Quick Answer
A bratt pan is a large tilting pan that fries, braises, boils, stews, poaches, and steams 60–120 litres at a time, then tips to pour. Boiling pans hold 150–250 litres for soups and sauces. In the UK, refurbished bratt pans start around £2,700; new ones cost about £4,000–£6,500.
Caterzone supplies bratt pans, tilting pans, and boiling pans to UK school kitchens, care homes, hospitals, hotels, banqueting suites, and central production kitchens, and in those kitchens a bratt pan is often the single most productive piece of cooking equipment on the floor. One pan can brown a full batch of mince, turn it into a bolognese, and pour it into gastronorm trays without anyone lifting a stockpot.
This guide covers what a bratt pan does, bratt pans versus boiling pans, direct versus indirect heating, sizing against covers, gas versus electric, installation requirements, UK safety and food safety rules, and new versus refurbished. Specific pans are linked throughout, and the commercial cooking range collection covers the rest of the cooking line they sit beside.
What is a bratt pan and what can it cook?
A bratt pan — also called a tilting pan or tilting skillet — is a large rectangular pan with a thick, flat base, heated from beneath, mounted on a frame so that it can be tipped forward to pour out its contents. A hinged lid sits on top, and many models have a water tap above the pan for filling and cleaning.
The flat, heavy base is what makes it so versatile. With the temperature control set high — Combisteel tilting pans run from about 50°C to 300°C — it shallow fries and sears like a griddle. With liquid added and the lid down, it braises, stews, boils, and poaches. With a little water and a perforated insert, it steams. The refurbished Falcon Dominator Plus E3800 lists six cooking methods: boil, steam, braise, poach, shallow fry, and stew.
In practice, kitchens use bratt pans for bulk browning of mince and diced meat, curries, chillis, stews, and casseroles, shallow-frying eggs, sausages, and bacon for large breakfasts, cooking pasta and rice in bulk, poaching fish, and making sauces. Anything you would otherwise cook in several large pans on a range can usually be done in one bratt pan, faster and with less handling.
Bratt pan or boiling pan: which do you need?
A boiling pan, sometimes called a kettle, is a deep, round vessel designed for liquids: soups, stocks, sauces, custards, porridge, and boiled vegetables in volume. Combisteel boiling pans are made in 150 litre and 250 litre sizes. A boiling pan cannot fry or sear, but it holds far more liquid than a bratt pan of similar footprint and, with indirect heating, will not scorch thick mixtures.
A bratt pan is shallower and wider, typically 60 to 120 litres, and is the more versatile tool. If your menu is mostly braised, stewed, and fried dishes in batch, buy a bratt pan first. If you produce large volumes of soup, sauce, or custard — a school or hospital kitchen serving several hundred meals, or a central production unit — a boiling pan alongside the bratt pan pays for itself.
Smaller operations producing soup in tens of litres rather than hundreds usually do not need a boiling pan at all; a soup kettle or a stockpot on a high-output burner does the job. Our soup kettle guide covers that end of the scale.
What is the difference between direct and indirect heating?
A direct-heated pan has its gas burners or electric elements heating the base of the vessel directly. It reaches temperature quickly and gives high, searing heat at the base, which is exactly what you want for browning and shallow frying. Bratt pans are direct-heated for this reason. The trade-off is hot spots: thick sauces, milk, and custards can catch and burn on the base if they are not stirred.
An indirect-heated pan, also called a jacketed pan, has a sealed jacket of water or thermal oil between the heat source and the vessel. The jacket heats evenly and cannot exceed a set temperature at the food contact surface, so thick mixtures do not scorch even with less frequent stirring. Combisteel produces both direct and indirect versions of its 150 litre and 250 litre gas boiling pans, and indirect electric versions too.
Rule of thumb: direct heat for fast boiling of thin liquids such as stock, pasta water, and vegetables; indirect heat for anything thick, dairy-based, or sugary. Indirect pans cost more — around £5,900 against £4,550 for a 150 litre Combisteel gas boiling pan — but they save product, labour, and burnt-on cleaning.
Bratt pan and boiling pan comparison
| Pan | Capacity & power | Best for | Guide price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon Dominator Plus E3800 (refurbished) | 60L electric, 100–300°C, manual tilt | Care homes, schools on a budget | £2,700 |
| Combisteel Base 700 electric tilting pan | 60L, 9kW, 800 x 700mm | Compact kitchens, 700 lines | £4,046.90 |
| Combisteel Base 900 electric tilting pan | 80L, 12kW, 800 x 900mm | Hotels, banqueting, 150–300 covers | £4,777.90 |
| Combisteel Base 900 gas tilting pan | 80L, 20kW gas | Gas kitchens, fast searing | £5,185.90 |
| Combisteel Base 900 electric tilting pan | 120L, 18kW, 1,200mm wide | Production kitchens, 300+ meals | £6,256.90 |
| Combisteel Base 900 gas boiling pan | 150L direct / indirect | Soups, stocks, sauces in volume | £4,552.90–£5,878.90 |
What size bratt pan does your kitchen need?
Size a bratt pan on your largest single batch, not on total daily covers. As a rough guide, a 60 litre pan suits kitchens producing around 100 to 150 portions of a main in one batch, an 80 litre pan around 150 to 300, and a 120 litre pan 300 or more. A portion of stew or curry is commonly 250g to 350g, so a 60 litre pan filled to a safe working level of about two-thirds can produce roughly 40kg of finished dish — well over 100 portions.
For frying, capacity in litres matters less than base area. Browning mince or searing diced meat works only in a thin layer; overload the pan and the meat stews in its own juices instead of colouring. A wider 120 litre pan with a 1,200mm-wide body browns far more meat per batch than a 60 litre model, which is why production kitchens often choose the larger size even if they rarely fill it with liquid.
Check the line. Bratt pans are built to modular depths — Combisteel's Base 700 and Base 900 series match their 700mm and 900mm deep cooking lines — so choose the depth that sits flush with your existing ranges, fryers, and griddles under the canopy.
What are the installation requirements for a bratt pan?
Electric bratt pans draw a lot of power: 9kW for a 60 litre Base 700, 12kW for an 80 litre Base 900, and 18kW for a 120 litre model. These need a dedicated three-phase supply installed by a qualified electrician. Confirm your incoming supply has the spare capacity before ordering; supply upgrades can take months.
Gas bratt pans, such as the 20kW Combisteel Base 900 gas tilting pan, must be installed and commissioned by a Gas Safe registered engineer and connected to a gas interlock with your extraction under BS 6173, so gas cannot flow unless the extraction is running. Many gas pans also need a small 230V supply for the thermostat and ignition — the Combisteel gas tilting pan has thermostatic control on a 230V connection.
Plan water and drainage. Most pans take a ½-inch cold water feed for the filling tap, and because the whole point of tilting is pouring, you need clear space in front of the pan for a trolley or GN pans and ideally a floor gully or drainage channel in front for cleaning. Allow enough room to stand safely to one side while the pan tilts.
Is a bratt pan safer than cooking in stockpots?
Usually, yes — that is one of its main benefits. Lifting and pouring a 40 litre stockpot of hot liquid is one of the highest-risk manual handling tasks in any kitchen. The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require employers to avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, and a bratt pan that tilts to pour directly into gastronorm trays removes most of that lifting.
Tilting must still be controlled. Manual-tilt pans, such as the Falcon Dominator, use a front-mounted handwheel or handle for slow, controlled pouring; larger pans may use a motorised tilt. On most pans the heating cuts out when the pan is tilted. Train staff to tilt slowly, stand to the side, and pour into a container that is the right size and stable.
Food safety rules apply to the volume you produce. Cook to a core temperature of 75°C, checked with a probe in several places, and hold hot at 63°C or above. Large batches are the hardest food to cool safely, so portion into shallow gastronorm pans and use a blast chiller: UK guidance is to cool cooked food as quickly as possible, ideally within 90 minutes, then refrigerate at 8°C or below. Our blast chiller guide explains how.
Should you buy a new or refurbished bratt pan?
Bratt pans are built heavy and simple, which makes good refurbished units excellent value. A refurbished Falcon Dominator Plus E3800 60 litre pan at around £2,700 costs well under half the price of a comparable new pan, and Falcon's Dominator range is built for decades of institutional use. Check that the tilt mechanism moves smoothly, the thermostat holds temperature, the safety cut-out works when tilted, and the base is flat and undamaged.
New pans make sense when you need a specific size or depth to match a new cooking line, want gas rather than electric, need a full warranty, or are fitting out a large new kitchen where downtime is not an option. Some new pans are made to order, so check lead times before you set an opening date.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a bratt pan cost in the UK?
Refurbished bratt pans start at around £2,700 for a 60 litre Falcon Dominator. New Combisteel tilting pans cost about £4,047 for a 60 litre electric, £4,778 for an 80 litre electric, £5,186 for an 80 litre gas, and £6,257 for a 120 litre electric. Boiling pans of 150–250 litres cost around £4,550 to £6,500.
What is the difference between a bratt pan and a boiling pan?
A bratt pan is shallow and wide with a flat base, so it can fry and sear as well as braise, stew, boil, and steam, and it tilts to pour. A boiling pan is deeper and designed for liquids such as soup, stock, sauce, and custard in volumes of 150 litres or more.
Does an electric bratt pan need three-phase power?
Almost always. Electric bratt pans typically draw 9kW to 18kW, which requires a dedicated three-phase supply installed by a qualified electrician. Check your incoming supply has spare capacity before ordering. Gas pans need a Gas Safe installation and a gas interlock with the extraction.
What size bratt pan do I need?
As a guide, a 60 litre pan suits batches of around 100 to 150 portions, 80 litres around 150 to 300, and 120 litres 300 or more. For frying and browning, base area matters more than litres, so wider pans brown more meat per batch.
What is indirect heating on a boiling pan?
Indirect or jacketed heating uses a sealed layer of water or oil between the heat source and the pan, giving even heat that will not scorch thick sauces, custards, or porridge. Direct heating is faster and suits thin liquids. Indirect pans cost more but save burnt product and cleaning.
Who needs a bratt pan?
Bratt pans suit kitchens cooking large batches: schools, care homes, hospitals, hotels, banqueting venues, contract caterers, and central production kitchens. Restaurants doing à la carte service rarely need one; a range, griddle, and soup kettle usually cover the same jobs at smaller volume.
Where to buy bratt pans and boiling pans in the UK
Caterzone supplies new Combisteel tilting and boiling pans and refurbished institutional bratt pans. See the refurbished Falcon Dominator Plus E3800 60 litre bratt pan at £2,700, the Combisteel Base 900 80 litre electric tilting pan at £4,777.90, and the Base 900 80 litre gas tilting pan at £5,185.90. For high-volume soups and sauces, the 150 litre indirect gas boiling pan is £5,878.90. For the ranges, griddles, and fryers alongside, browse the commercial cooking range collection.
Planning the full cooking line? Read our gas range cooker guide and our soup kettle guide. For help sizing a pan against your batches and power supply, call Caterzone on +44 7787 069044 or email info@thecaterzone.co.uk.
