Projecting side orders; your experience?

beans#1 (good beans), ps, coleslaw-

potato wedges and chips may do well

I opened up 3 weeks ago and the #1 thing I am getting asked about is fries... they will be on the menu tuesday

depends on your goal. are you trying to bring something different to the local pallet, or providing them with their regular preferred sides? if the latter, then i suggest you compare several local restaurant side offerings. if you want to introduce something new then there is a whole world out there. for me, i consider food cost impact before adding anything to my menu. 'if it aint helping, i aint making it'. as for this, i would have to say fried okra has been the best food cost percentage item on my sides list. next would be green beans or rice(not just white, but flavored, so as not to have the dreaded request for gravy on the side..). you may want to consider adding brunswick stew as alot of true bbq'ers believe its a requirement as well as a mark of good que. i have a good recepie that dont take as long as most if you like. stew is the highest food cost item on my sides list. the apples you have sound pretty good. i think your most popular will be; bb, potsal,c.s., wedges,chips,corn, cinn apples. in that order. just my guess. fries are usually a better food cost than chips. something to think about. and dont forget the kids menu. gotta have one since your family oriented. most popular for me is; chicken fingers, chopped bbq, ribs, grilled cheese, shrimp. in that order.
good luck, and prosperity. ask away any questions, that why we are here.......

BBQ'er,
Since you are from kokomo and i grew up in indy here is what we are doing for kids.
bbq chicken leg
celery and carrot sticks in a zip lock bag
a souffle cup of honey /peanut butter.
kids love bags and they can take it with them.
when the funds are available we are printing trading cards of our two greyhounds as a little give away.
maybe something like that would work up there.
hope this helped you
jack 2 Greyhounds....SMOKIN!!!!
ps since i live in florida and all we get are taxicabs did Steve Kinser finally get his 500th win???

Really appeciate the input! Prisonchef: Embarrased to say I don't know about Kinser. Pacers are 54-19 though. BBQ Chicken legs I understand, but celery and carrot sticks?!?! I know kids need to eat healthier, but not sure I want to be the one leading the way on that.
Coffeebluff: Fried okra might be a possibility, however, at this point we're priding ourselves on not deep frying anything. That will be a balancing act considering our motto of "Southern Hickory-Smoked Goodness". We're pricing based on the market, then looking at food cost and trying to "tweek." For the kids we're offering PBJ, hot dog, or a "little Q" with these little "smiles" potatos from McCain's. Kid's area will no doubt require additional focus, as kids are usually a strong influence on where to go to eat.

For 3 side orders, 1 gallon per 25 persons.

At my place slaw is number one, then baked beans, macaroni salad and potato salad. We had tri-bean and kidney bean salad but they didn't move too well so they're off the menu.

Well, this is in KS, so your locale may be different. Here's how our sides rank:

1. Baked Beans
2. Tie -- Potato Salad/Cole Slaw
3. Scalloped Potatoes
4. Green Beans (this may be because they are Lo-carb diet friendly)
5. Corn on the cob (cobbettes)
6. Red beans 'n rice
7. Macaroni Salad

Potato chips are not included because we serve them complimentary with our sandwiches. We don't offer french fries at this time, but if we did, I would not be surprised to see them take over the number two spot depending on how we marketed them.

Backyard BBQ'er,
Your kids menu sounds like a winner. What are the smiles potatoes? I don't think I've ever seen those.
Peggy

I've watched this topic over the last few days and I'm surprised to not see onion rings mentioned. In our restaurant, we sold almost as many onion rings as we did fries, and we sold a lot of fries. Food cost is good because you can charge a premimum, but grease breaks down faster, at least for fresh breaded rings.

Also, mac and cheese is super popular, especially with kids. Even if you don't want another hot item to deal with for adults, mac and cheese can be pre portioned and MW'ed for kids. It will have a shelf life of 5-7 days in portion cups, and at $2.99-3.99 for a kids meal with small drink, 6oz mac and cheese, a couple of hushpuppies, and maybe a 2oz cup of apple sauce, you'd be lucky to sell these all day.

Todd,
Applesauce is a good idea to put on a kids meal! Mac n cheese would go great down here, I think.
Thanks for the ideas.
Peggy

quote:

Originally posted by 2greyhounds:
[qb] Backyard BBQ'er,
Your kids menu sounds like a winner. What are the smiles potatoes? I don't think I've ever seen those.
Peggy [/qb]

Peggy, The Potato smiles are literally just potato formed in the shape of a smile We brush them with a little butter and cook them in a convection oven (no deep fryers). I get them through my food vender who get them from McCains.

Backyard,
Do you think the smiles would cook ok in the SM150?
Peggy

Peggy,
I never really thought of it, but I don't know why not(other than it would be a slower cook which could dry them out). We cook them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes I believe. Honestly, we don't sell many of them. I think this is because I haven't yet come up with a kids "package" meal that includes them.

if you don't mind I would love to get a great recipe for brunswick stew. Thank you

Here is one that turned up in the search of the Recipe forum.

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg...;f=4;t=000253#000000

The search on this site is awesome!

bob

One more. I couldnt resist.

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg...;f=4;t=000031#000000

bob

Brunswick Stew

Brunswick, Georgia, claims to be the place of origin for Brunswick stew. A twenty-five-gallon iron pot outside that coastal town bears a plaque declaring it to be the vessel in which this favorite southern food was first cooked in 1898. In truth, the one-pot meal is credited to a number of places with Brunswick in their names, but the honor (so far as the name is concerned) must go to Brunswick County, Virginia. There, according to an entrenched local tradition supported by a 1988 Virginia General Assembly proclamation, Jimmy Matthews, an African American hunting-camp cook, concocted a squirrel stew for his master, Creed Haskins, in 1828, the stew being named for its home county.

As the Georgia humorist Roy Blount Jr. quipped, "Brunswick stew is what happens when small mammals carrying ears of corn fall into barbeque pits." Stews that combine meat and grain probably originated with ancient agriculturalists, in both the Old and New Worlds. According to the anthropologist Charles Hudson, Southeastern Indians made a stew from hominy and groundhog or squirrel, and also boiled bear and deer meat with fresh corn kernels and squash. Brunswick stew belongs to a family of southern stews, its closest relative perhaps being Kentucky burgoo.

Good-natured "stew wars" continue to rage between Georgia and Virginia. If Georgia acquired Brunswick stew relatively late (south Georgian J. L. Herring, describing a ca. 1880 July Fourth barbecue in Saturday Night Sketches [1918], declares, "There was no Brunswick stew in those days"), the state has taken to the dish with great enthusiasm. Wild game like squirrel or rabbit is now often replaced by chicken, pork, or beef (sometimes in combination). Virtually any vegetable and seasoning can be added to the requisite meat, corn, and tomatoes, but onions, lima beans, and potatoes commonly make an appearance. In an unusual recipe from Toccoa, cooked-down maraschino cherries, lemons, and applesauce contribute a subtle sweet-sour flavor.

Frequently associated with barbecue and presided over by stew "masters" when made in quantity, Brunswick stew remains a customary feature of Georgia fundraisers, political rallies, and family reunions like that of the Sproulls in Bartow County. In today's age of individualism, the preparation and consumption of Brunswick stew as a social activity is now more important than ever in supporting community cohesion.

Suggested Reading

Joseph E. Dabney, Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking (Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland House, 1998).

Additional Resources

Brunswick Stew: A Virginia Treasure, prod. and dir. Stan Woodward (Greenville, S.C.: Woodward Studio, 1998), video.

Here's a Brunswick stew recipe I learned by watching my grandfather. He didn't tell me the amounts. It's from NW Georgia so it's probably different from everywhere else.

equal parts beef, chicken, pork
fine diced onion
fine diced celery, about half as much as onion
diced tomatoes
corn, whole kernel
a little cider vinegar
sliced lemon
salt
hot sauce
water
small diced potatoes(boiling or frying type)
bay leaves
sugar

Prepare meat (smoke, or cook somehow, smoke is best) Either chop meat finely or grind after cooking.
Saute onion, celery. Add sliced lemon, tomatoes, corn, vinegar, salt, pepper, hot sauce, water, potatoes, bay leaves and sugar. Simmer for several hours, then refrigerate. Best on reheat.

Sorry, I'm not good on the amounts. The stew should be fairly thick. Veggies should be diced really small. Some folks add limas, but we didn't do that where my granddad was. We always ate it on white bread or corn bread.
Peggy

all this talk of squirrel has really made me want to go hunting. guess it is time to dust off the old .32 and get some fffG powder. percussion caps seem to be fine and still got some nice 10 thousandth patches. just can't seem to locate the whale oil lube for them
jack

peggy, that is real close to the recepie i use every day. and my family is from nw ga. carrollton. crazy how these southern folks love that stew. i sell out all the time, even in the heat of summer. how yall doing with that big rig??? man, if i had one of those, i would never be home.

coffebluff
we are there, I think with the trailer. We've tried out the smokers, after having to wait on the generators. I've been meeting with people about collecting sales tax and stuff. We did a tryout for cooking this weekend.
You know, we're just starting. Next weekend, we are doing a bbq contest so wish us luck.
You said your stew sells well. I'm glad to hear that!!!
My dad used to always make a side trip to a place when we'd visit the grandfolks, just for the stew. I think it was called Sprayberrys.
I'm working now on coleslaw. You wouldn't think it'd be that hard. I think creamy slaw is best and Jack likes the vinegar slaw better. I don't want to offer 2 different kinds in comps.????
Any ideas?
Peggy

Thinking of sides a little off the beaten path, or at least not mentioned, don't forget fried pork skins. I don't know how the skins from the CS will turn out as I haven't tried them myself, but I suspect the skins from the FEC will fry up nicely. We used to let the cooks keep the money from the sale of skins, until we saw them in other restaurants going for $3-4.00 a bag(with the skin from about 1 shoulder). When we started selling skins at the register, it added another $100 a day to sales for something that had been "waste" before.

Lastly, another side you might want to consider is fried squash. Consistent pricing and availability of quality frozen product made this a staple for our restaurant. Very popular, easy to prepare, holds well cooked and uncooked, and good margins made this a personal favorite. Should have mentioned it earlier.

awesome, todd! where do ya get the skins from? the shoulder? i only use the butt, so i guess i miss out on that one, unless they are are available prepack. hhmm. i think that squash idea is great. i bet i would hold a long time.
peggy, we make the sweet slaw here because it has a better shelf life than vinegar based. try this on for size... " mayo, sugar, black pepper, celeryseed, and tarter sauce. mix with your cabbage. quantities to vary...(dont tell my wife i told her secret!)

The butts I get from BJ's have been skinned which is nice for home use, but most of the butts I see in regular stores still have their skin intact. If your cooker will hold a shoulder, you might want to try cooking a batch instead of butts sometime. There seems to be a nice variety of meat throughout the shoulder which blends to give a better tasting Q than butts by themselves. At least for this NC boy. The meat in the picnic part of the shoulder has a lot of flavor.

You might be able to buy skins alone. I never thought about that. Funny thing about skins is that the last people you'd ever expect to buy skins are the one's that really go for them.

This might sound a little strange(it did to me anyway), but another side or snack type item you might try is fried pickle chips. Dill pickle chips that are egg washed and floured, then fried and served with ranch dressing. I tried some recently at a BBQ joint and they were pretty darn good. A good sized basket was just $1.99.

Todd,
I've heard people go crazy over the pickle chips. But I promised Jack he'd have no fryer to clean.

Thanks, coffeebluff for the secret. That's pretty close to my slaw recipe, too. I noticed the vinegar base goes limp real quick.

Mum's the word!
Peggy

Peggy, I can understand why Jack dosen't want to mess with a fryer, but in your rig pictures, I didn't see anything that would keep you from doing ordinary fryer maintainence. You haven't really experienced life to it's fullest until you pump out a vat full of hot grease, and watch it slowly drip through a fryer filter. It's soooooo relaxing. Just what you need after a long day cooking and serving.

In case it isn't obvious, I hate fryers too. But what are you going to do about hush puppies? I'm breaking out in a cold sweat just at the thought of BBQ without hush puppies. Please, say it ain't so.

Todd,
I love hush puppies too. I don't think cleaning out a fryer sounds good to me. I'd be the one that had to do it, since I promised Jack I wouldn't get one.
Maybe cornbread.....
At the last competition, I sold Brunswick stew only. With 2 pieces of white bread. I think I was the only one offering it. Got a lot of folks wanting it. I probably undercharged but it was made with meat from the competition before that had been frozen. It was a good change from bbq also after we had been doing that for 2 days.
At this competition we were told that vending would be limited to the earliest applications but found out that everyone that wanted to vend was allowed to. A lot of people had put a lot of money into their food supplies and just about lost their shirts. Be careful where you go.
Peggy

I don't know about Florida but around here(eastern NC) you would be run out of town if you offered BBQ plates without Hushpuppies or cornbread. Sandwiches can have white bread or hamburger buns but not plates

Herman

See! That's what I'm talking about. NC boys got to have their hush puppies. Now you've gone and upset Herman too.

nope i aint havin no darned fryer to clean
thats the one promise i made myself and i am stickin to it. plus have you priced ansul systems lately?? lol
seriously the only place where we are out of line is for fries but from the corporate catering jobs i have attended in this area i have seen very little demand for them so i am hoping that the customer base we are shooting for doesn't change it's tastes
jack

actually jack, its not as bad as you think. i use a table top fryer that is very easy to maintain. just fry, and dump. no cleaning of oil or filter machine to deal with. i use anvil brand. very reasonably priced. fried foods can really help your bottom line and boost sales also. and if you already have a fire system and a hood, its almost no extra investment, save for the freezer space, oil and fryer.. just something to think about......

hey another thought........" BAKED FRIES"
something to experiment with.....in a smoker//

coffee-- ok that is do able!!!! but seriously state approved plan design ( for a paltry 150 bucks) based off of the fire local fire marshall's evaluation that since we were only using a hot plate to warm bbq sauce a fire suppression system was not required in the hood. as we are getting ready for our state physical inspection ( another paltry one time fee of $50.00 and the $350.00 annual fee)at this point i really don't need anything else clouding the water.
Herman and Todd---- peggy had a friend who wanted real carolina pulled pork. made it for her right down to the correct sauce (well actually made two sauces. one was eastern north carolina other was western north carolina). figured she was from carolina and even made the right kinda slaw. dudes it just won't go here!!!! was she right was she wrong??? who knows who cares but i had to reduce her price by half!!!!!
and that's the thing i love about bbq!!!every place is different and if ya keep an open mind it is all good. still trying to convince peggy that we need to make burgoo but she won't allow mutton into the house!!!!
jack
ps. my benchmark for ribs is still the ribs at charlie vargos rendevous in memphis but the kcbs and fba judges would kill them for competition but man i like those ribs

I never have figured out what the "right" kind of slaw is around here. In central NC, most of the Lexington style joints serve a ketchup based slaw that looks like it has it's origins in Korean Kim Chee, but we don't have a significant number of Korean immigramts for me to understand how that could be. Then a lot of places use some variation on a typical mayo based slaw, some with carrots, some without. Then to complicate things further, some places use a mayo and mustard finely chopped slaw that is real heavy on celery seed. I like 'em all if the meat is good; if the meats not good, ain't nothing going to fix the sandwich.

I like all BBQ if it's made well. What's amazing to me is that I've been to maybe 75% of the places mentioned on the PBS show about NC BBQ. Some are excellent, but a lot of them are really bad by any reasonable standards. Even allowing for personal tastes, some of their food is just not fit for human consumption.

Jack, what did the woman want that you didn't provide? I can't imagine anything so off putting about any BBQ sauce that would justify a 50% reduction in price. And also, what passes for BBQ in Florida these days. I've never had BBQ there, so I have no idea. I'm always looking for something new to try at home.

The only place I've ever had burgoo is at Bessingers BBQ in Charleston, SC. They call it BBQ stew though, and I don't think it's a traditional burgoo, but once you get past it's apperance, it is actually very good. And their mustard based sauce is a nice change also.

she didn't like either one of the thin vinegar based sauces Todd.
come to find out she wasn't from n.c. but rather from jersey. she had seen a show on food channel that focused around lexington and that is what she just had to have.
best part is now that i know what she wants she is steady buying enough to pay our gas costs to contests.
wanna know what she wants???
pulled pork shoulder with a really sticky sweet sauce like k.c. only even sweeter!!!!!
wild world huh todd??
jack