Commercial smoking vs. backyard smoking

myself.. I think 95% of them pre-boil...

It's not an easy one to answer....... Some places do it half way and finish in ovens.........a few have very insulated pits, that will hold the heat with very little fire and they can leave them over night unattended.....others will do it hot and fast so the cook time is shorter......those are just a few ways and I am sure there are many many more ways.......

I think most also use large smokers and do a lot at one time and probably chill and reheat, i agree they are doing the hot and fast too.

Ted, I disagree pork has to be done low and slow. I used to always smoke butts at 230* and 9 lbers would go 20 hours, I got tired of it and pumped it up to 280* and have cut the time almost in half and they come out as good if not better. I haven't had the nerve to crank the temp on beef yet but one of these days....

JckDanls 07 said:

myself.. I think 95% of them pre-boil...

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No offense but I doubt that percentage is that high. I know some that do, but its not that many. I smoke large amounts of meat hot and fast and will put it against anybodies low and slow, anytime.

kryinggame said:

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I wonder how commercial smoke shops can stay in business.  If they follow the general rule of 1.5 hours per pound, how do they stay in business.  Pork should be smoked low and slow. RIght now, my yard smells so sweet from pork.  But this is after 7 hours. 

How are commercial smoke shops able to stay in business?

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Unlike us backyard BBQers, commercial operations need to have a consistently sized meat supply. If they get butts that are in the 8 lb range then they know from experience(as do you, I'll bet) that if they cook at X temp the butts will be done in Y hours. The same goes for ribs, brisket, chicken. BBQ ain't rocket science.

They also hold the meat in commercial warmers until needed or refridgerate it and microwave before serving.

First. Many of us spec our meat with the supplier so we have consistent marble and size.

Most of us purchase futures in October to control costs as well.

Second most of us use a commercial machine. We have two southern pride units one 1150 and one 750. They are programmable in run and hold time.

Third we don't have the backyard lore to deal with. So after five hours of smoke the temp moves to 275 f for pork.

But mostly it is the programmable units that keep it flowing.

We also have a system to inject steam for sausages as well as cold shower finish for sausages. Which helps after the bloom is finished

Been doing it since 1996 so far

kryinggame said:

I live in Charlotte, N.C., we ain't known for good BBQ joints.

Folks who are moving into the city don't know their head from their asses.  Got no idea of what good BBQ is--so they frequent crap joints and brag about it. 

This is why I do my own smoking. I can tell the difference btwn good and crap.

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I think somebody needs a hug.

As for your rules about pork being done low and slow, I ain't buying it. I am a relative newcomer to smoking, but I've learned that with the proper application of heat and time in the right ratios, I can get just as good (and sometimes better) results in a fraction of the time. Spareribs at 275˚-300˚ cook way faster, more fat renders out, and the meat tends to stay moister with more of a meaty quality as opposed to the fall off the bone pulled pork consistency of most low and slow ribs. Baby backs, since the meat is essentially pork loin on the bone, really benefit from hot and fast. Pork butts? Yup, 275˚-300˚ cuts the time nearly in half and pretty much eradicates the "dreaded stall". Why dread something you can so easily avoid? The resulting pulled pork is moist and tender and not fatty.

bbally said:

First. Many of us spec our meat with the supplier so we have consistent marble and size.

Most of us purchase futures in October to control costs as well.

Second most of us use a commercial machine. We have two southern pride units one 1150 and one 750. They are programmable in run and hold time.

Third we don't have the backyard lore to deal with. So after five hours of smoke the temp moves to 275 f for pork.

But mostly it is the programmable units that keep it flowing.

We also have a system to inject steam for sausages as well as cold shower finish for sausages. Which helps after the bloom is finished

Been doing it since 1996 so far

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X2

Sometimes people get to wrapped up in "Traditional" and miss the opportunity to look outside the box......

I've seen Joints in Texas that just keep them going in and out of the Smoker sorta in one end and after several moves over time , they end up in the serving area where thet slice and vend.

These were BBQ only places like Smitty's, KK's , Mikeska's and others. There were 5 or 6 BBQ places in Temple and they all had fresh off the pit Q.  If there were any leftovers for the day , they reconstructed the dish...Brisket to Burnt - Ends or Chili , Pork to Soups , Chicken to Salads ,  Sausage to Soups like Gumbo or with Rice . But the ones that though keeping it warm on a Buffet Pan fall way short of being very good at all...

There is one that just opened in Fremont , Ohio . Looks good outside - stack of wood , a big (IMO ) is a big  smoker and a co-worker of Trish said it was pretty good...Sooo , me being me , I went to check it out.

The first thing I noticed was a complete absesce of the smell of smoke ??? 1st strike...

Then inside I saw a row of really steaming Buffet Pans??? Strike 2...

Then I scoped out the line and found only "shredded Pork and Beef" No sliced Beef or Pork , a pan of what I think was Bean salad , and some awfull looking Sausage floating in Water???

I was bold enough to ask for  samples and they obliged. using the serving utiniles , I found only Gray meat (both Pork and Brisket) no red like any ring may have exsisted.

Then I saw the Three Bottles of Sauce on each table and decided- Strike 3  and thanked them cordually and left  Took a big gulp of the Water I had in the Truck. YUK!!! the taste was not BBQ as I would enjoy.

What I'm saying is ; if your volume is not enough to (at least) nearley sell all the product , you end up with a tasteless mess or a lot of lost profit. Oh,yes... don't even serve Microwaved Q , it sucks too.

THat's all of my ranting , so as always , have fun and...

Mdboatbum said:

I think somebody needs a hug.

As for your rules about pork being done low and slow, I ain't buying it. I am a relative newcomer to smoking, but I've learned that with the proper application of heat and time in the right ratios, I can get just as good (and sometimes better) results in a fraction of the time. Spareribs at 275˚-300˚ cook way faster, more fat renders out, and the meat tends to stay moister with more of a meaty quality as opposed to the fall off the bone pulled pork consistency of most low and slow ribs. Baby backs, since the meat is essentially pork loin on the bone, really benefit from hot and fast. Pork butts? Yup, 275˚-300˚ cuts the time nearly in half and pretty much eradicates the "dreaded stall". Why dread something you can so easily avoid? The resulting pulled pork is moist and tender and not fatty.

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Hmmm, I gotta try higher temps myself, if I ever get back to smoking.

My MES maxes out at 275, but that's a lot hotter than my usual 220 to 230.

Bear

Probably one of the hot-shot HOLLYWOOD God's gift to the BBQ world cooks on TV started this trend of hot n fast. Is this BBQ?.......I don't think so. Can meat be cooked this way?.....yes it can. I'll stick with the traditional low n slow. Dealing with hot n fast road-rage all week long, on my weekends I like taking it low n slow. Besides, I don't want my butts looking like a meteor that crashed into earth hot n fast.

JP61 said:

Probably one of the hot-shot HOLLYWOOD God's gift to the BBQ world cooks on TV started this trend of hot n fast. Is this BBQ?.......I don't think so. Can meat be cooked this way?.....yes it can. I'll stick with the traditional low n slow. Dealing with hot n fast road-rage all week long, on my weekends I like taking it low n slow. Besides, I don't want my butts looking like a meteor that crashed into earth hot n fast.

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Hey, everyone is entitled to BBQ as they so choose. That's the great thing about it. I started edging up temps and cutting down time for several reasons. A. I don't have my own BBQ area, so I have to do all my smoking in the park across the street. B. I like a little more fat to render out during the smoking process. And C. I've been trying to solve the problem of multiple meats requiring many hours at different temperatures. By smoking at a higher temperature, I can cook all my meats in the same smoker, at the same temperature, for much less time. Within the  approximately 6 hours required for a brisket, I can also cook a pork butt, ribs and chicken, adding each at intervals so they all finish nearly at the same time. Is this BBQ? Yes it is. The fact that I'm not wasting an entire day fiddling with a smoker doesn't make me less of a BBQ cook.

And by the way, while the origins of barbecue are hotly debated, I think it's pretty obvious that it came about as a solution to a couple problems. One was the fact that the available meat (wild pigs, mostly, though some claim that BBQ evolved out of the south seas islanders' diet of choice known as the "long pig") was tough and required long cooking times. Another reason was available fuel. The areas where bbq originated weren't covered in hardwood forests. These people had to make due with what little fuel they had, so they dug pits, lined them with rocks and heated the rocks with small hot fires. The heated rocks, in turn, did most of the cooking. This process took a very long time. So, depending on who you ask, unless you're cooking either a 4 or 2 legged "pig" in a rock lined earthen pit heated with a fire made of coconut husks and driftwood, you're not really BBQing.

I choose to believe that BBQ is the ultimate guy thing because of the "Macgyver" aspect of it. If you look around the world, BBQ has evolved to suit the foods, fuel availability, climate and terrain of just about every civilization there ever was on the planet. The very essence of BBQ is its adaptability.

There are a few places I've been to in NC that have a night crew, large enclosed cement or brick smoke houses that turn out the good Q. One place I know gets whole oak trees, less limbs, delivered and that's all they use. However, sadly I've stopped at places that had obviously par boiled their meats and were relying on they sauce to cover up the fact. If you ever go up around Lexington, there are some excellent, really fully smoked Q. We now look for smoke, stacks, smoke houses before we will attempt eating at a BBQ restaurant.  

If some place only has time to do a par boil and then finish them up in the pits, I see no big issue with that. If that's what they have to do, so be it. If some place advertises "Real NC BBQ" and the meat never saw a pit or smoke, that's a rip off. 

Mdboatbum said:

Hey, everyone is entitled to BBQ as they so choose. 

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Exactly. Never said you or anyone else couldn't, shouldn't or is less of a cook for using the hot n fast method. Just expressing my opinion on BBQ.