# Keeping spaghetti hot - suggestions?



## JMediger (Aug 7, 2011)

The Thursday before a football game, the coaches want to do a spaghetti dinner with the players to carb load and reinforce the team concept.  The coaches wives are responsible for the first couple until we get some parents to volunteer.

Here's my dilemma ... How do I keep 20lbs of cooked spaghetti hot?

My initial thought was to toss each batch with a little sauce and keep in my Nesco.  Will this work or am I looking at mush by the end?

Any thoughts are truly appreciated!


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## Snip 13 (Aug 7, 2011)

I you have a chafing dish you can toss the spaghetti with some olive oil and keep it warm in that.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 7, 2011)

JMediger said:


> The Thursday before a football game, the coaches want to do a spaghetti dinner with the players to carb load and reinforce the team concept.  The coaches wives are responsible for the first couple until we get some parents to volunteer.
> 
> Here's my dilemma ... How do I keep 20lbs of cooked spaghetti hot?
> 
> ...



Do you have a big ice cooler?  If you line it with foil and keep it closed as long as possible, put your oiled hot pasta in there and slam the lid down.  Wash it out really good before you use it this way.


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## Rocklobster (Aug 7, 2011)

How long do you want to keep it hot for? Do you have access to a stove, pots and water where you will be serving it? The reason I ask is, you can cook it up well ahead, even the day before, store it in pails of cold water and then heat it up in pots of hot water just before serving.  Can you offer any more details?


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## Selkie (Aug 7, 2011)

It's been a long time ago, but I recall going to a family picnic with spaghetti. I blended the sauce with the spaghetti noodles in a stainless steel bowl, and then nested it in the bottom of a styrofoam cooler lined with towels soaked with boiling water. It kept it warm for about two hours.


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## Kayelle (Aug 7, 2011)

JMediger said:


> The Thursday before a football game, the coaches want to do a spaghetti dinner with the players to carb load and reinforce the team concept.  The coaches wives are responsible for the first couple until we get some parents to volunteer.
> 
> Here's my dilemma ... How do I keep 20lbs of cooked spaghetti hot?
> 
> ...



Is there a reason to not mix it with all of the sauce?  I've done a huge batch of spaghetti with *extra juicy* sauce in my Nesco roaster with good results.  The trick is to undercook the pasta to less than "el dente'".


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## JMediger (Aug 7, 2011)

Rocklobster said:


> ...  Can you offer any more details?



We are serving at the school but do not have access to their kitchen for legal reasons.  We live about 5 minutes from the school so I am planning on cooking the noodles at home and transporting them to the school.

I thought about mixing the whole lot together (divided between two roasters) but was worried about mushiness.  My plan was to cook them to al dente to accommodate the heating but was worried about how long some would be in sauce.  I figured 10 batches @ 15 minutes each, 2.5 hours to get it all done.  Some of the noodles will be sitting for 2+ hours.  This is where my "little bit of sauce" idea came in.   

I like the cooler idea...

Others?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Aug 7, 2011)

JMediger said:


> I like the cooler idea...



Coolers is how we would transport hot soup, chili, turkey...


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## roadfix (Aug 7, 2011)

I like the cooler idea.  Besides, it's the football team.   They don't mind food dished out of a 40 quart cooler....


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## simonbaker (Aug 7, 2011)

We serve pasta for house party/graduations with our catering business.  We transport the pasta cooked & chilled. We have a chafing dish hot with a perforated pan ( 2" deep pan with holes in it that fits inside a chafing dish.) When the chilled pasta is put into the perforated pan the water from the chafing dish warms the pasta within just a few minutes.   Toss the chilled pasta with olive oil to prevent it from sticking together.


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## joesfolk (Aug 7, 2011)

If you have a roaster you can cook the pasta ahead of time to al dente.  Boil water in the roaster at the school (I assume you will have electricity ) and immerse the noodles in the water for a few minutes as you need it.  In the second roaster you can heat the sauce.  This way both the noodles and the sauce will be hot when you serve them.


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## pacanis (Aug 7, 2011)

I like the cooler idea, too. Especially if you are only five minutes away. It's not like you need to keep the spaghetti warm for an hour.


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## snickerdoodle (Aug 7, 2011)

You can always put the sauce on the bottom, put the cooked noodles on top and just mix it when you're ready to serve it.  We have a local spaghetti joint that does a lot of carry out orders and that's how they do it in the plastic tubs we get.


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