warming oven temp.

[erraticninja]

for thanksgiving i am making a large multi-course meal and want to do most of the stuff ahead of service and then reheat in a service oven. what temperature should i set that oven to?

[Fat Guy]

I use 325 as the setting for this sort of thing, unless there's a specific reason to depart upward (e.g., I need it to get done really fast) or downward (e.g., I want to hold it for awhile). But the important thing is to give it enough time to let the food actually get hot.

[Fat Guy]

(That's 164 to the rest of the world)

[jackal10]

That seems hot!

I'd use 65C/150F to hold at, and even then fish and meat will continue to cook.

Needs to be hot enough to prevent bugs multiplying, but cool enough to handle and not to cook the food off too much.

If you are reheating from cold, you need to build this into the design of the dish/sauces. Maybe there are better ways to do it, such a dip into boiling water, or hot assemble, or even the dreaded micro. Oven re-heating tends to dry things out.

[Fat Guy]

erraticninja, to clarify, you're asking:

1) What temperature to use to bring food up from cold; or

2) What temperature to use for holding?

For number 1, my number is 325. For number 2, I'd go with around 175.

Certainly, Jack speaks the truth when he says you need to account for the drying and such that will occur when you reheat. But Thanksgiving food tends to be pretty sturdy. Most items will come out okay, I think, if you cook-chill and foil-wrap, then reheat tightly wrapped under foil, possibly removing the foil for the last few minutes.

[Dave the Cook]

I'd add a third question:

3) What are you heating/reheating?

Jack suggests, and I agree, that different techniques are more appropriate than others, depending on the dish.

Note: in the US, most domestic ovens aren't reliable below 170.

Edit to add: erraticninja, there's no such thing as a "basic question" here.

Edited November 15, 2003 by Dave the Cook (log)

[erraticninja]

thanks for the insight so far. to dave: yeah i have been here long enough to know there is no such thing as a simple question. at the same time the people on this board have proven to be insightful and informative. so it's a fair balance

i will probably be doing a combination of reaheating from cold or holding depending on the course. the main things i will need to hold/reheat are:

appitizer course: roast corn flan (reheat) and mixed greens (collard, turnip, mustard) (hold)

main course: grilled portobello mushroom cap (hold) mashed potatoes (hold) carmelized onions (hold) roasted sweet potoatoes and fennel (hold) gravy (hold) lemon thyme haricot verts (hold)

thats pretty much it. as far as the hardiness/delicateness issue i have a mixture (by design) and you can see the challenge. so what temps and now the question has been brought up what things might i do to make some of these things more sturdy for the holding reheating. i think i designed this into the haricot verts dish for example as i plan on blanching them just to crisp tender stage so in the holding oven they will probably cook a little longer and that should work out.

thanks for your help so far and thank you in advance for the additional help.

[Fat Guy]

What equipment do you have in addition to a regular oven? Do you have a double oven? Do you have a microwave? If so is it large? Do you have a toaster oven? Is it a big one?

Of course if you have a double oven it's a simple matter to set one unit at 325 and the other at 175 and to move the stuff back and forth as needed. If you have a single oven, it may still be possible to set it low and use a microwave or toaster/convection oven for the higher-temperature reheating. You can also use the stovetop for reheating anything that can be stirred, and even things that can't be stirred if you use heavy enameled cast-iron cookware like Le Creuset. I'm not sure exactly what the corn flan is, but it may very well be something you could put in a Le Creuset-type Dutch oven and reheat on the stovetop while you leave the oven at a low holding-temperature for the rest of the stuff.

Mashed potatoes, by the way, hold best in a water bath. Most restaurants handle mashed potatoes that way. This can also be done on the stovetop. We can talk more about holding, heating, and serving mashed potatoes if you like -- there's a whole craft to it.

[Jonathan Day]

FG, please say more about holding and heating and serving mashed potatoes. I have been using the Robuchon/Steingarten/Blumenthal approach where you precook sliced potatoes at a lowish temperature, then cook them again, then put them through a ricer onto lots and lots of butter. The flavour is good, but the texture is still not quite what I have been aiming for, especially after they have held for a bit. So more advice would be welcome, especially this close to the holidays.

[Fat Guy]

Okay, the basic method that I've picked up from watching them do it in restaurant kitchens is this. Maybe a working restaurant-chef will have some additional or alternate tips and tricks to add:

-Follow your normal mashed potato recipe to completion, but use about 1/3 less fat than you want in the final product. In my case, because I use both cream and butter, I just leave out a bunch of the cream.

-Put the mashed potatoes in a vessel (such as a saucepan) and cover the top with plastic wrap.

-Place the vessel in a water bath in a larger vessel. The water bath should not be kept at boiling. Poaching temperature is best (165-180 degrees F; 74 to 82 degrees C) but there's a lot of leeway.

-Every time you go into the kitchen to do something else, stir the mashed potaoes gently in order to bring the bottom of the mixture to the top and to prevent a crust from forming.

-When it's time to serve, heat your fat in a small saucepan -- in my case, I heat cream to boiling -- and then stir it into the potatoes. Adjust seasoning and go. (In restaurants, they do this on a per-portion basis: they heat some cream in a little saucepan, add a scoop of the potatoes, stir, reseason, and serve.)

[erraticninja]

What equipment do you have in addition to a regular oven? Do you have a double oven? Do you have a microwave? If so is it large? Do you have a toaster oven? Is it a big one?

O I'm not sure exactly what the corn flan is, but it may very well be something you could put in a Le Creuset-type Dutch oven and reheat on the stovetop while you leave the oven at a low holding-temperature for the rest of the stuff.

not sure what equipment we are going to have as it is at f-i-l and his wives house and i have never cooked there so i haven't investigated the kitchen. i think i will email them and find out as all of these are good questions.

the corn flan in question was "borrowed" from slkinsey on the thanksgiving sides and pies thread. here is the recipe "The roasted corn thing is simply a flan made with dried roasted corn: 4 cups roughly pureed roasted corn, 2 cups milk, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, salt + pinch smoked paprika... simmer corn and milk for 10 minutes, cool, mix in all other ingredients, put in individual ramekins and cook in hot water bath until set in 300F oven... makes four 6 oz ramekins... can reheat in warming oven before service. I turn one of these out onto the center of each plate."

and thank you for the mashed potoatoes post. it was helpful and reminds me of the way the resturant i worked at long ago did it except they just held on a water bath. did not reincorporate the fat. i wonder how they held up?? maybe because they were stout and used sour cream, cream cheese, h & h, and butter?? this was a method i was talking about using but the thought of heating sour cream or cream cheese does not sound appetizing to me.