Will your commercial food service business be participating in National Hot Dog Month? It is slated to take place in July and any establishment hoping to serve hot dogs during large, catered affairs will certainly need enough food holding cabinets to see them through. Remember, on average it takes anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes for standard size hot dogs to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit and most people like to eat two of them in a sitting. So waiting until the last second to prepare hundreds of hot dogs for an hour-long event could prove to be a logistical nightmare.

Having access to food holding cabinets allows event staff to forecast how many hot dogs will be needed and prepare at least some of them up ahead of time. Once the dogs reach the targeted temp, they may be cooled and then safely held at 141 degrees Fahrenheit in a water bath or dry heat until serving time. The hot dog buns and assorted topping may be conveniently stored in commercial food holding cabinets too.

Understandably, cook and holding times will vary per bun type and topping. However, most temperatures will fall well within the range offered by today’s commercial grade, food holding cabinets. If you decide to warm the buns in the cabinets, remember to either do it quickly with steam or slowly with dry heat. In the case of the dry heat method, don’t forget to wrap the buns for a softer feel. Otherwise, you’re apt to partially toast them in the process and that could cause them to become too hard over time.

And don’t worry too much. If the buns are toasted or steamed for too long, they may always be repurposed and used as bread crumbs. As for the extra hotdogs, they may be repurposed after the event too. To learn more about food holding cabinets big enough to accommodate hotdogs, toppings and buns all at once, please contact us today.