Finishing on the grill?

Good question, I see tons of answers, but nothing I'd call definitive.

It's a timing/holding/quality question that I don't know I've heard a perfect answer.

Hopefully someone will jump in!

Given you can't guarantee when people will walk through the door, you have to guess how many to cook.

Then you have to hold.

Do you

1) wrap in foil, then hold?
2) wrap in butcher paper, then hold?
3) do you hold in a moist holding cabinet?
4) do you hold in a hot box?

Then when you serve it:

1) sauce and serve straight out of holding?
2) no sauce and serve straight out of hold?
3) depending on temp (140+) is that warm enough or do you grill to cook (too hot) or grill to warm (lower temp)?

ellie,

i have a place in colorado. we do bbq, burgers etc. i use an FEC 500 and i smoke my ribs for 3 hours and then foil them with our sauce and brown sugar and then back on for 2 hours. this process works great! but! i too have a charbroiler and i like the way my ribs taste and plate using the charbroiler. i use more of a bbq sauce glaze when charbroiling, it carmelizes the glaze and looks and taste great! i keep my ribs foiled until its time to serve, i use a hobart holding oven[$1400] for all of my bbq. this process works great for me and my customers love it!................good luck!,

jeff heaton "smoque shack bbq" lake city co.

Thanks for your replies. We've experimented with saucing then crutching them in foil the last couple of hours in the smoker. Then serving without glazing. We've also had good results just smoking them in the rub without sauce and glazing later. I even like them served dry with sauce on the side. A diabetic friend of ours asked if we'd offer them dry so he could have them too.
We already have the charbroiler so i guess we'll give it a go although it takes up a ton of real estate in the kitchen.
I never heard of wrapping in butcher paper. I wonder is there a benefit to that? I'm interested.
Trouble is, we don't have our holding unit yet. I don't know how well and how long they'll hold wrapped or unwrapped, wet or dry. I'm a little afraid they'll either get mushy or dried out over a few hours. I guess I can try it out once I buy a holding oven and get things perfected before the doors open.I'm glad to see Jeff's had no problem holding his foiled and sauced.

Hey Jeff, I'm curious about the Hobart holding oven you mentioned. Barbeque is new to my neck of the woods and the local commercial equipment people aren't too sure what I should be using to hold. They are talking about proofers and insulated vs uninsulated. Can you bring product from the refrigerator to serving temp in the holding unit or do you re-warm in the convection oven? The local dealer is quoting prices around $4000 so I'd love to know the details on your unit if you have a chance.
Thanks.

I don't have a BBQ restaurant but have been in the rest business my entire life. A holding cabinet will not safely reheat items from the refer. Too long in the danger zone. I suggest planning your meat items to come out of the smoker before your rush and then hold through the rush. Brisket and butts off early morning, ribs 1-2 hours before then chicken and sausage at rush. I would find a way to stay above 140 and keep them there. You will learn how long the quality will hold up.

quote:

Originally posted by HeyEllie:
...I never heard of wrapping in butcher paper. I wonder is there a benefit to that?

I haven't done it for large quantities, but a lot of Texas BBQ Places swear by it (maybe because they also server the food on butcher paper and it's handy). Not sure I've heard if it's better or worse than Foil.

ellie,

my holding ovens temp setting goes up to 190 degrees. its not a proofer. ribs being only about 2 inches thick, WILL heat to temp from frig in less than 2 hours. with the sauce and juices in them it doesn't take long. sausage too. i always serve meats over 140 degrees! being busy most of the time my meats are not holding for very long anyway. look on the internet at restaurant supply sites for the oven,most have free shipping. mine has 13 shelves that will hold full pans. i use sheet pans. left over briskets at the end of the day are chopped up for the next day. your local dealer wants to sell you all he can.....beware!

oh no you wouldn't get away with that in california. a holding cabinet is made to hold food after it is reheated to 165 or finished cooking. any reputable restaurant supplier will tell you that

i said over!....not at! sorry i wasn't more precise....my bad.