Skip to main content

4 replies

bbq biz plan - operations

FM Former Member
O.K. Please be patient with me. I'm another guy thinking he can own and operate a BBQ restaurant, profitably. But, having an M.B.A., (and reading the dismal success rate of restaurants) I can't continue without completing a thorough biz plan first.

I'm working through an operations type of plan - attempting to determine staffing levels, equipment needs, etc. Based upon an average check amount of $7, I've calculated I need to sell at least 100-175 meals per day (6 days/week - lunch/dinner, eventually breakfast), depending on the building/location I select. However, I'm kind of struggling with equipment needs. I want to use a Cookshack, probably a model 150 or 250. My guess is that I'll need to cook the pulled pork and brisket overnight, (then chill and re-heat at serving time)and then cook chicken and ribs during the day and keep warm.
My main concern is with the pulled pork and brisket. Just how will a typical commercial refrigerator or walk-in handle 100-200 pounds of product at once? Will it bring the temp below 40 degrees quick enough? Is it worth it to invest in a blast-chiller?

From what I've read on posts here, pulled pork and brisket perform moderately well on re-heat. Chicken and ribs not as well. I'm planning on having a chili, perhaps some type of "meat" pie, and a hash type of meal to deal with leftover product.

Pardon my rambling. My main question at this time is refrigeration needs. I see essentially 3 stages of product life. Off the truck. Marinating/after the rub. And post-cooking. I'm assuming its probably best to have seperate refrigeration for these steps.

However, I know from my experience as a commercial energy auditor, walk-in's have a lot of efficiency gains versus several stand-alone units. I'm struggling to balance this, along with being able to buy equipment used, and also following safe guidelines for cooling food.

Any comments would be appreciated.
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

FM Former Member
hey. I've only done some catering for groups of 20-140, but I will make one comment on your post. I think you may be able to cook the brisket and pulled pork overnight, but still be able to hold the product for same day service. That is, if briskets and butts go in late at night, at low temp, you can probably time it so that they are ready to come out after lunch. You would slice the beef, pull the pork, sauce each, and place in covered steam table trays, and hold for dinner. Then, you could be refrigerating some of that product (either before and/or after dinner), for reheat on the following lunch. Again, next day, the fresh product comes out after lunch, for dinner and to serve for the next lunch. Make sense? Or of course, you could cook enough for several days, do the fresh dinner service, then reheat for lunch and dinner for the next few days.

The logic is that to cook it and pull it out in the morning, only to try to chill below 40 degrees, then reheat by dinner is kind of difficult. So... cook it, use it, and refrigerate overnight, for reheat in time for next day lunch (or for several days' worth of meals). Obviously, you would cycle some product in the fridge for "emergency use" or a backup of sorts. I've had good results by adding my specific sauces to the beef (lightly) and pulled pork (a bit more), then refrigerating, then reheating in that sauce.

does that help any?
FM Former Member
The 150 has a hold setting and Butts and briskets can be held for a good while. I put my briskets and butts on at night and they are ready in the morning then the chickens can go in they can be done before lunch. I can tell the differants between reheated and fresh BQ.I Vac bag cooked briskett all the time for later use and they aren't the same as fresh cooked.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by mainelydave:
[qb]Just how will a typical commercial refrigerator or walk-in handle 100-200 pounds of product at once? Will it bring the temp below 40 degrees quick enough? Is it worth it to invest in a blast-chiller?

Any comments would be appreciated.[/qb]


Given the volume and turnaround you're suggesting, I'd recommend a walk-in cooler, for a couple of reasons.
* Most of them use modular floor, wall and ceiling panels so you can tailor the size to fit your needs and space.
* You minimize repair/replacement costs in terms of compressors, fans and evaporators. The down side is, when your walk-in compressor decides to quit, you better have a reliable repair service handy.
* One temp fits all --- you do not need to maintain seperate temps for product storage, bringing/curing and chilling.
* Combined with modular wire shelving (on wheels)even a small walk-in box will hold a lot of product. A jam-packed reach-in is slow to recover temperture wise.
* A walk-in evaporator fan (source of cold air) is normally mounted on the ceiling on one end...usually furthest from the door. Use the space below it for chilling product, as that's the coldest air.

If you do go with a walk-in, consider:
* The compressor will throw off a lot of hot air. That might offset heating costs in Auburn...in Phoenix you'd want to consider mounting the compressor outside. I've heard of instances where operators use compressor heat to pre-heat water runnning to a hot water tank.
* Consider the use of plastic door flaps...they will reduce energy costs if you have a lot of in/out traffic.
* The walk-in size will determine the number of evaporator fans needed. If you're on a cusp, go with the extra fan.

Hope this helps.
FM Former Member
Thanks for all the responses. I've got a better feel for how the operation might run now.

TopChef - appreciate the comments on the walk-in, it kind of confirmed my gut feelings. Also, I used to perform energy audits on restaurants, convenience stores, etc. in the area, and most do put their compressors outside. Even though their is heat to be gained, its not enough to make up for the increased summer a/c load that it would create. I've seen a couple installations of using excess heat to pre-heat hot water... worked pretty well. You need to have a top-notch refrig guy to install.

Remarkably, many of the most energy wasting things I've seen in my day are poor compressor/evaporator maintenance, cleaning, and kitchen set-ups that put ovens, fryolaters, etc. directly adjacent to refrigeration. (duh)

There is a definite bias towards using gas kitchen equipment in the state. Some of it is due to demand charges, but a lot of it is just due to owners who look at restaurant equipment on a straight btu cost comparison, and not factoring in such things as efficiency (how much of the energy gets to the food!), etc.

Thanks again for the comments.

Add Reply

Post

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×