As Promised...

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Thanks, Scooter.  It is a nice looking sign but it does have the 2 things I absolutely did not want in mine.  Pigs and cartoon-like letters.  I don't have anything against them, at all.  I actually like them both.  It is more because they both are found on just about every BBQ sign in the country and I wanted mine to stand out from the crowd a bit.  I appreciate the input, though, and hope you will offer more of it.  Especially when we start my cable and pulley system for the door counter weight.
 
Oh, that's cool.  Without any initial customer input on requirement and specifications, this was more of an exercise for me.  I had this vision in my brain and I just threw this together and put my spin on it.  And, hey, if you ever need anything designed, don't be afraid to give me a buzz.  I'd be glad to help out a BBQ'n brutha'.
 
Jabbo,

I'm sorry I didn't read your thread until now.  Fascinating!  Nice looking smoker.  And your sign is erie.  My sign guy just did mine and it is VERY similar to yours.  He only texted it to me and I wish I could figure out how to forward it to my email.  I'm calling my monsters "My Little BBQ"

I got a lot of info from you and Ribwiz on paints.  I'm just doing the Rustoleum flat black because of ease, price, and because we figure no matter what color it will be black before too long.
 
Scooter, you can play with that design all you want.  Thanks for that offer!

Urbotrimmm, thanks for the kind words.  While the smoker itself is almost done, we aren't even close to finishing the rig.  I'm glad you were able to get something positive out of my ramblings.  I have enjoyed your thread as well.  I had actually planned on going that same route at first.  I still have plans on a twin smoker trailer, but it will be a little farther down the road.
 
Since I haven't been very good at taking pictures, especially the Q-views, I decided to put my wife in charge of it.  She is a camera-holic!  She managed to take a few decent pictures of the ribs I cooked this weekend.  Some of them look pretty good but nowhere near as good as they tasted.  I hope you guys enjoy them.


We cooked 6 slabs of St Louis cut and 1 baby back.  There were 10 people eating, including 2 petite college girls, and not a single rib made it out alive.  



These were the last 2 to come off.  The trim pieces in the back were supposed to be for snacking, but I forgot about the last few pieces.  They were a little over done but still good.






I prefer the bend test to judge when ribs are done.


Yeah I think these are done!  The slab of baby backs actually broke in half when I checked them!
 
Jabbo nice job with the logo's and the ribs.  I've left a few trim pieces behind for snacking on while cooking with the rest of the trim dedicated to the WBB. Yeah, a bit over done but when that happens I just refer to it as my pig jerky! 

Oh and don't let the petite collage girls fool ya none, cuz in my book they're STARVING collage students too!
 
Thanks for the praise guys.  It's funny how I started this little venture off a little unsure of how good my food was.   But after seeing so many people's faces when they try it, I now know that I have stumbled on to some good recipes.  My confidence is gets higher every time I light up the smoker.  I owe a lot of that to you guys and the free knowledge you have kindly shared.  I used to wish I was good enough to compete with the likes of Johnny Trigg and Myron Mixon.  Now I'm just waiting for the chance to take them down!!  I'm gonna test the waters with a case of ribs at our next event.  I was thinking $10 for 1/3 of a slab, 2 sides, and a drink.  Do you guys think that is too much or not enough?  I was leaning towards it being too much and wanted to go with $9, but my wife is insisting on no less than $10.

Rib, I agree.  Florida BBQ is a like a melting pot of flavors.  We don't put so much heat in it that it sets you on fire like they do in Texas and LA.  We don't make it so sweet that it sends you into a diabetic coma the way they do in KC and Memphis.  And we don't make it so tart that you walk around with your lips puckered for a week the way they do it in the Carolina's.  Mine is a blend of all of these starting with the sweet, followed by a little tartness, and finished off with a hint of heat.  It is balanced very well and you don't have to be afraid to give it to your kids.  I also use it sparingly to allow the meat to shine through.  You really need to get up here so we can cook and brainstorm together sometime!

Dutch, my father-in-law called it pig jerky, too.  Those last pieces were left mainly because the ribs started coming off and nobody wanted them anymore.  Why eat the scraps when the good stuff is right there?  Those girls tore those ribs up.  They were eating like they really were starving.  I almost felt bad for them and wanted to ask them when the last time they ate was.  They were friends of my wife's younger cousin and she said they were all still talking about them the next day.  That is probably the best compliment a cook can ever get.  I hope that's the way it goes at our next event.
 
It's funny how I started this little venture off a little unsure of how good my food was.   But after seeing so many people's faces when they try it, I now know that I have stumbled on to some good recipes.  
I am the same way, even if a guy is tired from drinking beer and watching the smoker all day the look on people's faces when they take a bite makes everything worth it. The fiance says I smile bigger when I hear and see people eat my food then I do when I think of her!

Just keep loving what you do and things will fall into place. As for $10 for a 1/3 of a rack, they claim whatever the cost of food is you multiple it by 3 and add a dollar depending. So if the food costs between $8-10 then yeah $10 is ok. Most people don't really care about price as long as it is good and judging by the looks and what people say your food is worth the extra buck!
 
Food cost vs. Labor cost vs. what people are willing to pay is every food service operation balancing act.

We try to run a 18% food cost and a 20% labor cost for Catering/Banquets that are mostly not BBQ. Then you have your other expenses that take a big chunk of what is left. I know there are some spread sheets around on the site for costing guides people use. Festivals are hard because of the unknown that is always there. I do not think $10 is to much, I would think you could even go a bit higher. At the comps/festivals i have been to lately. They are selling 1 bone ribs for $1 ea without any sides. So if the slab you are working with has 12 bones (i have seen an average of 11-13 on St Luise cut), you will get 3 portions out of it. Don't under sell yourself. You are in this to make a living. So you will have to find that balance between profit and sell ability. So take the time a figure out your costs and then do your price. It is OK to sell out, it may actually start where people will want them more as they hear how awesome they were and they missed out.....

If you want more info I will be happy to talk it with you....
 
Jabbo,

I think $10.00 is a good price for your Friday night gig, but on special events you should be getting $12.00 for a rib dinner.  Pulled pork probably around $8.00, same with chicken quarter dinner. Remember Dude, your putting out higher quality food than Sonny's, you should be getting at least the same price.

Just a question, have you set yourself up with a good supplier like Resteraunt Depo? Or are you still buying retail?  Makes a big difference when you can get those slabs down to $1.39 a lb. and your not paying tax either.

I told you about the guy I built a smoker is making a killing doing chicken dinners, he has a line everyday at 5.30 with the working Mom's picking up dinner for the kids. 8 pieces w/ sides =$10.00,
 
JarJar, I have my cost sheet broken down about as far as I can get it.  Every ingredient in each plate has been calculated down to the ounce, including the charcoal and wood.  My prices are a little less than what most of the restaurants are getting.  I would love to pick the brain of someone more experienced, like yourself.  Maybe we could get a pm chat going on it.

Riwizzard, I feel that I have been under pricing my pulled pork a bit.  I have been selling them for $6 in hopes to bring in more people but I think that I could bump them up to $7 without losing too many customers.  I think $8 is a little high for the festivals around here.  I get most of my supplies and my ribs from Daffin's Food Service.  The warehouse is local and the ribs are at $1.80 right now.  That is the cheapest I can find them.  I get my butts from a local butcher who generally lets me get them for $1.30.  There are no taxes on either.  I don't recall ever hearing of the Restaurant Depo, but I will check them out.  

I generally will offer choice between 2 meats and serve them with our Bourbon BBQ Beans and homemade slaw.  I have plans to introduce our mac-n-cheese and corn soon.  I wanted to really get the hang of things before I put more items on the menu.  Thanks for the help guys.
 
SANDWICHESSPECIALS
Beef$6.00Slab Ribs$22.00
Pork$6.001/4 Slab / 1/2 Slab Ribs$7.00 / $13.00
Corn Beef (Brisket)$6.00Whole Chicken$9.00
Turkey Breast$6.001/4 Chicken$4.50
Sausage$6.001/2 Chicken$5.50
Ribs (1/4 slab)$7.001 lb. Pork$13.00
 1/2 lb. Pork$7.00
DINNERS1 lb. Beef$13.00
Beef$8.501/2 lb. Beef$7.00
Pork$8.501 lb. Turkey Breast$13.00
Chicken (1/4)$6.501/2 lb. Turkey Breast$7.00
Chicken (1/2)$8.501 lb. Sausage$13.00
Corn Beef (Brisket)$8.501/2 lb. Sausage$7.00
Turkey Breast$8.501 lb. Corn Beef (Brisket)$13.00
Sausage$8.501/2 lb. Corn Beef (Brisket)$7.00
Ribs (1/4 slab)$8.50Fritters$1.95
Combination
Served with choice of two meats & two sides:
$10.50SIDE ORDERS (S/M/L)
 
Ribwizzard, That is awesome!!  Those prices are similar to our area.  Maybe a little higher.  I hope we can be that way soon.  Thanks for sharing!
 
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