# Cambro equipment and timing for smoked mats



## Deeez (Jul 24, 2022)

Does anyone know how long a cooler hold heat for smoked meats like
- pork chops (a lot of them)
- chicken thighs (a lot of them) 90 pcs for both
And if a cooler is used, how long will it maintain heat safely for the meats or do we need to buy an actual food warmer … if the latter is needed, any recommendations?


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## DRKsmoking (Jul 24, 2022)

I am not sure of the actual time a cooler will hold the foods safely. Someone else might jump in here to help.

That seems like a lot of food . Will it all be cooked at once , or cooking a few and than store , than cook more and store. What I mean is you might be opening and closing the cooler often .
Are you looking at hours or just until all cooked ?  So you can serve all at same time.

David


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## radioguy (Jul 24, 2022)

I bought a large Igloo cooler to use  for food transport. Professional cambros are so expensive. We cook at our church kitchen then bring food to serve others less fortunate.  I built some light  weight plywood stacking dividers.  It can hold 9 half pans, needs two people to carry.   We have held food hot for up to 6 hours.

RG


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## bmudd14474 (Jul 24, 2022)

I have help stuff in normal coolers for over 8 hours and it was still over 150° when i pulled it.


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## Deeez (Jul 24, 2022)

Deeez said:


> Does anyone know how long a cooler hold heat for smoked meats like
> - pork chops (a lot of them)
> - chicken thighs (a lot of them) 90 pcs for both
> And if a cooler is used, how long will it maintain heat safely for the meats or do we need to buy an actual food warmer … if the latter is needed, any recommendations?


#drksmoking #radioguy #bmudd14474
Thank you for your replies.
As for drksmoking question … it will be cooked all at once. My only concern is for chicken or any smoked meat is we need to maintain the heat at minimum 140 degrees correct (including chicken)?
Bmudd and Radioguy. That sounds awesome, so here in Malaysia is hot, so would u recommend using hot water to warm the cooler? 6-8hours is pretty good hold time, thank you! Also, how much meat was your max storage?


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## DRKsmoking (Jul 25, 2022)

Hi Deeez, sorry I missed your reply
( if trying to get someone's attention or respond to a certain person or just mention them
use the @ key than their call name . Like for you I will say  
D
 Deeez
 cooked up a real nice batch of ribs on another post.
Someone showed me this on here. Hope this helps )  David

As for the holding of chicken , others are saying that you can hold your foods in the coolers for a long time. 
I myself for me have not held foods that long. In steam tables yes but we were rotating the older with fresh.
I would be concerned if you are opening and closing the cooler often and not maintaining a good temp.

But go by what the others are saying because they are saying that they have done so with no issues.

David


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## radioguy (Jul 25, 2022)

Yes we would pre-heat it with hot water before loading it.  It is a large 150 quart cooler, 40x18x20 inches.  We could fit 9 hotel half pans, 4 qt, 36 quarts total.  I used some shelf grip liner to keep things from sliding around during transport.  Two man team lift!
RG


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## jcam222 (Jul 25, 2022)

You might be surprised at what you can secure Cambros for used. I picked up 3 awesome Cambro units for $400 total delivered. At around $133 each that not much more than a professional cooker. I see them on Marketplace fairly  often. Just a thought.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jul 25, 2022)

I agree...  coolers will hold temps for hours...  *BUT* .... Myself I would prefer it to be loaded all at once with HOT of the smoker/grill foil wrapped food ... wrapping the meat is part of the trick to keep it warm longer...  

I would also leave a thermometer or two in the center of the pile of meat ... 



DRKsmoking said:


> I would be concerned if you are opening and closing the cooler often



This is why I say load it all at once (stuff towels/blankets all around in any open spaces)...   Close the lid and *LEAVE IT CLOSED*... as 

 DRKsmoking
 is saying about open and closing...  You don't have to open it to LOOK and see if it's ok or still there ... Just watch temps on the therm. left in the meat... 

You'll be surprised at how long it stays hot ... 

One other thing.. It has  to be a good cooler not one of the cheap convenience store coolers ...


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## dr k (Jul 26, 2022)

Crumpled newspaper to fill the air space in the cooler is a great insulator vs towels. Throw it away if you get any spills and drips on it.


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## Marknmd (Jul 26, 2022)

A lot of pit masters these days are using an electric kitchen oven to hold wrapped meats.  Holding temp of, say, 150 F.  But I know some ovens don't go down that low (mine does).  Of course, if your wife wants to bake a pie, that's a problem.  I know of one guy who bought a large toaster oven to hold meats such as a brisket at temp overnight.


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## Deeez (Aug 5, 2022)

DRKsmoking said:


> Hi Deeez, sorry I missed your reply
> ( if trying to get someone's attention or respond to a certain person or just mention them
> use the @ key than their call name . Like for you I will say
> D
> ...


Hi David, no worries about that. Thanks so much for your guidance on using this platform, much appreciated!


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## Deeez (Aug 5, 2022)

Thanks everyone who replied here to provide me more insight.


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