Using Commercial Braising Pans & Steam Kettles in Your Kitchen

Steam kettles and braising pans enable chefs to cook large batches of food. Both types of equipment are popular in large cafeterias and commissaries, where operators may need to prepare gallons of soup or sauce and dozens of pounds of food cooking at a time. Adding a steam kettle or braising pan to your commercial kitchen can help you streamline production and serve more guests by increasing the possible batch size of your meals while freeing up your range for other items. This article will go over the features of these helpful pieces of equipment to help you determine if your kitchen would benefit from adding one or both of them.

Braising Pans

A braising pan is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment available to a commercial kitchen. Chefs can use a braising pan – also called a tilt skillet – to braise, sauté, boil, fry, and simmer food. These skillets can be powered by either electricity, which is the most energy-efficient option, or gas, which heats the fastest.

Commercial braising pans are available in a wide range of sizes, with countertop models starting at 10 gallons and the largest floor models holding as much as 40 gallons. The massive amounts of food cooked in these models necessitate a tilting mechanism, which may be a lever, hand wheel, or electric motor. All tilting skillets will also have a spout through which the food can be poured.

Some tilt skillets come with a removable strainer in the pour spout that enables more flexibility in deciding what to dispense. For example, if you were making a soup and wanted to pull off some of the broth without losing any of the meat or vegetables, you could insert the strainer before opening the spout, letting only the liquid escape. Some models also include a draw-off valve at the bottom to drain grease or liquids. The inside walls of a commercial braising pan may have etched or embossed measurement markings to facilitate adding the right amount of ingredients. Most tilt skillets come with lids, some of which will have a built-in, adjustable vent that helps you control the humidity in the pan.

Steam-jacketed Kettles

Steam kettles have two layers of metal that overlap and create a "steam jacket" between the inner and outer layer. Because of this steam jacket, your food is heated evenly with minimal supervision, and there won't be hot spots scorching your food or cold spots leaving pieces uncooked. Like braising pains, these machines require a tilting mechanism, and may be referred to as "tilt kettles."

Steam-jacketed kettles will get steam from one of two sources:

1. Self-contained kettles feature jackets that are factory-filled with distilled water. An electric element or gas burner heats the water into steam. Because this style does not require an external boiler, it can be used in any kitchen that can supply the required power.
2. Direct-steam kettles use an external source to fill the jacket with steam. This design is more economical but can only be used in kitchens that have external boilers or steam generators. They also require more maintenance than self-contained kettles. Some direct-steam units have additional water connections for cold water, which helps cool food quickly enough to meet temperature regulations.

Countertop steam kettles start as small as 6 gallons, with hand levers for tilting, while floor models can get as large as 150 gallons, which require a hydraulic tilt mechanism to operate without endangering the user. Steam jackets encompass either 50 percent or 75 percent of the total volume of the kettle, radiating heat from all around the cooking ingredients; compare that to a regular soup pot, which is only heated from the bottom. Steam kettles don't require constant stirring and transfer heat much more efficiently and quickly than a standard kettle.

Just like tilt skillets, steam kettles come with a pour spout, and most large models have a draw-off valve at the bottom as well. Most models also include etched or embossed measurement markings inside the kettle to streamline adding the appropriate quantity of ingredients.

Do I need a tilt skillet or tilt kettle?

Any operator tasked with serving large numbers of customers quickly can make use of a versatile braising pan or hard-working steam-jacketed kettle. Both are great for cooking large quantities of food, but each have their own strengths. Check your needs against the lists below to determine which would be most useful.