Hmm....HD gave me a real dilema for serving chili and cheese sauce

So the HD guy said that I can serve chili and cheese sauce as long as its in a dispenser of some kind.  I'm thinking of making a beanless chili and cheese sauce (cheeze whiz) for chili dogs, but how can I keep the chili and cheese warm using only the hot water in my EZ cart spill pan?  I was thinking that I could put chili and cheese sauce in two plastic condiment dispensers and keep them in the hot water in my EZ cart....not sure if thats a good idea or not.  Maybe I should nix the chili cheese dog idea.  Any suggestions are welcome.  Thanks.

Hey, at least you can make your own chili!
 
I can serve chili and cheese, but it must come pre-prepared, so I use ChefMate hot dog chili sauce and ChefMate Sharp Cheddar cheese sauce. (Basically Cheez Whiz, by Nestle instead of Kraft)
 
I heat them in two 1/6 pans in the steam table. The chili is served up with a ladle, and the cheese is pumped out with a steam pan cover that has a pump built in. (1 stroke = 1 oz of cheese)
 
Does your EZ Cart have room for two 1/6 pans?
 
 
 
 

Oh - and here's a llink to the pump. (you can find better pricing, the link is just for reference)
http://www.vittitow.com/sized-server-solution™-pump-p-2156.html
Don't forget to order a steam pan if yours have hinged doors welded to them. (a lot of carts do)
 
FWIW - chili dogs, cheese dogs and chili/cheese dogs are a big seller. Not so much with kraut, so I buy little packages of kraut for those who want it.

Thanks for the info......I can make it or I can buy it but it cant be served with a ladle....has to be dispensed somehow.

lol at least both of you can serve chili and cheese with out having to serve it in individual containers

biggeemac


Thanks for the info......I can make it or I can buy it but it cant be served with a ladle....has to be dispensed somehow.

I cut a slot in the lid for the chili for the ladle, but I guess that's a moot point for you.
I haven't tried it, but that pump might do chili without clogging if it is thinned out a little. The ChefMate sauce has meat and beans, but the beans are ground up to make a hot dog sauce rather than be a traditional chili. The pump will supposedly work with relish, although I haven't tried it. I bought it mainly for the Cheez Whiz.
 
There are chili pump dispensers, but they are electric powered and made for B&M establishments. The ones that fit on the steam pans are nice. Maybe somebody makes on that is rated for chili?
 
 

olddude2


lol at least both of you can serve chili and cheese with out having to serve it in individual containers

Individual containers? That's nuts!

What was your solution to serving in individual containers?

no comment, I don't advocate cheeting.  but so far spray cheese is been ok, we are also not allowed cooked peppers and onions or sour kraut, if you come to Florida leave your cart at home.  "frankfruters only"

biggeemac


So the HD guy said that I can serve chili and cheese sauce as long as its in a dispenser of some kind.  I'm thinking of making a beanless chili and cheese sauce (cheeze whiz) for chili dogs, but how can I keep the chili and cheese warm using only the hot water in my EZ cart spill pan?  I was thinking that I could put chili and cheese sauce in two plastic condiment dispensers and keep them in the hot water in my EZ cart....not sure if thats a good idea or not.  Maybe I should nix the chili cheese dog idea.  Any suggestions are welcome.  Thanks.

I have an EZ cart and use the suggested 1/2 pan to boil dogs. I then put in a 2/3 by 4" perforated pan to steam and hold dogs and to steam buns. Have (2) 1/6 pans for chili and cheese. I can use ladles but maybe you can use the pump suggested by Trenton Dog. I highly recommend the Chef Mate hot dog chili sauce. It can probably be used with the pump suggested. I would really fight to keep the chili and cheese. Almost doubles your menu and with a plastic container containing tortilla chips and some #2 1/2 french frey "boats" you can add the very profitable nachos. BTW, I get my Chef Mate sauce at Restaurant Depot.
If you put about 3" water in your steam pan it will hold the chili/cheese above 141 if you turn on burners about every 15 Minutes and run for about 5 minutes. Also before you try this configuration, contact me and I'll give you a couple of tips to make it fit. Best of luck.
 
Jerry
Tasty Dogs
jdc22222@yahoo.com
 
 

Ahhhh - another ChefMate user! That hot dog chili sauce is the trick. It is thick enough not to soak into the bun, and it is pretty good tasting accordng to my customers. (I doctor it up a little, but not much) I think that if it was thinned out a little, it could be dispensed with a pump but it would take away from the "not soaking in the bun" advantage. But having chili sauce is better than not having chili sauce!

Thanks guys....this helps more than you know !

biggeemac


Thanks guys....this helps more than you know !

Not a problem!
 
Another hint is to add a little liquid smoke (hickory or mesquite) to the Cheez Whiz to give it a unique slightly smokey flavor. You want to make a dog that cannot be replicated at home and they'll be lining up. While some may criticize Whiz as not being cheese, it is a cheese sauce and is actually lower in fat than cheddar. For junk food junkies, there is no substitute!
 
 

We use finely shredded cheddar cheese not cheese goo. We are one of those folk who think cheese goo is faux cheese.  But I do understand that there are a lot of folks who just love it. That's okay. We also put cheese on things other than hot dogs. Cheese goo simply wouldn't work for us.

lornaschinske


We use finely shredded cheddar cheese not cheese goo. We are one of those folk who think cheese goo is faux cheese.  But I do understand that there are a lot of folks who just love it. That's okay. We also put cheese on things other than hot dogs. Cheese goo simply wouldn't work for us.

Everything has its place. 100% real cheddar does not melt as well as "faux cheese" like processed American or a cheese sauce like Cheez Whiz or ChefMate cheese sauce. The oils in the real cheese tend to separate out.
 
If you made homemade cheddar cheese sauce from scratch, the actual content of real cheese would be less than 50% - the other 50% would be milk, flour, etc. This is pretty much what Cheez Whiz is. A shelf stable cheese sauce. It doesn't pretend to be real cheese. It is lower in fat than cheddar or American too.
 
 
 
 
 

lorna unfortunately some of us are forced by the HD to use processed crap (goo) rather then the real thing.
 
Ya I know makes no sense to me either.

I know about the regs.  It just seems a little strange that you can't use plain old shredded cheese (we do not make a cheese sauce).  Sometimes I wonder about the health depts regs.  no make that I OFTEN wonder...  It just seems a that a small baggie of real cheese can be kept cold and fresh much easier than a huge can that is being held at temps that may or may not drift into unsafe areas.  But then why is one thing safe in one state but unsafe in another? And why is it better to get food poisoning from a charity group than a restaurant?  Guess I need a college degree to know the answers to those questions.

I've given up on trying to figure out the reasons why they do the things they do. I understand that we all need to follow some basic food safelty rules so nobody gets ill, but some rules are just plain ridiculous.

     Get a 3 qt steel jar like this
 
      a steam well cover like this
 
        Chili pump like this
when you have dilemons, you make Delemonade....PM me with your e mail and I'll send you the sit...............Bill

won't pass in Fl.

won't pass in Fl, but it may help others like BM in Ca.

I went on "live chat" with KaTom restaurant supply and confirmed that the server solution pump will work with chili sauce (no beans, or ground up beans). I'll probably order another one and try it out. They are really useful for the cheese because it isn't as messy. Chili sauce doesn't make so much of a mess, but the pump would b great for precise portion control.
http://www.katom.com/003-83190.html
 
BillyB's solution may work too, but it looks like it will take up quite a bit of steam pan space. I'm also not sure that the pumps on the electric warmers can be removed and used on another container. (some have electrically heated nozzles) But then again, I doubt he'd post if he wasn't 100% sure it was a workable solution.
 
Added: Here is the pump lid only for the sauce dispenser BillyB linked to:
http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_308458
Saves you a bunch of money to just buy the part you need.
 
3 quart cans:
http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_308721
 
 

 

Od, the guys in Calif, what the heck are you working for the health dept now.
 
The OP, could take the steel jars and offset them and maybe take up 2/3 of the steamtable, he could buy a 2/3 pan lid and have someone cut out the holes to fit his offset configuration. that would free up room for a 1/3 pan or 2- 1/6 pans....I figure the OP could now make  a  few calls to follow up..........

Don't start with me BB.  I am making an attempt to be civil with you for the sake of the site.  I've worked in more then 25 states, california was one of them from 84 to 90, from Redlands to Oroville and Aurora and the gold fields.  I clearly said your idea may work for him in CA, giving you credit and you come back at me with an attempt at a not so  subtle insult.