HELP ME!

Just in case you are wondering I was going to do pork ribs, not beef.

In my FE100 It only takes 3-4 hours to do ribs right out reefer depending how many I much I load the oven. Ribs like 275*F. Put them in at 7 or 8 AM and they'll be ready for the lunch crowd.

When you mentioned par-boiling you said a very dirty word to any of the real bbq crowd, be them backyard or professional smokers! I can't even imagine biting into that texture, arrrg!

With the FE100 pellet smoker you have a smoke position if you feel that the normal cooking cycle isn't enough smoke. I have never had to use that position. My customers comments are that you can taste the pork, taste the smoke, and taste the sauce. Also, for whatever it's worth, my closest competition uses a gas oven with wood suppliment, a very popular expensive oven, and just about eveybody I have talked to say his meat is to smokey and dry. I really don't think he knows what he is doing with the machine among other things.

Starting out with a small backyard smoker will probably wear you out the first day of smoking. If you go a traditional professional smoker such as a Klose or Lang you'll realize that the temps will be much more consistant throughout the chamber and will take little attention to maintain those temperatures, however, you may be up several times during the night time tending that fire.

I used to buy my ribs from Sam's Club. I like to serve KC style cut ribs and making the Sam's ribs that way was way to much trouble for me doing any kind of quanity. I went to PFG Milton's, a south eastern food distibutor chain, similar to Sysco but more customer oriented, and buy their frozen KC style cases of ribs for usually about 50 cents a pound more but I actually come out better. I sell ribs by the rack not the pound. I actually make more on the more expensive ribs. I tried smoking the Sam's Clubs rib waste and found it was a nice snack for me but don't think it is a sellable item. Very tasty but very chewy even when I took them out an hour earlier than the ribs.

Don't know if you are going to be in a building or a concession trailer but I'll tell you this from my personal experience...make sure you have enough capital to carry you for at least a year of rent and utilities. If you have a trailer and can pack it up and leave and have no bills to follow then you'll be ahead of the game if your location doesn't work. I have depended on word of the mouth for advertising. It works and works very good but...it takes forever, that is where that capital comes in.

My operation is strictly take out...it ain't enough! Go to my web site link below and you'll see what I mean.

Good luck.

Pete,
Thanks for the heads up on pfg I had forgotten that they service our area here also. Time to make a phone call!!

Maree,
How many pounds do you estimate that you will do a day? While it could be done on a Brinkman bullet or even their bigger offset smoker you will be working yourself to death. If you could find a used sm150 I think that you would be much happier and i know you would get more sleep time. We are ordering an sm150 and an fe100. My wife feels comfortable with the sm150 and since I want to do competions the fe100 meets that. But if all was going to do was catering I think I might just have gotten one large sm model. hope this helps.

thats why i devised a recepie for smoking a day ahead. it helps me tremendously, and allows the smoke flavor to settle, making the foods that much more delightful. as for the other place selling 400 pounds of ribs a day? sounds to me a bit inflated. you would need a whole crew just for that one item...the rib department. think about their price per pound....that would be at least 4 grand a day in sales just on ribs.. i dont think so... ok maybe, just maybe 400 pounds a week. ribs are high dollar, and even if they are the greatest thing on earth, its not going to be your biggest seller cause folks cant afford to eat ribs all the time. its also one of the highest food cost items on the menu, so any smart restaurant would not promote it grossly. i sell em like hot cakes, but would rather sell a bbq sandwich any day, lowest food cost item. i had a customer tell me he and a friend use to sell bbq on the weekend. he said they would make a couple grand a day. just the 2 of them! hmmm... i been around a while, and i can just imagine all the work. if i were to sell 2 grand in one day, i would need the rest of the week off to spend in the hospital.. as it stands, i get worn out if i do 3 grand in one week. course the more items on your menu, the more work you gotta do for the sales. simple menu is easier, but adding a variety will insure quicker return visits from your customers. nobody wants to eat the same thing everyday, so add a little variety, they can have ribs one day, pulled one day, maybe chicken or fish one day, etc,,,,
oh yea, the thread... i suggest you get enough cooking equipment to do up a case of each item at a time. work out the recepie so that it will taste great 2,3 days later. that way, each morning, you just warm up what you need for lunch, then start planning on smoking to resupply.
too much coffee.....

AAwe! Coffiebluff, I appreciate you!

So, typically you smoke the day before, and warm up the product the next day.......How do you go about warming it up? Do you freeze or just keep them in the refer over night? I have a stage coach style vending unit that my husband made for me. I plan on having it out on a piece of property that my friend owns. HYW 101 where the property is located is great scenic HWY. and gets many, many tourists every year, so I'm hoping a few people stop. I'm wondering how many pounds of pork ribs I should start out smoking? I can purchase them in 40 lb. boxes. Maybe 80 lbs. a day.... OMG. You know what? I forgot to mention that they (the rest.) also serves an order of ribs, which is 1/2 lb. with a small cup of Potato salad, and any other side, for 6.00. You don't pay much, and you don't get much either!!
I plan on having the pork Ribs, Chicken, Messy Marie's which are a lot like sloppy Joe's but done my way. and a few side dishes. I thought about smoking Salmon. Considering we live in the Northwest. Again I really appreciate your help. I think I've ha too much coffee too.

We are thinking of having a small cheap option available just for people that are watching their budget or for ones that don't want so much to eat. Good luck, Maree!!!

hey -re, sorry it took so long for me to repost. been real real busy! ok, first, the reheat. since i have so many different entres, i dont keep ribs hot, although i am going to start this week end. most important thing is to pre-portion eveything! that saves a ton of time and in our business time is money. no body wants to wait for ever for their order. we spend hours cupping up sides, choping butts and cupping that too. also, i cut all the ribs and portion out in half pound portions using deli wrap and a scale. i usually go to 8.5 or 9 ounce. wrap them up tight and keep cool. then i nuc to order, just one minute 20 seconds. thats faster than the fried foods we offer and also faster than the grilled garlic bread we serve with the meal. absolutly no one thinks the ribs are nuc'd. i think the deli wrap is the key. i never freeze cooked meat, although some folks do. i just keep in the refer til ordered. sides also. its lower on electric, plus shelf life and consistant flavor are better than keeping the stuff hot all day. plus, no waste. i think for rush hour periods you can keep certain quantities of each hot, but got to be careful.
as for the price of 6 dollars you mentioned, i think that is pretty darn cheap. of coarse you get what you pay for....
i charge 5.25 for a half pound of ribs, and 1.75 for a half pound side dish. 8.95 for a rib dinner which has half pound ribs, 2 half pound sides, and g. bread. oh heck, just check out my menu at www.coffeebluffbbq.com
your price should be set by your food cost, not your competitors. they may get a much better deal on foods. people will pay more if the quality and service are better. "a friendly smile will sell a pile" ribs cost me about 6 dollars a pound out the window. its a high food cost item, so i off set that with lower cost items. like slaw, its about .45 cents a portion, sold at 1.75. fountain sodas are cheap, and bring down food cost. i try not to sell anything over 40 percent food cost. but some items will exceed it, like shrimp. i gotta sell them, cause it offers something to the non-bbq lover in the family. ok, enough ramblin for now... any more questions, will be glad to respond..... coffee

hey coffee: do you tightly wrap the ribs in plastic, then nuke? Any concerns with the plastic touching the hot ribs? I've been curious about this...

Hey Woodburner...
I see Coffee hasn't yet responded to your last post here yet. So I thought I'd pass something on to you about the subject.

I kind of addressed what you are asking in a post created by Puttersputt just a couple of posts down from the top, at this time, about holding ribs. I have never had any problems with the film even bursting but 2 racks wrapped in film touching each other while warm, or at least hot out of the smoker, will get stuck to one another.

Thanks, Pete. I'm curious about taking finished ribs, cooling, wrapping each in plastic, refrigerating, then pulling them one at a time to nuke -- still in the plastic. I'm worried that somehow it might not be safe (health-wise) for those ribs tight in plastic to get nuked real hot. Any ideas?

Woodburner...
No other ideas but it has worked for me. I would only suspect a taste issue not a health issue as long as you complied to the safe zone temps.

There are many frozen foods that have a plastic wrap and their instructions are merely to pierce the wrap so it doesn't explode!

The film will pierce rather easily from the sharp bones edges so sometimes I double wrap.

But maybe the taste issue is all wrong...I have failed at the bbq business just now, so....what can I say!

Capt: I know you've had a struggle... did you actually close?? I would be sorry to hear that. I'm hoping to find a good way to get into the business properly myself (I now cater "on the side")...

Best to ya.

Thanks coffeebluff and everyone who contributed to my post> I, as always, appreciate it. Re

Woodburner...
Yes...this is Wednesday morning...very early at that...and this is my usual Monday to open....today I will not open! I have put a for sale sign up! I'll write about it later today on my web site.

Good luck!

capt pete. man, i feel so bad for you to have to close.. wish there was something i could do for you. was it just too small customer base? if you can, tell us what what went wrong so maybe others could be spared. again, soo sorry. we all loved your web site.
ree, i dont use plastic film. i use deli wrap. different thing all together. you can get it just about anywhere. comes in little sheets. the key is in the last hour of the ribs cooking. thats when i inplace extra moisture into the ribs that will keep them juicy on the reheat. place ribs in full pan. add coke and honey. wrap in foil, and put in smoker one hour. remove pan, cool for another hour, then place in cooler. keep covered all the time, dont peek! next day, pull out the ribs and portion with deli wrap. they will just keep getting better....not too tender, not too tough...

I got some ribs this weekend that I thought were pretty tough. When I reheated them with a little sauce and a plastic cover, we're talking about 1 min. for 1 rib in a microwave, they came out much more tender. I think you all have great ideas!

What about putting these ribs in the food warmer with a cover? That way you could smoke them the day before and steam tender them the next day before serving? I don't cook, just an idea. Jack's ribs just come out great to start with. But we are experimenting with chicken wings, any ideas?