Opening a Restaurant and would like Input on Smoker

[olivias]

Hello everyone, I am still fairly new to SMF but have thoroughly enjoyed reading a lot of the information. I have been in the restaurant business for 17 years and we have been fortunate to operate a successful Seafood, Steak and Pasta concept here in Virginia. We are going to be opening another location soon which will be a very traditional BBQ joint. I am a little conflicted on the best smoker to purchase for the restaurant. I have budgeted up to $3,000 for either a used or new smoker. I need to find that happy medium of price point, consistency, ease of use and most importantly something that will produce a great product. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[geerock]

If you plan on traditional bbq restaurant your budget says used for capacity alone. Anything new for 3k is going to probably be too small.

 

[olivias]

Thanks.... Do you have any suggestion on type of smoker? I was leaning towards a Lang 60". It should be able to produce enough product for a 50 seat space.

 

[woundedyak]

For a restaurant, a lang will not be very practical. You will half to pay someone to stand next to it at all times. You can buy a gravity feed and pop a guru on it and check every 10hrs. Still the size isn't practical thou. For your budget Im not really sure what the answer is. Maybe go old school and build some pits.

 

[daveomak]

Check with the city council on what is allowed... open pit and a cord or 2 of fire wood..... electric smoker.... gas smoker.... OH, and check with your insurance company also....
For uniform cooking of several different meats, look at a "Ferris Wheel" design.... rotating racks where chicken, beef and pork can be cooked all at once and no rotating of the meat on the racks is necessary...



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