New (sort of) cooking toy. Alto-Shaam holding cabinet

Thatgrimguy

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/alto-shaam-1200-s-low-temperature-mobile-holding-cabinet-dough-proofer-120v/1311200SA.html?utm_source=webstaurant&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=auto-order-confirmation

As I've progressed down my bbq journey, I've found an increasing demand for my bbq and decreasing desire to stay up all night feeding sticks.  I've also found that long holds can be incredible for brisket and even butts. So I've gotten in the habit of starting my pit around 11am the day before and cooking till 11-1ish and putting it in a preheated cambro. Problem is that if I get too comfortable sleeping the meat drops into the danger zone before I wake up. Or I have to wake up and put the meat into a low oven to reheat a bit and I feel that is lowering quality or at minimum a pain in the butt.

So, overdoing things as I like to do. I pulled the trigger on an Alto Shaam 1200s with Halo Heat. Which is what Aaron Franklin uses or atleast did during his rise to the top. Can't wait to play with long holds on all sorts of stuff. Like thick steaks or turkey breasts.

kl8ton

Awesome!  Can't wait to hear how it works out!

lkapigian

Nice, you will love it, allows those overnight holds  I scored one craigslist for $80.00 a while back cres Cor , works like a champ ( mine is a little older than the one below but same model)

lousubcap

Way to ramp it up.  

GregW

That looks good. I didn't realize that an Alto Shaam was comparatively reasonably priced. I thought they were closer to 20K. I'm sure there are bigger units that cost more.
It looks like the unit you purchased would be a perfect companion size for my Cookshack FEC 120 pellet smoker. Do you think the Alto Shaam 1200s would hold 16 Ten pound pork butts?

Please let me know how well it performs.

Thatgrimguy

GregW said:

That looks good. I didn't realize that an Alto Shaam was comparatively reasonably priced. I thought they were closer to 20K. I'm sure there are bigger units that cost more.
It looks like the unit you purchased would be a perfect companion size for my Cookshack FEC 120 pellet smoker. Do you think the Alto Shaam 1200s would hold 16 Ten pound pork butts?

Please let me know how well it performs.

It will hold 8 6" deep pans. So 24 butts should fit relatively comfortably unless it's important to you that they don't touch and 16 will fit with 2 per pan. I'll have more info on it when I get it in hand though.  

And yeah, the price isn't that bad all in all. I'm going to sell my Pitmaker Vault to cover the price.

stuartlowry

Can the temperature of this be ok for Jerky cooking? or drying to some extent as well?

GregW

stuartlowry said:

Can the temperature of this be ok for Jerky cooking? or drying to some extent as well?

I'm not sure, but I think these units hold high humidity in order to prevent drying out the product. 

GregW

Thatgrimguy said:

GregW said:

That looks good. I didn't realize that an Alto Shaam was comparatively reasonably priced. I thought they were closer to 20K. I'm sure there are bigger units that cost more.
It looks like the unit you purchased would be a perfect companion size for my Cookshack FEC 120 pellet smoker. Do you think the Alto Shaam 1200s would hold 16 Ten pound pork butts?

Please let me know how well it performs.

It will hold 8 6" deep pans. So 24 butts should fit relatively comfortably unless it's important to you that they don't touch and 16 will fit with 2 per pan. I'll have more info on it when I get it in hand though.  

And yeah, the price isn't that bad all in all. I'm going to sell my Pitmaker Vault to cover the price.

Did you look into all the options that are available? looks like there is a Deluxe temp control and stainless steel shelves/slides

Thatgrimguy

GregW said:

stuartlowry said:

Can the temperature of this be ok for Jerky cooking? or drying to some extent as well?

I'm not sure, but I think these units hold high humidity in order to prevent drying out the product. 

They can hold crispy or wet. They have vents to hold fried food even

Thatgrimguy

GregW said:

Thatgrimguy said:

GregW said:

That looks good. I didn't realize that an Alto Shaam was comparatively reasonably priced. I thought they were closer to 20K. I'm sure there are bigger units that cost more.
It looks like the unit you purchased would be a perfect companion size for my Cookshack FEC 120 pellet smoker. Do you think the Alto Shaam 1200s would hold 16 Ten pound pork butts?

Please let me know how well it performs.

It will hold 8 6" deep pans. So 24 butts should fit relatively comfortably unless it's important to you that they don't touch and 16 will fit with 2 per pan. I'll have more info on it when I get it in hand though.  

And yeah, the price isn't that bad all in all. I'm going to sell my Pitmaker Vault to cover the price.

Did you look into all the options that are available? looks like there is a Deluxe temp control and stainless steel shelves/slides

I'm pretty sure the Deluxe temp control is for the cook and hold ovens to allow temp probes, for my purposes that's useless. And mine came with all stainless shelves by default. I didn't get to mess with any specs because I did a price match to save a few hundred dollars and still get the free shipping.

Thatgrimguy

stuartlowry said:

Can the temperature of this be ok for Jerky cooking? or drying to some extent as well?

Looks like it's great for that.
 https://guides.brit.co/guides/make-beef-jerky-in-the-alto-shaam-cook-and-hold/particle-5

GregW

Thatgrimguy said:

stuartlowry said:

Can the temperature of this be ok for Jerky cooking? or drying to some extent as well?

Looks like it's great for that.
 https://guides.brit.co/guides/make-beef-jerky-in-the-alto-shaam-cook-and-hold/particle-5

That's really interesting. I've always wanted a good dehydrator. The link shows that it took over 17 hours to make the jerky. Is this a typical time?

Thatgrimguy

GregW said:

Thatgrimguy said:

stuartlowry said:

Can the temperature of this be ok for Jerky cooking? or drying to some extent as well?

Looks like it's great for that.
 https://guides.brit.co/guides/make-beef-jerky-in-the-alto-shaam-cook-and-hold/particle-5

That's really interesting. I've always wanted a good dehydrator. The link shows that it took over 17 hours to make the jerky. Is this a typical time?

Probably longer than most because there is no airflow in these units. That's their whole claim to fame.

nolaegghead

Depends on how thick the jerky is.  For me it’s usually around 4-5 hours in my dehydrator.  That’s a slick appliance but I would not buy it for jerky.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

This is going to change your life. Cook all day, hold all night.

Thatgrimguy

lkapigian

sweet @Thatgrimguy