The Barbecue Thread

[Chino]

I'll be amped to see that. I'm in the middle of a top gear re-watch and I forgot how many brilliant segments they had. Those 3 really have a special chemistry about them

Top Gear UK was a rare gem that I don't think could ever be replicated.

[Chino]

[New World Rushman]

Excellent looking beef ribs, an item I have yet to attempt.

[Podaar]

No words necessary! 

[TAC]

I'll be amped to see that. I'm in the middle of a top gear re-watch and I forgot how many brilliant segments they had. Those 3 really have a special chemistry about them

Top Gear UK was a rare gem that I don't think could ever be replicated.

I've introduced you guys to my oldest son in other threads, but Top Gear might be his all time favorite show.

[El Barto]

Nice. Down here a restaurant would would sell those for $20-30 ea.

[Phoenix87x]

If Chino opened a BBQ restaurant, I would absolutely go

[Chino]

 

@Barto - Getting good at BBQing has made me never want to go out and pay for BBQ again. Even if it's good, I can't justify $17 for a half rack of ribs, or a $14 for a pulled pork sandwich anymore.

I'm surprised people in your neck of the woods are willing to pay that (unless you're talking about tourists). I assumed with the cheap cost of beef in the region and BBQing practically being a pastime, people wouldn't be willing to support such prices.   


I was toying with the idea of maybe opening a BBQ delivery business on the side instead of doing my catering job on Sunday. I was looking at the feasibility of getting something like the unit below and just delivering cooked meat. Not really catering per se (I wouldn't be setting up shop and serving). More like high-end delivery. Tell me how many briskets, pork butts, and racks of ribs you want, and I'll have them hot and delivered at that time, ready to be served to your guests. There's plenty of hoity toity people up this way that would pay $200+ for a fully cooked packer brisket without thinking twice about it, especially if it's legit BBQ.

[El Barto]

@Barto - Getting good at BBQing has made me never want to go out and pay for BBQ again. Even if it's good, I can't justify $17 for a half rack of ribs, or a $14 for a pulled pork sandwich anymore.

I'm surprised people in your neck of the woods are willing to pay that (unless you're talking about tourists). I assumed with the cheap cost of beef in the region and BBQing practically being a pastime, people wouldn't be willing to support such prices.   

There's plenty of less expensive BBQ around here. The problem is that a couple of places down around Austin raised the bar in a big way, and that kind of quality has become expected. It doesn't come cheap, though. The best BBQ in Dallas comes from people who went down South to learn how to do it and opened places very similar, and you pay a premium for it. And this being Dallas there's a "trendy" factor, as well. Also, those guys all go and scarf up the best briskets they can find, and that's caused demand to explode, which drives the price up. I talked with the owner of Slow Bone, and he had to discontinue offering plate dinners because the cost of brisket was throwing off his margins. Better for everybody to pay by the pound.

And beef ribs are an oddball down here. Nobody eats pork ribs; all beef, all day. Yet like most BBQ they're priced by the pound. That's how you wind up with a $30 rib.

I was toying with the idea of maybe opening a BBQ delivery business on the side instead of doing my catering job on Sunday. I was looking at the feasibility of getting something like the unit below and just delivering cooked meat. Not really catering per se (I wouldn't be setting up shop and serving). More like high-end delivery. Tell me how many briskets, pork butts, and racks of ribs you want, and I'll have them hot and delivered at that time, ready to be served to your guests. There's plenty of hoity toity people up this way that would pay $200+ for a fully cooked packer brisket without thinking twice about it, especially if it's legit BBQ.

The problem is in learning how to scale things. A recurring theme down here is that somebody starts off smoking fantastic meats in a trailer and decides to open up a proper restaurant, and suddenly his food sucks. He has to survive a good six months to get it ironed out. In your case it'd be different since you'd be scaling up to a trailer, but that's still the challenge.

[T-ski]

If Chino opened a BBQ restaurant, I would absolutely go

Would there be cones in the parking lot?

[Chino]

Yeah, no doubt. It'd be more a hobby than anything with literally zero desire to open a restaurant of my own. I'm friends with a girl whose father has a side catering business. He works maybe 15 or so jobs a year, and he puts an extra $10k-$20k in his pocket as a result. Not a bad gig. A big problem guys run into when they make the leap to the BBQ restaurants is finding a reliable source of meat. They realize they suddenly need a ton of it, and they have to sacrifice on the quality to get enough to meet their demand at a profitable price point. It's easy to get a couple of briskets at a time at Restaurant Depot, but if you suddenly need to come up with 30 or 40 a day, every day, it could be a challenge depending on where you are. Keeping it small scale and not having the overhead of a building, a staff, etc.. goes a long way if you're not trying to make it your primary source of income. 

[Chino]

If Chino opened a BBQ restaurant, I would absolutely go

Would there be cones in the parking lot?

How else am I going to reserve my space from day-to-day?

[lonestar]

Yeah, no doubt. It'd be more a hobby than anything with literally zero desire to open a restaurant of my own. I'm friends with a girl whose father has a side catering business. He works maybe 15 or so jobs a year, and he puts an extra $10k-$20k in his pocket as a result. Not a bad gig. A big problem guys run into when they make the leap to the BBQ restaurants is finding a reliable source of meat. They realize they suddenly need a ton of it, and they have to sacrifice on the quality to get enough to meet their demand at a profitable price point. It's easy to get a couple of briskets at a time at Restaurant Depot, but if you suddenly need to come up with 30 or 40 a day, every day, it could be a challenge depending on where you are. Keeping it small scale and not having the overhead of a building, a staff, etc.. goes a long way if you're not trying to make it your primary source of income.

Pending on how legit you want your operation, also look into your state's laws on catering operations. Here in CA, you need to have a county inspected and passed kitchen, whether it's in a restaurant you own or a rented commisary kitchen. As to scaling it up for larger production, BBQ is one of the areas where it's a bit easier than other cuisines. Brining is easy in bulk (lexan container/trash can/cooler). Once you got a good rub, it's cake to make it in large batches, same with the sauce. and the smoker is pretty consistent if you know what you're doing with it. The only tricky part actually is good packaging and transportation, and keeping it on the up and up.

Those trailer smokers are fucking legit though, my buddy has a GatorPit and that thing does some god tier BBQ.

[cramx3]

You could set that up in a parking lot for a tailgate before a concert or sporting event (whenever they return to normal fan outings) and make bank I'd imagine

[lonestar]

You could set that up in a parking lot for a tailgate before a concert or sporting event (whenever they return to normal fan outings) and make bank I'd imagine

I'd imagine whatever venue it was would put a stop to that real, real quick.

[Chino]

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here that I work a catering job on the weekends and the place I work for has a butchers' shop that's got some of the best quality meat in the state. I could take or leave the job at this point, but as long as I'm an employee, I get a 20% discount on everything in the joint.

Every now and then you find a real treasure, a steak that looks down upon the other steaks in the case as peasants. I didn't even need steak when I came across these, but I ended up buying nine in total. These things were labeled as choice. CHOICE! At a quick glance, I thought we started carrying wagyu. I even asked the head butcher if they were mislabeled and he said no. I cooked two up over the weekend, and even just holding the steaks felt different. It's like the fat was starting to render just by the warmth of my fingers. They were freaking delicious.

[bosk1]

Those look amazing.  Kinda bummed you didn't post any of the final (cooked) product though. 

[cramx3]

Those look amazing.  Kinda bummed you didn't post any of the final (cooked) product though.

With purchasing 9 of them, I'm sure there's more opportunity for pics 

[Chino]

I'll save some for a daytime cook so I can get pics. I did that last pair after dark and I didn't want to go inside just to take photos. I was hungry.

[goo-goo]

I've been using the Anova sous vide gadget for the last two weeks or so. Have cooked filet mignon, skirt steak and sirloin steak. The tenderness is unreal.

I also just bought a Kamado Joe Classic II and waiting for delivery. I've grilling and smoking with an old Weber Kettle so it will be a decent upgrade.

[goo-goo]

Shit's getting real. The Kamado Joe is being delivered tomorrow. Did this in the oven over the weekend.

[goo-goo]

Filet Mignon from a couple of weeks ago using sous vide.

[Chino]

Awww man. Looking good. My stomach's growling now. I'm hitting Costco after work, might need to buy a BBQ item.

[goo-goo]

Skirt steak from a month ago with sous vide. Sous vide skirt steak is the best thing you will ever try.

[goo-goo]

Smoked beef brisket from three weeks ago



Sorry about the food porn. I just learned how to host images 

[hunnus2000]

So I'm thinking about a Traeger Grill.

Any opinions? Too smokey?

I like the idea of 'set it and forget it' and I want to get back to keto eating and I want to cook in bulk.

[goo-goo]

So I'm thinking about a Traeger Grill.

Any opinions? Too smokey?

I like the idea of 'set it and forget it' and I want to get back to keto eating and I want to cook in bulk.

I did my research before deciding on the Kamado. With the Kamado (or any ceramic grill), you can still cook with wood. I wanted to keep doing charcoal but still have the flexibility of using wood. I personally like to get involved a bit more than just set it and forget though. Seen some good deals on the Traegers at Costco so if you are a member, check them out. I believe they are having a sale right now since they are having in-store "demos".

[ReaperKK]

I've been looking at Kamado's and big green eggs. Did you consider the Big Green Egg? If so, why did you go with Kamado?

[goo-goo]

I've been looking at Kamado's and big green eggs. Did you consider the Big Green Egg? If so, why did you go with Kamado?

Yes, I did consider the BGE. A coworker has one as well and I was able to ping him on some issues/questions that I had.

The Kamado Joe Classic II (the model that I decided to get) has an air hinge. The lid is heavy (for all of Kamado grills because they are made out of ceramic). That was one factor. BGE doesn't have a sliding ash tray which makes it harder to clean. I believe the new combos have a cart to roll the BGE but before, they didn't. You would have to buy it separately. The BGE doesn't include a heat deflector, so that's another thing you needed to buy. The felt gaskets of the BGE wear out faster than the mesh gaskets on the Joe Classic but those depend on how you use it based on what I read and heard from my colleague at work.  The Joe has multi-level accessories included for cooking while the BGE just includes one. I feel you get more bang for your buck with the Joe Classic II than a similar sized BGE.

https://www.bbqguys.com/bbq-learning-center/comparisons/big-green-egg-vs-kamado-joe

https://www.exploringlifesmysteries.com/kamado-joe-vs-big-green-egg-vs-primo-vs-vison-vs-weber-vs-pit-boss-vs-broil-king-keg/

The gaskets, the air hinge and the included multi-level accessory was what sold me.

[Chino]

So I'm thinking about a Traeger Grill.

Any opinions? Too smokey?

I like the idea of 'set it and forget it' and I want to get back to keto eating and I want to cook in bulk.

There are several models/brands I'd recommend before Traeger. Traeger makes a good product and pretty much set the bar, but I feel in the last year or two they've fallen behind the curve.

What's your price range?

[hunnus2000]

So I'm thinking about a Traeger Grill.

Any opinions? Too smokey?

I like the idea of 'set it and forget it' and I want to get back to keto eating and I want to cook in bulk.

There are several models/brands I'd recommend before Traeger. Traeger makes a good product and pretty much set the bar, but I feel in the last year or two they've fallen behind the curve.

What's your price range?

Price range is between 500 to 800 but I would spend more if I thought it was justified.

[Chino]

So I'm thinking about a Traeger Grill.

Any opinions? Too smokey?

I like the idea of 'set it and forget it' and I want to get back to keto eating and I want to cook in bulk.

There are several models/brands I'd recommend before Traeger. Traeger makes a good product and pretty much set the bar, but I feel in the last year or two they've fallen behind the curve.

What's your price range?

Price range is between 500 to 800 but I would spend more if I thought it was justified.

I've heard stellar things about this brand, and this model in particular: https://grillagrills.com/grills/silverbac-wood-pellet-grill/

I think that might be my next grill.

[hunnus2000]

So I'm thinking about a Traeger Grill.

Any opinions? Too smokey?

I like the idea of 'set it and forget it' and I want to get back to keto eating and I want to cook in bulk.

There are several models/brands I'd recommend before Traeger. Traeger makes a good product and pretty much set the bar, but I feel in the last year or two they've fallen behind the curve.

What's your price range?

Price range is between 500 to 800 but I would spend more if I thought it was justified.

I've heard stellar things about this brand, and this model in particular: https://grillagrills.com/grills/silverbac-wood-pellet-grill/

I think that might be my next grill.

I'll check it out. Thanks for the head's up! 

[goo-goo]

Have heard great reviews on using sous vide with short ribs. Takes 48 hrs to cook so I'll be starting this on Friday for a Sunday lunch/dinner.

This is the setup I use for sous vide. I do seal the opening with plastic and towel on top.

[Chino]

I need to get me one of those.