Cooking before smoking

[GetSmokedMN]

Hey everyone,

So I am just starting a small food booth with our smokers and bbq and I found out that we arent allowed to cook any food in our own kitchen/home. Food either needs to be prepared on site or in a licensed kitchen. Considering we are doing brisket, ribs and pulled pork, preparing on site is pretty much impossible considering how much time it takes to smoke.

Does anyone have any tips or experience on cooking things like ribs or anything and then putting it on the smoker after? Obviously not the typical way to do things but just trying to figure out how to follow the rules assuming most of the bars/restaurants that have licensed kitchens that I could use dont have smokers.

Thanks for the help!

 

[bregent]

Have you talked with your local Environmental Health Dept about applicable rules for cottage food and temporary events?

 

[yahoot]

smoking last doesn't really work. Little flavor. We tried several variations, never got it to work well. Grilling last can work really well, but not for pulled pork/brisket.

You may want to see what rules you have to meet for "cooking" vs "prep". Offsite prep is pretty common (brining, veg, etc.), so you may need to re-think what "prep" is (and what you can make fit under their rules).

What can work is to smoke food for a long time away from the booth as part of your "off site prep", then finish things at the booth. Put briskets in oven or a roaster oven to cook at the booth after smoking (if you have electricity) - they then are "cooked" on site. Be careful to watch temps (don't overcook, don't let drop into "danger zone"). Works well if you are feeding a lot of people at roughly the same time (like catering or a high volume location like a fair), less easy if you are trying to serve over many hours. You can even chill down ribs/chicken after smoking/initial cook, store them refrigerated, and finish on the grill/broiler as needed. quality can be very good with some practice.

Can be done very safely, but whether you are allowed to do so at your location depends on whose rules you have to meet and how you are inspected.

Also - you can keep a smoker going in the booth (for the smell) and do odds and ends (stuffed jalapenos, wings, pineapple, corn, etc.)

 

[SonnyE]

Whenever I hear of such rule enforcement's, it ticks me off.
Because on any day I can see street vendors selling their wares from carts or tables set up on the sidewalks with zero sanitation. Maybe a grubby towel to wipe the vendors hands on....
It is not uncommon here to see someone with a grubby old bar-B-que set up on the parkway between their home and the curb, and selling meat they BBQ'd taken from a plastic box.
And there are people who flock to these vendors to buy and eat these "Street Taco's".
Meanwhile, "Rules" are being applied to you trying to work a food booth....
Just pisses me off. :mad:

 

[HalfSmoked]

Yup the Health Dept runs the show. I deal with it all the time and they are constantly changing the rules. I ask are they trying to shut down the non-profits which is what I mainly work with. The latest thing we have going on is a battle between the Fire Marshall and the Health Dept. The Health Dept says we have to cook under cover and the Fire Marshall says no fires under a tent. So now what??

Warren

 

[yahoot]

Now what? Now you cook under a cover that isn't a tent.

So much depends on how silly the inspectors are about what they will accept. Some are decent people trying to do a tough job. they will usually work with you. Sometimes, one will try to use his "authority" to be a real jerk. FWIW, feeding a wonderful BBQ sandwich to a fire inspector can often foster a more open mind....

But, to your point, I have seen a metal roofed gazebo used for tent-side cooking (fire was fine, health was reluctant because it was a "cover" but didn't have walls). Someone else I know had a custom-made, folding 3 sided "room" with sheet metal walls and roof (just big enough for the hot equipment) that sat just outside a tent. I have also seen someone who cooks in a trailer with swing-out/up wallsthat he parks outside a tent. Lots of options - none are especially cheap or easy for a non-profit trying to support a small activity, but not an insurmountable problem for a business (if you can get the inspectors to stick with one set of rules).

All of this discussion is simply proof once again that some of the most frightening words in the English language are "Hi. I am from the government and I am here to help."

 

[SonnyE]

More on point, I have smoked, and then cooked.
That was my cure for smoked chicken with a crispy skin.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smoked-chicken-thighs-with-crispy-skin.270987/

 

[zwiller]

I always thought the smoke vendors were the hard core ones that setup a day or 2 ahead, working non stop to get the job done in advance. In the defense of the inspectors, I don't want food prepped at someone's home.

 

[GetSmokedMN]

Thanks for the input everyone! I know the rules are in place for a reason and luckily I believe the woman I am working with is a fairly decent person and isnt out to flex her muscle. Just trying to figure out what the best way to go about all of this to make sure we are serving the best product that we can without cutting too many corners. Maybe we just need to build our own licensed kitchen!

 

[yahoot]

More on point, I have smoked, and then cooked.
That was my cure for smoked chicken with a crispy skin.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smoked-chicken-thighs-with-crispy-skin.270987/

We recently switched to pitboss 5 and 7 series vertical smokers so we can brine and smoke chicken about 30-40 pounds at a time - breasts, thighs, and wings (separate batches), chill them down, then finish them on the grill/broiler for a few minutes to crisp them up. Wings are easiest, breasts take some care to get them heated through without drying out.
We also do some smoked chicken specials, like smoked chicken chili, or pot pies (where we have ovens).

 

[hillbilly jim]

I went round and round with VDACS trying to legally sell smoked cheese as a cottage industry. Yeah, right. You would have thought I wanted to start a distillery.

 

[jcam222]

I always thought the smoke vendors were the hard core ones that setup a day or 2 ahead, working non stop to get the job done in advance. In the defense of the inspectors, I don't want food prepped at someone's home.

Whether its prepped in someones home or onsite is irrelevant. Either way you are placing a level of trust im the vendor. You dont get an additional level of safety because its prepped on site. I worked most of my 20s selling food at fairs and special events frim Ohio to Florida. Ive prepped and seen prepped a lot of food. I can assure you that some food “prepped on site” isnt something you want to est LOL. Its not where it was prepped but rather how it was prepped. The regulations if meeded should be aimed more at requiring safe handling certs vs location of cook or prep.