Keeping boiled potato warm

Question

I’m cooking boiled potatoes for 60 people for a party, how can I keep them warm and ready to serve until needed? Would sticking them in an oven at a low temperature work?

Answer 1

There are three things to consider. The first two are food safety.

• Temperature: You say warm oven, but in order for food to be held for extended periods of time safely they need to be held at over 140° F. ^(source)
• Time: Once you are no longer maintaining a safe temperature you have a short period of time before it is considered unsafe. Approximately 4 hours. This includes time it is sitting out for service.
• Dried Boiled Potatoes: If you keep the potatoes in the oven they may dry out. although this is fairly preventable by covering and adding a touch extra moisture. This is also the least important of the three concerns as it doesn't constitute a danger.

I would recommend doing the boiling shortly before service. The actual cooking is not the hardest part of making boiled potatoes. The peeling and cutting is. Simply prep your potatoes in advance (even the day before) and store them in cold water to prevent them spoiling. Then rinse and boil just before. You shouldn't need more than 30 minutes to an hour for that quantity.

There is also another option (pointed out by GdD in comments), of preparing them in full and refrigerating them. Then it is a simple matter of reheating them just before serving. This may be your most ideal option because almost all of the work can be done before hand.

Answer 2

If you have access to an immersion circulator (sous vide), bagging your potatoes and holding them in a temperature controlled water bath is by far the best method to ensure safety and quality. You'll need a temperature of at least 194F (90C) to cook the potatoes sous vide, however, you can cook them traditionally if you like. Then, as long as you hold them in the water bath between 140F (60C) and somewhere below 194F (90C), depending on how hot you want them, they should be ready to serve for a couple of hours, at least. If you choose to mash, this is also a superior holding method.