Something I have been trying to find out is how long can you steam the buns for? Can they be in there for an hour? 2? Won’t they get soggy? I always thought you steamed the buns just before serving for 30 seconds or so…
Jeffrey T.
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How long you can hold a bun in the steamer depends a lot on the brand of bun you use. I now use Rosen’s which are made for steaming. They can sit in the steamer for a half hour without losing their firmness. Call Vienna Beef for a distributor near you.
That being said, I also used Walmart buns for years with good steaming results.
What ever bun you use the key is to not let your steamer get too hot. Turn down (or even off) the flame when necessary. You can also crack the lid open a bit to let excess steam escape.
Use a perforated pan or false bottom above the water and keep the buns away from the pan sides which are too hot. Place a clean white bar towel in the bottom of condensation is causing sogginess.
One or all of these tips should help you produce hot, fluffy buns that melt in your customer’s mouth!
Let’s hear your tips slingers!!!
-Steve
1/3 pan … moisten the clean white bar towel and place at the bottom of the pan as mentioned above… place 3 or 4 buns on top of towel (these are an investment as they just protect the buns above them)… place product buns above that, and “violet”… When done for the day, throw away bottom layer of buns… this tip was given to me by a 20 year slinger, (now retired) who worked the streets of indy for years… she was awsome…
Note: always ask customers if they want their buns steamed… complete the obvious humor as appropriate on a case-by-case basis… reap the rewards $$$…
Ha!
tbone654 I would love to talk to you I am 70 miles north of you in INDY
info@snapperhotdogs.com
Thanks
At the moment I use. That perforated broiler that comes with a new range.. I put water in it put the top on it and keep the heat low.. I use a large bowl to cover the buns… Steams good.. I’m slinging a football party Saturday.. Using there kitchen..hey, gigs a gig right?
Indeed!
Hey Steve:
Bun steaming is no doubt somewhat of an art Jeff. It took us almost 2 years of trying different methods, ideas from others, and months of trial and error to have finally have a method that works well for us.
We use a somewhat heavy potato bun which is made fresh especially for us by Franz Bakery. Because we do a lot of volume at festivals, and private events, to eliminate soggy waste Jeff, I bought a wire rack that slips into the full perforated pan and sets about an half inch or so above the pan. I just lay the buns on the rack, and it keeps them high enough where they don’t get real soggy. I’ve had buns in there for over 40 minutes at some point, and never had a problem. Then again a lot of it depends on the quality of bun you use as well.
Hope this helps!
Great tip!
Whoops, PS Jeff:
We use roll top covers on our steam tables as moisture tends to develop on the underside of standard lids, and drip on top of the buns which can be a problem as well.
I use a hinged dome lid for the same reason.
Set the lid on sideways with about a 4 inch gap to let steam escape as well as what Steve said. I also put a clean bar towel over them to keep condensation from dripping off the lid onto them. Remove the lid periodically and shake off the condensation as well.
Right on.
what about the aluminum foils ? wrap the hot dog buns inside the aluminum foil hey steve any suggestion
Some slingers do that. Too time consuming for me.
Do you leave the buns in the package when you steam them?
I do. I split the package open across the top so it’s easy to grab the buns.
So put the towel on top of the perforated shelf and that will work…???
Yep
All of the tips steve does above are correct. The main thing is to sling so many dogs that you can barely keep the buns steamed!! seriously what I do is exactly waht steves suggest above, except for 1 thing. I only open the bag of buns i am currently using, the other bags go in the steamer but with the bag still closed. If you have an electronic steamer like myself it works out great. Sometimes no matter what you do, your going to have some buns that need tossed out, thats just business.
Yes, I keep a closed bag of buns under my open bag in the steamer. It pre-heats the buns nicely.
What kind of electric steamer do you use?
I am one the few(?) that just use my buns from Aldis right out of the bag.
Sometimes they get warmed by the sun, a lot of customers ask where I get
my buns because they like the taste. They always say “these are Aldis?”
“Sell Em All”
Jerry
Bags work like a greenhouse in the sun. The poor man’s steamer.
We are a small town; example the health inspector showed up today to tell me he had calls on me. Nosy neighbors! I tried this because Steve said it but found my Krogers buns would get hard at the tips…. So now I leave them in the Van till I am ready to use them. I have a bread box I stick them in on the cart but it does not steam them but my sales do not support me steaming them on the cart. Any I deads
?
Steve
I lined the inside of my perforated pan with a towel and set the buns inside then covered them with another small towel. This kept the moisture from making them soggy on the bottom and kept the moisture from the lid from dripping down on them. (Also kept the fire low when ever I could… Depending on outside temp.) This allows me to keep them longer. Double stacking them in the bun warmer also allows me to rotate top and bottom buns every 20 mins. Hope this helps………..
Thanks Scott!
I wouldn’t keep the Aldi bag labels on the rolls. It diminishes the quality of your hot dog and your cart. Make them think they are getting something special by going to your cart. I say quality before price. The worst thing you can do is skimp on a quality product. If your serving the best quality product at a fair price, the customers will keep coming back and thank you for it. Just a thought
True. I use the Rosen’s Mary Ann poppy seed buns. They come 10 to a box, wrapped in cellophane. I place one box in the bottom of the steamer, then put another box on top of that one. I cut away the cellophane on the top box and I’m on my way.
You could always talk about the buns mother-lol.
I have a 1/3 hinged lid pan that sits in my steam table. Inside my 1/3 pan I have a stainless false bottom (rack with holes). Under the false bottom I wet a bar towel and place buns on top of false bottom. Works great! Just keep a squeeze bottle of water at your cart so you can keep the towel moist at all times or your buns will dry out and get hard. Never use buns for your base, its like throwing money away every day. Invest in a false bottom.
I like the squirt bottle trick. Very cool!
I put 2 sheets of foil on the bottom of my steam pan, then I put foil sheets on top of my buns. This keeps the condensation from dropping on the buns. I keep the burners off an keep checking my temperature on my chili and cheese. When I need to warm my chili I turn on the burners. I keep rotating the buns to us the longest one in next. If you let the lid open a little bit when burner is on the buns won’t get real hot. Also, in Pennsylvania the health department won’t let you have a cloth in the ban because of bacteria.
I have a 1/3 pan, perforated bottom. Pour in one 16oz bottle of water, bar town on top of false bottom. I have my electric heater on a twist timer.
10 minutes for the 1st batch, 4 to 5 minutes for each additional batch.
Steams them just like good ol mom back in the day.
Where can I get a Domed lid for my pan?
I like it! Domed lids can be had from most restaurant supply stores.
I worked for elfmans hot dog stand in Chicago one thing I learned was steaming buns particularly the srosens if you slice a slit on one side be far left on top of package you can remove buns and next row gets steamed as you prep current dogs and so on
Right on Dave. I love the boxes that the Rosen’s buns come in for this reason.
All great ideas for the buns I already sling my dogs but…
I’m about to try BBQ pulled pork sliders any suggestions on type of roll and do you think I should stream the buns.
Don’t steam pullled pork buns. A nice hamburger bun works well.