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Commercial Countertop Cooking & Warming Equipment
Eagle Group RedHots charbroilers, griddles, hot plates, fryers, countertop cookers and warmers, drop-in wells, heat lamps and heated drawers — specified, quoted and shipped by MH-USA.
24–48″
Charbroiler widths
25,000
BTU/hr gas burners
100–450°F
Cooker/warmer range
1947
Eagle founded
Cooking Power Without Giving Up Floor Space
Countertop cooking equipment exists because most kitchens do not need another full range — they need one more cooking function in a place where there is no floor left. A breakfast griddle at the end of a prep counter, a two-burner hot plate for sauce work beside the pass, a single fryer for the one fried item on the menu, a charbroiler for the dish the restaurant is known for. Each of those is a countertop decision, and each of them lands on a counter or an equipment stand that has to be specified alongside it.
MH-USA represents Eagle Group, the Clayton, Delaware manufacturer that has built stainless foodservice equipment since 1947 and lists more than 17,000 standard models. Its RedHots line covers the countertop cooking and warming end of that catalog: Chef’s Line charbroilers, griddles and hot plates, electric and gas fryers, countertop cookers and warmers, drop-in warming wells, heat lamps, bulb warmers and pass-thru heated drawers.
What we add is the specification work around the equipment. Which units are gas and which are electric, what the wall can actually deliver, how much counter and clearance the line consumes, which pieces are cooking and which are only holding, and what the ventilation contractor needs to know before the hood is fabricated. We have been doing that from Salt Lake City since 1997 and we ship nationwide.
What the RedHots Countertop Line Covers
Three duties sit under one line: equipment that cooks, equipment that holds, and equipment that does both. Knowing which category a unit belongs to is the first specification decision — it determines temperature range, ventilation, and where the unit belongs in the kitchen flow.
Chef’s Line CharbroilersGas charbroilers in 24″, 36″ and 48″ widths with heavy-duty cast iron grates that position flat or angled, a bullnosed edge protecting the controls and a 3½”-wide front trough with chute.
Chef’s Line Griddles¾”-thick griddle plate fully welded to the top assembly, heavy gauge stainless front, stainless grease drawer and 45° controls. Gas or electric units available.
Electric & Gas Hot PlatesElectric units with infinite controls and swing-up elements over individual crumb trays; gas units with ¼-turn manual controls in flat-top or step-up styles, two, four or six burners.
Gas & Electric FryersCountertop fryers with deep-drawn removable stainless fry tanks, snap-action thermostats, hi-limit safety controls and single- or double-tank configurations.
Countertop Cookers & WarmersDeep-drawn 304 stainless heat well with a highly polished exterior, thermostat control and a 100°–450°F range covering wet holding and dry cooking duty.
Drop-In Rectangular Food WarmersOne-piece deep-drawn 304 18-8 stainless wells in top-mount, bottom-mount or insulated bottom-mount styles, with or without drains, built into counters and service lines.
Heat Lamps & Bulb WarmersStrip lamps with aluminized reflector plates in standard or high wattage, stainless housings, and portable infrared bulb warmers on adjustable frames.
Pass-Thru Heated DrawersInsulated stainless drawers with pull handles on both faces, recessed thermostat, thermometer and indicator light, sized for full-size or fractional steam table pans.
Equipment Stands & SupportEvery countertop unit needs something to sit on. We pair the equipment with the right stand or worktable so the load, height and landing space all work.Charbroilers, Griddles and Hot Plates
Charbroilers are the least forgiving countertop unit to place. They are available in 24″, 36″ and 48″ widths with a ¾” N.P.T. gas connection, and the heavy-duty cast iron grates can be individually set flat or angled depending on whether you want marks and drainage or a flatter cooking surface. The bullnosed front edge shields the controls, which sit at a 45° angle so a cook is not reaching over the heat to adjust them, and a 3½”-wide front trough with a chute at the left end takes a standard spatula.
Griddles live or die on plate thickness. A ¾”-thick plate fully welded to the top assembly stores enough heat that a full load of product does not drop the surface temperature the way a thin plate does — that is the single biggest difference between a griddle that keeps up with a breakfast rush and one that does not. The stainless grease drawer is a daily-cleaning item, so leave pull clearance in front of the unit. Gas and electric versions are both available.
Hot plates are the flexible piece. Electric models use heavy gauge stainless tops and fronts with aluminized steel sides, infinite controls with an on/off light, and swing-up elements over individual crumb trays so the deck can actually be cleaned. Gas models use 25,000 BTU/hr burners with ¼-turn manual controls at 45°, in flat-top or step-up configurations and in two-, four- or six-burner widths. Step-up styles put the rear burners higher, which helps when a cook is working several pans at once.
Countertop Fryers: Electric and Gas
A countertop fryer is the right call when fried items are a supporting part of the menu rather than the main event. The RedHots electric fryers use a stainless deep-drawn 10″ x 14″ fry tank that lifts out for cleaning or filtering, a snap-action thermostat with an indicator light and a hi-limit safety control with a reset button and its own light. Two 4″ x 11″ nickel-plated baskets come with the unit. Single-tank models carry a 15-lb. fat capacity; the double-tank model carries 30 lbs. across two pots, which is how you keep fries away from anything breaded.
The gas fryer is a 30-lb. fat capacity unit with 53,000 total BTU, stainless construction and a stainless fry pot, thermostatic control, push-button ignition with pilot light, a ¾” N.P.T. gas connection and a supplied gas regulator. Two baskets are furnished. The Chef’s Line fryers add cast metal legs with flanged feet for units that sit on a stand in a heavier-duty line.
Two things buyers under-plan on fryers. The first is oil handling: a removable tank is only useful if there is somewhere to carry it and a filtering routine to go with it. The second is separation — a fryer needs distance from sinks, dish areas and any splash source, and it needs a hood over it. Decide those two before the fryer lands on the schedule.
Countertop Cookers, Warmers and Drop-In Wells
The countertop cooker/warmer is the most versatile unit in the line because it does two jobs. The deep-drawn 304 stainless heat well and thermostat control give a 100°F to 450°F range: 100°F to 212°F in wet operation, where the well holds water and the food sits in a pan above it, and up to 450°F in dry operation, where the well works as a direct heat source. A highly polished exterior body wipes down easily. Units ship with a 6-foot cord and 15-amp 125-volt plug (NEMA 5-15) and are offered in 120-, 208- and 240-volt models, single phase, 60 cycle.
Drop-in rectangular food warmers are the built-in version of the same idea. Each well is one-piece deep-drawn type 304, 18-8 stainless with the heating element clamped to the underside, available as top mount, bottom mount or insulated bottom mount, with infinite control or thermostat, a pilot light, a control panel and — optionally — a drain. They belong in a counter you are already fabricating: a barista back counter, a c-store hot case, a break-room service counter, a nurse-station pantry.
The specification that gets missed on drop-ins is the drain. Without one, staff bail a hot water bath by hand at close. Specify the drain any time the well will run wet, and coordinate its location with the plumber before the counter is cut. If the counter itself is custom, Eagle’s SpecFAB division fabricates it with the well cut-outs already in place.
Cook first, hold second
Warming equipment is designed to keep hot food hot, not to bring cold food up to temperature. Loading a cold pan into a holding well pushes product slowly through the temperature range your food safety plan cares about. Cook or reheat in cooking equipment, then transfer to the well.
Heat Lamps and Bulb Warmers
Radiant warming is what keeps plated food presentable between the cook and the server. Strip heat lamps use an extruded aluminum exterior housing with an interior aluminized reflector plate that focuses heat down onto the counter, and they are available in standard or high wattage. Units with lights carry 60-watt bulbs with a shatter-proof Teflon coating on a dedicated switch, and every unit has a toggle switch with an indicator light for each heating element. When ordering a remote-controlled unit, specify whether you need a toggle or an infinite switch — that detail is easy to leave off a purchase order and annoying to correct later.
The newer stainless heat lamps swap the housing for stainless steel where the pass takes abuse or where the kitchen wants a consistent stainless look, keeping the aluminized reflector plate. They are offered in 120V, 208V and 240V and in standard and high-watt versions.
Bulb warmers solve a different problem. The freestanding portable warmer carries two 250-watt infrared white bulbs on an adjustable heavy gauge chrome-finished frame with polished aluminum lamp shields and an on/off switch, plus an optional stainless pan and drain insert. Because it is portable and height-adjustable, it goes wherever service goes — a carving station, a buffet endcap, a catering setup, a temporary line during a remodel.
| Strip heat lamps | Bulb warmers | |
|---|---|---|
| Heat pattern | Even radiant coverage along a length of counter | Concentrated circle under each bulb |
| Mounting | Fixed — wall, shelf, canopy or freestanding over the pass | Portable freestanding frame, height adjustable |
| Housing | Extruded aluminum or stainless steel with aluminized reflector | Chrome-finished frame with polished aluminum shields |
| Controls | Toggle with indicator light per element; remote toggle or infinite switch available | On/off switch |
| Best for | Pass windows, plating shelves, pickup stations, hot food counters | Carving stations, buffets, catering, temporary service |
| Also available | Standard or high wattage; 120V, 208V, 240V; optional 60W shatter-proof lights | Optional stainless pan and drain insert |
Pass-Thru Heated Drawers
Heated drawers are the quiet fix for a service window that keeps backing up. Eagle’s pass-thru heated drawers are heavy duty stainless construction with 1½” fiberglass insulation and a pull handle on both the front and the rear, so the same drawer is loaded from the kitchen side and unloaded from the service side. The stainless drawer liner accepts full-size 12″ x 20″ or fractional steam table pans up to 6″ deep, and each drawer has its own heater, recessed thermostat control, thermometer and indicator light.
They earn their place in three situations: a hot-holding buffer between a cook line and a pickup counter, a pass-thru wall between a kitchen and a dining room or drive-thru, and any operation where product needs to be held out of sight instead of under a lamp. Because they are insulated and enclosed, they hold moisture better than open radiant warming — good for rolls, tortillas, breaded product and portioned proteins that dry out under a lamp.
Specify them with the pan size the kitchen actually uses, the number of drawers a peak service requires, and the wall or counter opening they will be built into. If they are landing in a custom counter, that fabrication and the drawer cut-outs get quoted together.
Gas vs. Electric: What Actually Decides It
The honest answer is usually “whatever the building already has.” Adding a gas run or a new 208/240V circuit to a countertop position is often more expensive than the equipment. Still, the two energy types behave differently once installed, and the differences matter on high-turnover equipment.
| Consideration | Gas countertop units | Electric countertop units |
|---|---|---|
| Rating language | BTU/hr — e.g. 25,000 BTU/hr per hot plate burner, 53,000 total BTU on the 30-lb. fryer | Watts and voltage — 120V, 208V or 240V, single phase, 60 cycle |
| Connection | ¾” N.P.T. gas connection; gas fryer supplied with a regulator; needs a shutoff and flexible connector with restraint | Cord-and-plug on smaller units (6′ cord, 15-amp 125-volt NEMA 5-15) or hard-wired on higher-voltage models |
| Recovery | Generally faster recovery on fryers and charbroilers under heavy load | Very steady on griddles and holding equipment; recovery depends on element wattage |
| Control | ¼-turn manual valves, thermostatic control on fryers, push-button ignition with pilot | Infinite controls, snap-action thermostats with indicator and hi-limit safety controls |
| Installation cost | Higher if no gas is present; requires plan review in most jurisdictions | Lower where a suitable circuit exists; higher if a new dedicated circuit and receptacle are needed |
| Ventilation | Combustion products plus grease — hood almost always required over broilers, griddles, fryers | No combustion products, but grease-producing units still require a hood |
| Best fit | Charbroilers, high-volume fryers, multi-burner hot plate lines | Warmers and cookers, drop-in wells, heat lamps, heated drawers, single griddles and fryers |
Confirm the connection before the order, not after delivery
Send us the available voltage and phase, the receptacle type at the position, and whether a gas line and shutoff already exist. Half the countertop equipment problems we resolve are a correct unit ordered for the wrong utility.
Planning the Countertop Line
Send us your countertop equipment list
Email the equipment schedule, the kitchen plan or just a list of what you need to cook and hold. We will come back with model numbers, utility requirements, spec sheets, lead times and freight — and flag the clearance and ventilation conflicts we find on the way through.
Related Foodservice Equipment
Countertop equipment rarely arrives alone. These are the pages buyers usually need alongside it.
- Commercial foodservice equipment — the full Eagle Group catalog hub
- Hot food tables & serving lines — steam tables, sealed and open wells, and cafeteria serving systems downstream of the cook line
- Ventilation hoods & custom fabrication — exhaust and condensate hoods sized over countertop cooking equipment
- Stainless steel worktables & equipment stands — what the countertop units actually sit on
- Pan racks & transport carts — moving hot pans from the line to service
- Underbar equipment — beverage and bar packages for the front of house
- Food service material handling solutions — storage and handling for the back of house
Shop Countertop Cooking & Warming Equipment Online
Buy select items directly from our online store, or request a quote for volume, custom sizes and freight-rated orders.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I use countertop cooking equipment instead of a floor-model range?
Should I specify gas or electric countertop equipment?
What is the difference between holding temperature and cooking temperature?
Strip heat lamps or bulb warmers — which do I need?
How much counter space should I allow for countertop cooking equipment?
Do countertop cooking units need a ventilation hood?
How do these units get cleaned?
Are these units certified?
Why Buy Countertop Equipment Through MH-USA
We represent Eagle Group and quote the whole foodservice catalog, which means the countertop units, the stands they sit on, the hood above them and the holding equipment downstream all come from one schedule, one submittal package and one freight shipment. When a dimension does not work, there is one person to call.
Eagle publishes CAD drawings, Revit families and spec sheets for its standard models, and we pull the correct files for the items on your schedule so a kitchen consultant or architect can drop them straight into the drawing set. Where a standard model does not fit — a counter that needs specific drop-in well spacing, a custom pass-thru opening for heated drawers — SpecFAB fabricates to the field dimensions.
MH-USA has been supplying foodservice, food processing and institutional kitchens from Salt Lake City since 1997. We serve the Intermountain West directly and ship nationwide, with freight quoted on every order.
Get Your Countertop Cooking & Warming Quote
Tell us what you need to cook and hold, and what utilities you have at the counter. We will spec it, quote it and get it to your site.