# Commercial Steamers for Beans? Reheating Meat?



## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

Hi Chefs,

I've never used a steamer. I heard it's great to reheat or cook rice but how is it warming up cooked pinto beans? The beans sit in a bit of liquid. I wanted to warm up 6 shallow hotel pans at a time. 

Would the steamer also work to reheat pork? I essentially confit large quantities of pork butt at my commissary then take the chilled product offsite to a restaurant. The pork is seared on the flattop before it is served but I've found that it's much better to warm up the pork before crisping it. Would a steamer work to warm up the pork in a 4" hotel pan? 

Thank you for your advice!


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

Yes. It will work for everything you mentioned.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

SStephen said:


> Hi Chefs,
> 
> I've never used a steamer. I heard it's great to reheat or cook rice but how is it warming up cooked pinto beans? The beans sit in a bit of liquid. I wanted to warm up 6 shallow hotel pans at a time.
> 
> ...


Welcome to ChefTalk.

Steamers are amazing machines. You'll need to know what things should be covered and which things need not be covered.
Steamers can over cook food same as an oven. Follow instructions for timing foods too.


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

chefross said:


> Welcome to ChefTalk.
> 
> Steamers are amazing machines. You'll need to know what things should be covered and which things need not be covered.
> Steamers can over cook food same as an oven. Follow instructions for timing foods too.


Thanks for the responses! When it comes to warming cooked rice, does the rice get too mushy or wet in the steamer? How do you prevent that? Does it go into a perforated hotel pan? Non-perforated pan? Lid/no lid?

So if I put meat or beans in a nonperforated hotel pan in a steamer, it will warm up the food just as in a convection oven?


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## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Just be careful as steamer burns are VERY nasty to which I can vouch to from personal experience.


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

frankie007 said:


> Just be careful as steamer burns are VERY nasty to which I can vouch to from personal experience.


Are there usually safety mechanisms built into steamers?


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

For your operation a steamer is perfect. I used it for all of the items you mentioned. If you need to heat something up on site you could use a hotel pan set into a water pan to act as a dbl boiler. Both beans and rice come out perfect when reheating in a steamer. If you don't want to hold your pork all day you could get a on site small counter steamer that is used to steam hot dogs, hot dog buns and anything else that needs to be steamed. This would be great if you wanted to keep your Carnitas cold and heat fast before crisping on the grill.









This is the one that would be used for all your reheating needs. You could also cook from start in these. Like in any oven or steamer you should not open the door so as the heat or steam comes pouring out. It's safe as long as you open the door and step back.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

SStephen said:


> Thanks for the responses! When it comes to warming cooked rice, does the rice get too mushy or wet in the steamer? How do you prevent that? Does it go into a perforated hotel pan? Non-perforated pan? Lid/no lid?
> 
> So if I put meat or beans in a nonperforated hotel pan in a steamer, it will warm up the food just as in a convection oven?


Rice, once cooked, does not reheat well as one large mass. The rice should be spread out in a more shallow 2" pan...no holes
If the rice is cooked properly the first time, it should re-heat well.
Meat and beans also should go in a non perforated pan and should have plastic and/or foil on top to protect it from the steam.
You don't want to add moisture to the food, just re-heat it.


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

chefross said:


> Rice, once cooked, does not reheat well as one large mass. The rice should be spread out in a more shallow 2" pan...no holes
> If the rice is cooked properly the first time, it should re-heat well.
> Meat and beans also should go in a non perforated pan and should have plastic and/or foil on top to protect it from the steam.
> You don't want to add moisture to the food, just re-heat it.


Does the rice need to be covered?

If the items I'm reheating require covers to keep out the moisture, then maybe I should reheat these items in a convection oven? Would buying a convection oven be better because it's more versatile? I was only considering getting a steamer instead of a convection oven because when I reheat rice and carnitas inside of the convection oven, the outside of the food (the part that's touching the sides and bottom of the hotel pan) get dried out and crunchy.


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

I don't cover anything when using the steamer to reheat.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Pat Pat said:


> I don't cover anything when using the steamer to reheat.


...and when you take the product out of the steamer, what happens to all that liquid in the bottom of the pan?


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

I cover everything in my steamer with plastic wrap and foil. The last time I checked water doesn't add much flavor to food and the amount of water that would accumulate would be crazy. If your using 4" full pans for for rice and beans you may want to stir them half way through the reheating process. The beans and rice are both dense and take a bit longer than most other food to reheat. The Spanish rice will heat better than most other rice dishes because of the way its prepared. The rice is looser because of frying the rice and in the finished product being less starchy. You won't need to use perforated pans. The only time you need them is if your steaming vegetables hard boiled/steamed eggs and so on. Your not going to have the same problems with steam heating/reheating than you had with reheating with dry heat. Just think of a steamer being a more gentler way of reheating. It's not going to dry of your food like a dry heat would.......Good luck........ChefBillyB


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

chefross said:


> ...and when you take the product out of the steamer, what happens to all that liquid in the bottom of the pan?


I assume we are talking about commercial steamer here (the type shown in the second picture above).

I reheat most of the stuff in a perforated pan except for rice; still, rice heats up very quickly and becomes ready before excess water pools in the bottom of the pan.


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

chefbillyb said:


> I cover everything in my steamer with plastic wrap and foil. The last time I checked water doesn't add much flavor to food and the amount of water that would accumulate would be crazy. If your using 4" full pans for for rice and beans you may want to stir them half way through the reheating process. The beans and rice are both dense and take a bit longer than most other food to reheat. The Spanish rice will heat better than most other rice dishes because of the way its prepared. The rice is looser because of frying the rice and in the finished product being less starchy. You won't need to use perforated pans. The only time you need them is if your steaming vegetables hard boiled/steamed eggs and so on. Your not going to have the same problems with steam heating/reheating than you had with reheating with dry heat. Just think of a steamer being a more gentler way of reheating. It's not going to dry of your food like a dry heat would.......Good luck........ChefBillyB


Thanks everybody. So basically, cover everything when reheating so it doesn't get wet and sloppy. If the steamer is a gentler way of reheating food, does that mean it's also a slower way? Is the idea that if the food is covered in a steamer, some of the moisture gets in to keep the food from drying out but not enough to get it soaking wet? If you cover all the food with plastic and foil, then it seems like nothing should get it. I suppose if you covered the hotel pan with a metal lid without a slotted inset for utensils, some moisture would get in but not enough to get the product very wet?


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

Try not to over think this. A steamer is the best way to reheat food or steam vegetable. Now you need to figure out if your operation is large enough to yield the expense of buying one. Im my operation we cooked all of our specials on the day shift and the other shifts reheated. Lets say your reheating Clam Chowder or Beef gravy, Country gravy and so on. You either have to heat these in a dbl boiler or in a steamer. Trying to reheat these items in dry heat takes a lot of watching and stirring. You mentioned you needed to reheat 6 pans of beans. Do you have a way of holding these at a proper holding temp after reheating?? 
The reason I cover my pans is because I don't want water entering and altering the taste of the food. Just think if you made Spanish rice and you put it in the steamer uncovered. Would you want water altering the consistency of the rice ?? After you make your rice and put all your spices into it, would you want someone walking over and pouring in a few cups of water ?? I have no way of knowing how much water would be going into the rice if I steam it uncovered. This is why I want to cover it and adjust the flavor after its heated. Like I said, don't over think it. A steamer is the best way to reheat all of your needs.........ChefBillyB


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

chefbillyb said:


> Try not to over think this. A steamer is the best way to reheat food or steam vegetable. Now you need to figure out if your operation is large enough to yield the expense of buying one. Im my operation we cooked all of our specials on the day shift and the other shifts reheated. Lets say your reheating Clam Chowder or Beef gravy, Country gravy and so on. You either have to heat these in a dbl boiler or in a steamer. Trying to reheat these items in dry heat takes a lot of watching and stirring. You mentioned you needed to reheat 6 pans of beans. Do you have a way of holding these at a proper holding temp after reheating??
> The reason I cover my pans is because I don't want water entering and altering the taste of the food. Just think if you made Spanish rice and you put it in the steamer uncovered. Would you want water altering the consistency of the rice ?? After you make your rice and put all your spices into it, would you want someone walking over and pouring in a few cups of water ?? I have no way of knowing how much water would be going into the rice if I steam it uncovered. This is why I want to cover it and adjust the flavor after its heated. Like I said, don't over think it. A steamer is the best way to reheat all of your needs.........ChefBillyB


Thanks Billy. If steaming is the gentler way, does it take longer than dry heat? Our volume definitely justifies the purchase but I'm deciding if we should get the steamer, convection oven, both or a combi? If the steamer works great to reheat all food without affecting taste or texture, I don't need the convection. If the steamer and convection are substandard warming options, I would get the combi. If the steamer is as good as you describe, I would just get that and save myself $8-10K. I know it's not rocket science but making the right decision would save me a lot of money on purchasing let alone additional costs related to construction.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

I had a steamer and two dbl convection ovens. I never used a combo so I really can't address if it's a good idea or not. I can only say it will take care of all your reheating needs at a fast pace. You can only compare apples to apples. If you comparing and are saying reheating with convection is faster then why are we worrying about a steamer. The quality of your food after it's reheated is much better when using a steamer. Lets say I'm reheating Beef stew or Beef Stroganoff. It doesn't matter if the oven is faster. There is no way I would want to reheat any other way except in a steamer. I figure you already have a convection oven.


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

chefbillyb said:


> I had a steamer and two dbl convection ovens. I never used a combo so I really can't address if it's a good idea or not. I can only say it will take care of all your reheating needs at a fast pace. You can only compare apples to apples. If you comparing and are saying reheating with convection is faster then why are we worrying about a steamer. The quality of your food after it's reheated is much better when using a steamer. Lets say I'm reheating Beef stew or Beef Stroganoff. It doesn't matter if the oven is faster. There is no way I would want to reheat any other way except in a steamer. I figure you already have a convection oven.


I have a lot of convection ovens in my commissary but have never worked with a steamer. I'm considering a steamer in case it can warm up rice, pinto beans and carnitas better (in terms of time and keeping the food moist) than a convection oven can. The problem I"m having is that the rice and carnitas is drying up in the convection oven. Is reheating in a steamer better because you are reheating at 215 degrees and thus reheating lower and slower than you would in a convection oven (assuming that the pan is wrapped with plastic and foil to keep out excess moisture in a steamer) ? If that's the case, can't you just reheat in a convection oven at 215 degrees and achieve the same effect?


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## Pat Pat (Sep 26, 2017)

I never had any problem with excess water from the steam diluting the taste of the food.

Steam is thousands of times lighter than water yet carries so much more heat. Just think of when you get steam burns; you'll notice that your hand burns without getting wet. Same with food. The food usually gets hot before it gets too wet.

With rice, you know that it gets dry and hard when stored in the fridge; it's usually advisable to add some water to the rice when reheating. When you reheat it in a steamer, however, it gets perfectly moist and hot without the need to add any additional water.

If you cover your food in the steamer, you lose all the benefits of the steam's fast acting moist heat. It'd be no different than reheating in a low oven, which is pretty slow.

I don't reheat liquid stuff like sauces and soups in the steamer, but for those items, I figure you might want to cover them.


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## chefbillyb (Feb 8, 2009)

I would think they would both work the same under the same conditions. I think your problem is reheating at a high temp and it's not working out like you said. You could also try putting a pan of water in your convection oven to help create some steam/moisture. You could also take a 4" hotel pan with some water and insert a 2" pan inside to make a dbl boiler for your Carnitas. Reheating anything is better lower and slower.


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## SStephen (Dec 2, 2017)

Thanks to everybody for their replies!


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