A huge vat?

[SeanGlavinGA]

i started working at this restaurant and i always wondered what this huge vat was and i never got around to asking and i walked in last night and they were making a demi-gloss in it and i figured they just made the mother sauces in it, and i was wondering if thier is a name for this huge vat? it had a lid and has like a faucet for water and a drain on the bottom....... to get the sauce out, anyone know (sorry for the punctuation not verry good at it )

[chiffonade]

I can't imagine demi glace being made in one of those huge pots but hey, I guess if you're Wolfgang Puck ready to do the Oscars, it's possible.

It's simply a spigoted stockpot. It must have a huge capacity because the spigot is there so the cook doesn't have to actually heft the pot to pour out of it. Instead, the cook can simply dispense the stock with the spigot. Eventually, it will empty enough of its contents and if the cook wants to at that time, he/she can pick it up.

[Pete]

Chances are, it is a steam kettle that you are refering to. Some of them are 40+ gallons in capacity. They are called steam kettles because steam is used to heat it. The kettle actually has a double side. Between the inside layer and outside layer is water. When you turn the thing on, you are turning on a heating element that heats the water and creates steam. This steam is under pressure, so it gets very hot and thus heats the kettle and anything in it. They are a standard piece of equipment in many larger restaurants and hotels.

[chiffonade]

Originally posted by Pete
Chances are, it is a steam kettle that you are refering to.

Hmmm...I thought a steam kettle was the large round bottomed vessel that has a lever on the side so it can be poured out safely. It has its own heat source. We used one to make chili when I worked in the National Park concession last year. (I remember thinking, "I'd love to have that beast in MY house...)

[SeanGlavinGA]

steam kettle sounds right, i can see why we use make it in one because we make a ton of sauces (not that i have anything to compare to) but we have over 10 sauces every night........dunno if they all come from demi gloss but hey, ill learn

[Pete]

If it goes on the stove, then it is a very large stock pot, but if it sits on the floor and has its own heat source then it is probably a steam kettle. To me it sounded like the latter.

Also Chiffonade, many of the larger steam kettles have a spigot to pour off sauces and stocks. It would be pretty dangerous trying to tilt a pot with 40+gallons of hot liquid in it.

[chiffonade]

Originally posted by Pete
If it goes on the stove, then it is a very large stock pot, but if it sits on the floor and has its own heat source then it is probably a steam kettle...many of the larger steam kettles have a spigot to pour off sauces and stocks. It would be pretty dangerous trying to tilt a pot with 40+gallons of hot liquid in it.

The one in our cafe must have held about 20 quarts, still manageable with a lever to pour. God, I wanted one of those...LOL.

[Suzanne]

A particularly awful waiter was leaving a place where I worked. Someone loaded up the steam kettle with ice and water. The waiter was invited into the kitchen at the end of the night, then grabbed and dumped into the pot. Those things are BIG!

[thebighat]

The ones with the levers are called trunnion kettles.