Cooler instead of a Cambro??

Coolers work great. All you need to do fill in any large gaps with old towels or blankets, and the meat will stay hot for hours.

Have you checked your local HD rules? They may prohibit you from using coolers.

A cooler packed with towels work great but be sure to let the meat cool a lil or once packed it will continue to cook.

Yes you can no problem. But the Heath Dept. would frown on that because it not a food certified container. Just make sure for follow hacccap guidelines.

Perfect Rack BBQ said:

Was wondering if anyone uses a large cooler to hold cooked product and get it delivered hot. Don't have the $$$ for a Cambro right now and was wondering if this would be sufficient for the time being.

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Until the last 2 comps... I did the cooler thing.. it worked well... since the Cambro 400 we are getting 2 to 3 calls at a comp.... money well spent...

I think it makes a difference... but you can still do the cooler and towels...

Yours in BBQ,

Cliff

First I will say I don't know anything about BBQ competition rules...but I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about coolers...have spent 10's of thousands on them! I lead river expeditions in the summer months as a hobby and rivers can get extreme in both directions of the mercury. The best "budget" coolers I have found are the Coleman Extreme Series. The Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme which is 40 bones at Wally World is a good one. Don't know about heat retention...but I keep a 70 quart Extreme on the porch in Kansas heat and it holds ice for 5 days with 100 degree highs and 80 lows. I dump 40 pounds of Ice in every Friday. If money's no object then I buy Yeti's. The Yeti will last 3 times as long as Coleman's best.. But the Yeti cost more that the Cambro...I have a Yeti 35 that I transport meat to my Legion in and my last Pork Butts went in at 197...6 hours later they were still 185 with no blankets in open space and half cooler empty. I have a Yeti Tundra 110 that I take on my camping / river trips and load with 50 lbs of block ice when leaving...two weeks later back home it still had ice. I have tried Engle, Ice Hole, K2, Igloo Yukons as well as every single cheaper cooler in existence. Nothing touched the Colemans on a budget and Yeti where you need performance guaranteed...and with a padlock it will keep the Bears out also.:-D

edit: I have not tried the new Pelican ProGear Coolers...but appear to be Bear Proof as well...and entertaining!

[ame]http://youtu.be/wDOJQpA2W1o[/ame]

Not much to add to what the other guys have already said, the old FTC (foil,towel,cooler) still works. I use it at times when my cambro's are full, but not as long as I used too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Cambros, but

I use an Engle cooler 'cause it fits full sized service pans and when I'm not Qing it is a pretty dang good boat cooler. Check to make sure whatever cooler will fit a service pan, many don't but the Engle does. One other caution, either a Cambro or good cooler will continue cooking the food is you don't let it rest first.

Out here, you are not allowed to use coolers for food service of hot items. You have to use food safe containers, which means Cambros or similar devices. If you are catering or cooking for delivery, you need to check with the local or county Health Department.

on edit: actually, you are not allowed to use any passive holding device in a hot to serve capacity, whether indoors or outdoors. Only in hot delivery are you allowed to use a passive holding device.

HD is emphatic on this point in our area. TinySmokin, what's your opinion on Igloo brand. I have a big one from costco I like.

I have a 70 quart Igloo Yukon, also had a Igloo Sportsman for a little while...both were very nice coolers. I just prefer Yeti because of the latch design and they just perform every time! Have busted some latches on other brands. It will be very close in performance between most of the super coolers. But there is a great big divide between the 50 dollar coolers and 300 dollar coolers in performance. Another consideration is the Roto-formed high performance coolers are physically very durable and heavy in weight also...most people think I am packing boat anchors when they help load my coolers. :-?

If you have constant easy access to ice then a super cooler does not necessarily make sense. I am away from civilization 4 - 14 days at a time making them necessary. Most coolers can perform adequately in the 1-2 day range. My insulin cannot be subjected to the extremes in temps where I trek.

But with any cooler the biggest thing is how you prep your cooler and the contents. When used for cooling I take my cooler to a business walk-in cooler and chill the entire cooler and everything that is going in to 38 degrees for 24 hours. If you don't have access to a walk- in, pack cooler with sacrificial ice or cold water before trip to pre-cool the cooler. I use block ice that I make myself and freeze at -100 in a special freezer where I work. When you buy store ice look for the stuff that is completely frozen and frosty in color...ice that is clear or wet is actually at about 36 degrees and won't last as long.You can also use dry ice in the Yeti and other Roto-molded coolers but it will make the coolers into freezers! Be quick when accessing your coolers. When shade is not available lay a coat, blanket or light colored items on top of it...if using for cooling. Also a big one is do not keep emptying the water from the cooler...even when all solid ice is gone the water will keep cold way longer than air.

Since I started taking in hot food to my legion and its 100 plus in Kansas right now, I place the cooler opened in the sun while I am cooking. Hot water could also be a prep.

Also rinse and dry cooler well after use and crumple up a few sheets of newspaper to throw inside to keep it fresh.

Oh Fark...did I just get too far off subject?

would this be acceptable?

Michigan Custom 'Que is quickly growing, I could use food carriers but do not have the budget for a Cambro

thanks

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/san-jamar/fc2212-mrn/p1355852.aspx

I would assume that any carrier that is approved by your rules and regulations in your area would work. Some have said coolers not allowed for their competitions or other health codes. I would imagine these soft sides would work fine for a couple hours, but there are a lot of variables such as food starting temp, room temps, type of food.

The only thing that is absolute is you must keep the food above 140 F or below 40 F. The rapid growth of bacteria is between 60 - 110 F. This is Kansas code..I am sure the temps are similar everywhere.

Out here, soft-side coolers are for food transit only, that means holding only for the time it takes to deliver it. They are not considered safe for holding food for service. YMMV depending on your health department

I would use the soft side for transport only

thanks

I bought a couple of Stackable coolers from igloo or coleman, can't remember which. They are nice because they are not as tall as other coolers, so not as much space to heat up. Also, I am able to put ribs in one, pork in another and brisket in the third, so I don't have to dig through the meat to get to the correct cut...

^^^They are called Party Stackers from Coleman...they do stack nice!

Linky

I use Rubbermaid Proserve...much cheaper than Cambro. I think Cambro will keep food hot/cold longer but if you only need a couple of hours, this works fine.


http://www.webstaurantstore.com/rub...pan-carrier-fg9f1200cgray/6909F12 GY.html

Coleman Extreme , are hard to beat, you don't need towels