who has used mini hibachis

I have several recepies for Cosmo Tid Bits, and other oriental appetizers, but what is the best way to serve them at a table and keep them warm. I have seen ads for mini hibachis and pupu platters, but has anyone ever used them? Please be specific with decriptions of products and where I could order them. Also what is the best fuel: Sterno canned heat, fondue liquid gell or something else?

Here is a photo of Tarita, Marlon Brando's wife, dinning at what looks to be the Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood using one of the table top mini-hibachis to cook some appetizers. Not sure what the heating source would have been.

I use the sterno for chafing dishes, works pretty good.
DC

I made a Zombie Village ceramic pupu platter for a friend. It was designed to fit a can of Sterno (the blue flame in the center of the pic) She said it took forever to cook anything over that flame :lol:

Here is some advice from the master, Beachbum Berry out of Taboo Table.

The secret is to pre-cook the meat and finish it off over the mini hibachi with the sterno flame.

DC

I have a bit of experience with this. In the 70's-80's when I was regularly camping with my family (i.e, me as the middle one of 5 children) I remember my parents trying to 'cook' with sterno. I think that they used 2 full cans & had yet to get water to boil. Sterno is for keeping warm, NOT for cooking!
~kele

At Trader Vic's today, the pupu platters come with a little hibachi containing an aluminum tray filled with Sterno gel (pink jelly). The food is already cooked and warm, with sauce on it - you spear a piece on a pick, hold it in the flame for a bit and get it hotter and a bit toasted on the outside.

The vintage hibachis, whether big or small, have an adjustable air vent(s) in the base, a grill for coals above that, and a cooking grill on top (adjustable in height on the full size models). If you're using the mini types outdoors, I see two ways to do it: either put in a Sterno can, or put in two or three lumps of already-hot charcoal. Bring the food already cooked, and let guests finish it at their table using picks. If you have charcoal in there, you can use things that need only light cooking (like marinated vegetables) and guests can fully cook them. Some of the mini hibachis have a wooden base with a row of tiny holes; these are for inserting cocktail picks with tidbits already on them. They're also good for warming - bring the cooked food and, if it gets cold, the Sterno or charcoal will warm the bits right up as they're picked.

The mini hibachis can be found on eBay, just keep searching "hibachi" until one pops up. Sometimes, if you're lucky, they may have the box with them. If they're missing the top grill, don't bother, finding replacements is impossible. If they're missing the internal bottom grill (charcoal support) you can still put in a Sterno can.

[ Edited by: TorchGuy 2011-02-14 04:02 ]

I have a pupu set up and I use the small charcoal in there they heat great, cook well, not too much smoke

Amy

FWIW, you can get these little hibachis from Dynasty Wholesale:

Here is an antique flaming pupu tray from the 60's that I saw for sale. It came on a wood Lazy Lei Lani.

Luau Livin! Amazing how the Poly Pop craze permeated into everything.

DC

I recently bought a mini-hibachi and pupu platter for a party this summer. I'll try it out soon and let you know how it goes. I have seen both sterno and a blue gel in a bottle. I will try both.

I ordered a mini hibachi and 14" inch Pu Pu platter from Retro Planet and it came in on Friday. I used liquid swiss fire gel which is sold by Swissmar or Trudeau. It is similar to liquid Sterno. I made ribs, beef satay, Kahiki eggs rolls and shrimp. i can not wait for next weekend to fix some more. I recently made Trader Vic's rumaki but I replaced chicken livers ( which I never liked) with chicken breasts, water chestnuts, bacon and a marinade.These homemade ones were quite good. Also has anyone tried using 1 or 2 charcoal lumps instead of the fuel gel and can charcoal be used inside. Let me know your thoughts.

Remember that the alcohol gel cans only get hot at the top, coals would be hot on the bottom also. If the hibachi sits on a wooden platter it could scorch it or even catch it on fire.

Good point maddog. I was also wondering if it would be safe to pour some of the gel on a charcoal to get it started quicker since I would not like to use lighter fluid. I also wonder if it is safe to use even 1 charcoal indoors.

Good point maddog. I was also wondering if it would be safe to pour some of the gel on a charcoal to get it started quicker since I would not like to use lighter fluid. I also wonder if it is safe to use even 1 charcoal indoors.

I recently got one of the pu-pu platters with the mini-hibachi. I tried it with some charcoal, and the results were disappointing. The grill did heat up, but it took forever to warm a piece of food and watn't user-friendly because it was small. Sterno would be the same experience because it isn't very hot.I looked at larger hibachis but face it, they aren't particularly safe inside and could scorch the table they're sitting on. In short, the hibachi was fun but wouldn't work well for a group except as a novelty item rather than something to depend on for warming appetizers.

My plan is to use an electric griddle at my next party. It is safe, I can control the heat, and it is large enough for several people to warm (or cook) whatever food they want on it.

dcman

Just some info for those not in the know, Never! use charcoal indoors, it releases a lot of carbon monoxide when
it burns & can be deadly in a closed room.

[ Edited by: Chuck Tatum is Tiki 2012-01-31 13:37 ]

On 2012-01-30 20:28, old band alum wrote:
Good point maddog. I was also wondering if it would be safe to pour some of the gel on a charcoal to get it started quicker since I would not like to use lighter fluid. I also wonder if it is safe to use even 1 charcoal indoors.

It's generally considered to be a bad idea to burn even a small amount of charcoal (1 or 2 lumps) in any enclosed space (i.e. indoors) because there is generally not enough air circulation to prevent carbon monoxide buildup. Large amounts of carbon monoxide can overwhelm you very quickly, and some people are affected more quickly than others. Also,if you have pets, the smaller they are, the quicker they can succumb.

For indoors, I'd stick to products meant for indoors. If you want to use charcoal in your hibachi, do it outdoors. I have done this by lighting the charcoal in my kettle grill the "girl scout way" (crumpled newspaper as kindling under charcoal lumps), let them get to smoldering (no flames, grey ash just forming), and then I use tongs to transfer them to the hibachi. Mine is footed, so I don't have a huge issue with heat, butI still place it on a heatproof trivet to be safe.

:)

Anyone know what's the pink jelly fuel Trader Vic's puts in their mini-hibachis with their tidbits? It burns a great hot flame that'll "cook" the food a bit and doesn't add any chemical taste.

Took this photo just now: my current collection of miniature cast-iron hibachis. All have little feet; those with solid wooden base are screwed to the base, with a gap between the hibachi bottom and the wood.
Front row, L to R:
Konro rectangular, wood base w/ holes for toothpicks (Edit: See very bottom of post)
Faceted round w/ hanging rings on sides, wood base w/ toothpick holes, slightly rusty
Gorgeous rectangular w/ hand-carved wood feet, side handles and grill handles. In perfect shape
Back row, L to R:
*Round w/ chunky wood handle, grill missing handle, wood base w/ toothpick holes, says "miniature broiler"
Square w/ wood handles on sides (no screw hole to mount wood base)
*Same but with dark-stained wood base, no toothpick holes
*Faceted round w/ thin wood handle, six flat & one rounded side, says "miniature B-B-Q," wood base w/ toothpick holes

Those marked with a * were bought at various times for about $10 each at thrift stores. The other four were bought three days ago at a yard sale for a dollar each. I'll be setting ALL out for display at my next party. I've used one of these as a place to start charcoal tablets for smoking hookah, to let them go gray before using 'em. Sadly I no longer have the round mini I had as a kid, which had "eager beaver mini-bachi" cast into it. Oddly, I've never seen a mini that had just "hibachi" cast in, the way the full-size cast-iron hibachis did; they always have something different, or nothing. Some of these are from Japan, a few from Taiwan. Only kind I'm missing is one with a face on it!

If anyone here ever finds a regular-size cast iron hibachi of a specific kind, let me know. You all know the standard ones sold until the 90s: two wood feet, two wood handles, "hibachi" on the front, grill w/ three height notches. Usually you'll see a single (one square grill) or double (two square grills side-by-side or one rectangular one w/ two handles). I'm after the triple (three separate square grills side-by-side w/ handles)!! I KNOW they were made, I saw them in stores in the 80s.

Edit: I've known already that a Hibachi, in Japan, was a cooker/room heater (traditional Japanese houses were extremely well-ventilated, so burning charcoal indoors was not a problem) consisting of a cast-iron insert set inside a wooden cabinet. But I've just learned that the proper term for what we in the States call a "hibachi" is "konro," translation 'portable stove.' Hence the name on this guy.

[ Edited by: TorchGuy 2012-02-07 04:58 ]