When it comes to grilling and smoking outdoors, it’s important to have equipment you can trust. Grills and smokers must be hardy, portable and efficient. Most of all, they must produce the mouthwatering meats that keep your clients hungry for more. CFE has rounded up a selection of caterers’ favorites for you to consider for your next outdoor feast.
The ultimate catering oven, Ole Hickory Pits CTO-DW uses patented technology to achieve the heat movement used in convection ovens, allowing food to be cooked consistently with extreme efficiency and distribution of heat and smoke, all contained within a small space.
This cook-and-hold oven features convenient sliding racks and 40 square feet of cooking surface. It is offered in two different rack configurations—the standard four rack and the split eight rack. The eight-rack configuration has a divider down the middle of the pit to optimize cooking capacity, making room for main courses, side dishes and desserts all at once.
All Ole Hickory Pits smokers are made in the USA out of heavy duty 12-gauge steel interior side walls with 100% welded and inspected seams, and a stainless-steel exterior. Extra options are available for customization. • olehickorypits.com
The SP-300 La Caja China can roast a 100-pound pig—or a large quantity of any meat to be roasted, slow-cooked and seared with a minimum of fuss, including up to 18 chickens, up to six turkeys or up to 10 rib slabs. The American-made SP-300 has a grilling surface of 1,070 square inches and is made of marine-grade aluminum for durability and easy cleaning. The portable SP-300 can be easily pulled onto a patio or loaded onto a truck bed to be transported to any off-site event. • lacajachina.com
The Arteflame Classic 40-inch grill with tall round base and cooktop features a sleek, contemporary look and outstanding functionality. A wood or charcoal fire is built in the center of the grill, and the cooktop heats from the center out. This heat pattern results in higher cooking temperatures closer in as compared to the outer edges, so a variety of foods can be cooked at various temperatures at the same time. When not in use as a grill, Arteflame can be enjoyed as a fire bowl with the cooktop on or off. All Arteflame Classic grills have the accessory ring under the cooktop so that the optional sizzle grate can be dropped in and lay flush with the cooktop. • arteflame.com
A-Series Grills from Big John Grills & Rotisseries—a leading supplier of outdoor grills to the foodservice industry for over 59 years—are durable enough to transport daily yet perform to the highest grilling standard. The temperature of each cooking grate is independently controlled—providing excellent heat control—and Big John is the only outdoor, commercial gas grill to offer the advantages of Cast Iron Cooking Grates (optional on nine A-Series models). • bigjohngrills.com
Handcrafted in Michigan, the Kalamazoo Argentinian-style Gaucho Grill combines the rugged intensity and firepower of a traditional Argentinian grill with a modern design, for the ultimate wood-fired grilling experience. The 30-inch spoked wheel allows food to be raised high above the fire for lower-temperature cooking, or the grill rack can be lowered toward the fire for intense searing heat. • kalamazoogourmet.com
