Price per pound

prices change day to day as these are commodities. this week, i paid 2.55 perlb
st luis and i got fresh butt at .72 i only saw butt at .99 once all summer and that was at sams. here, i get better prices from us foods, although ribs are better quality from sysco. farmland brand st luis ribs are the caddilac. they are almost always 2.5 lbs. even wih ribs, you need to factor in weight loss. a 2.5 lb slab will yield 1.5 lb cooked product. so.. it cost me 6.25 per slab plus smoke expense. for me, i have figured that at 2.00 per hour( covers wood, rub, gas, electric, and paper) i cook i case at a time, 6 hrs from cooler(raw) to cooler(smoked). so 12.00 added to case price to cover expenses. 1 case=30lbs@2.55 =76.50 plus
12.00 =88.5 divided by 18 (yeilded pounds) and there you have it....4.92 per pound!
this is a realistic food cost for ribs.
(so remember that when you are hungry and want to munch on your own ribs) some will argue that 2.00 an hour is high for smoking cost, but remember, you are adding all cost of producing and storing (those with hired help will have even higher cost).
alot of your customers can be directed to purchase what ever you suggest. thats when you push the lower food cost items, balancing out your average food cost. keep your sides at 18- 22 percent. this will bring down average plate cost.
ok, i know, i kinda got off the subject, but i wanted to share this with all of you. i hope it helps in your pricing structure, the most critical part of new start-up.
"it aint rocket science but its close"
haha......

Do not worry about getting off of the subject it is all good and helpful info,if my sides our 18-22% of my food cost if i'am thinking right I have up to 18% for the meat cost if I 'am looking at a 40% or less food cost???

yea, you will probably run 30 -40 % overall... i suggest to double think the high cost items and portion sizes. my high cost items are shrimp and fish. although they are great items, providing a different flare. they run 55-60 food cost. i would never push these items. so why do i offer them. easy... husband says"i want bbq" wife says " i hate bbq" husband says " they have other stuff"! that is the key. you want to
be able to feed the whoole family. we even sell kids meals. actually, a ton of them. keeps the whole family coming back....
you can see our menu on line if you want at www.coffeebluffbbq.com