil.    Shown above is only one pan, but as I mentioned before, you can protect several with one long piece of foil, as I've done in the next picture.    If it's really a cold day, I might even triple or quadruple up on sternos.   If it's a windy day, I might even foil the backside in such a way to allow easy access to the sternos.

Note:  See the empty trays in the back.  They hold in the steam.   You can use foil to do this too, but the empty (or full) tray itself works best.

Heating food:  It's WRONG & DANGEROUS to try to use steamtables to heat food.  Steamtables just barely KEEP FOOD HOT, but they are NOT an Adequate heating device.  It is NOT a substitute for your oven.

Getting Hot & Keeping Hot:   Although many times, I just put cold water into the steamtables, and allow ample time to warm up...   A better way to do it:  About 45 minutes before foodservice time, fill a large pot with hot water, and bring to boiling on the stove.   I use the preheated water to fill the pans.  This seems to maximize heating effectiveness.  Then I light the sternos to keep the water hot & steaming..   Then shortly thereafter, I start loading the steamtables with the party food.  Empty pans keep the heat in till foodservice time.    In a pinch, I can use foil pans upside down as quick makeshift covers.   

Steamtable Management:  As the food is consumed, it's most efficient if you reduce the number of steamtables!    I consolidate wherever possible.   I'll typically start with 5 steamtables, but when the rush is over, I might find that I can get away with 3.     With tongs, I'll even re-use the half-done sternos.      Keep an eye on the sternos, as they only have a life of 2.5 hours.      Hint:  Have serving utensils ready before serving.

Storage & Re-use:  The Wire steamtables last forever, and nest nicely for compact storage.   (I store the stack of foil trays on the top wireframe)..     I re-use the large bottom water pan over and over again, until it's no longer adequate for professional presentation.   I can get maybe 10 uses out of it.   Be forewarned, they do spring a leak sometimes, usually from a dent.   For this reason, I'm sure to keep several fresh ones onhand.   I've not found a good field repair for leaky water pans. Oh, I'm sure there's probably some good tricks for this, but duct tape ain't it.   It's easier to have a fresh replacement.      I wash/sanitize lightly used food trays wherever possible, but the majority are discarded.

Remember the Hazards:    Be vigilant with food safety.  If in doubt, throw it out.      Beware of the burning potential and fire hazard from the sternos.   Use tongs when handling hot sternos.   Use potholders to protect your hands from steamtable steam and hot pans.     Be very careful handling the hot water trays during party cleanup.   And be absolutely 100% certain that what you discard is extinguished. 

Please have safe and happy catering.    If you found this advice helpful, please drop a line and say so!    Sometimes, those emails make my day! 

Please Call (973) 627-2722 to Discuss Your Event.  Usually 6pm-10pm, Weeknights.  Please leave a Message otherwise.   Also be sure to mention the potential date(s), estimated headcount, location, and the nature of the event.     Thanks!

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