Bun warming question / no cart

I'm going to be serving hot dogs and brats at an outdoor Christmas festival this weekend. Going to be in the 30's I think. I want to warm the buns somehow. I'll by doging the dogs in an electric roasting pan and the brats on a gas grill. The grill has no cover but does have a warming shelf. I'm looking for ideas to warm the buns. They don't have to be perfect. I just want to take the chill off of them. Thanks.

Maybe a big electric steamer. I would keep the buns in the bags and leave the end of the bag open. This way you don't have to keep an eye on them every 2 minutes so they don't get soggy. If you can't get a hold of a steamer then I would bring out a microwave. As crazy as it sounds a microwave steams them up pretty good. Just cover em in a towel and let them nuke for a minute.

I'm here in Texas and usually it is warm and I never warm the buns. Last week I helped some relatives located up north, we served outside and it in the 20's. We kept the buns in a steam pan on the cart. They did become hard if they were'nt used within 10 minutes. I would recommend putting the buns in foil pan on the grill for a few seconds then transferring them to a pan covered with a heavy towel. I would'nt heat too many at a time just keep up with the flow.

Good Luck
texgrill

just keep the buns in the bag and micro for 30 seconds,,,works great!

Get a way to get a pan of water hot and steaming with a very slow boil, (little bubbles coming up). Put some heavy foil over it and punch a few holes in it). Now put the buns in for a minute and put some type of loose cover on them. You now have a cheap bun steamer, don't put the buns in too long or they will get soggy. Also keep the buns way from the foil by using a few little balls of foil and tilt the cover so the condensed steam will drip away from the buns. Normally the extra steps of watching for the buns getting wet isn't necessary but with cold weather the steam will condense to water and the buns will cool fast with the cold weather. If someone has a pot with a steamer the pot/foil step isn't needed. RJF

I don't have a steamer or use of a microwave. Grill space will be tight. I'll be par-boiling brats, cooking onions, and grilling the brats on the grill. I do have a warming shelf on the grill. I'll be doing the dogs in the roasting pan.

If you have electrical access it solves the problem by grabbing a electrical heating device. You could rent or buy a electrical generator which solves the problem again and you always have electrical for whatever reason in the future. Or one more lp tank and you have your self an extra outdoor stove or burner or warmer for your self. RJF