I want to be the best in Putnam county

[bbqchamp]

Hello Smoke World,

My name is Lataveus, I'm 22 years old and I'm about to buy my first smoker. I need to learn alot about smoking in a small amount of time. I decided that i would open a BBQ restaurant some time around April or June. can somebody please help me. I don't even know how to light a firebox. 

 

[waysideranch]

Lat, my friend unless you are master chef you may want to hold on a minute.  You could learn everything here but wow that would be a crazy idea for that short of time on a smoker.    IMO.  Good luck for sure. 

 

[fpnmf]

Welcome!!

Go to the top of the page and click on WIKI.

Read all of them.

Then ask questions and use the handy dandy search tool.

Have a great day, good luck and have fun!!

  Craig

 

[realtorterry]

First welcome, second check out the free ecourse offered on the home page, third, well your assuming you can learn this in a few months? Alot of us including me have been at this along time & are still learning!!

 

[les3176]

Well all i can say is good luck with that!!!! Like everyone said READ alot and from the sounds of it fast!!! Maybe you should think about hiring someone that knows bbq and how to do it before you think about opening a resturant. Thats alot of money to spend without any skills on the pit. Plus theres the food safety to consider.Cooking at home is alot differant than cooking for the public.My cousin opened a bar afew years ago that i helped him when he started first thing he did was got a cook that work in bar kitchens for 10 years. I think that was a huge help. We spent months in the kitchen working on his wings,pizza etc etc. I still help him with his sauces and think up new ones for him.The bar has been open for 5 years now.And i am proud to say he's won erie's best wings 4 years in a row now.So jumping into a resturant can be done but your gonna need alot of help.Ask questions alot and i think everyone here will do their best to help ya out!...Good luck,and i'm sure we'll be hearing from you again soon!

 

[virginiasmokesignal]

As someone else said, First, sign up for the free 5 day E-Course or if you want it all at once you can get a good PDF Format of the course for about 4 bucks, you may have to go to the Smoking Meat Store or Web Site to get the PDF format.  When you have read all the material in the course till you half way understand it get the best smoke you can afford and familiarize yourself with it and how it operates.  Then Read, Read, Read and Read some more, the wiki is a good place to start and don't worry if you don't understand something, the only dumb question ask here is the one you do not ask!  I do agree with les3176, getting someone with some commercial pit experience behind them will be of great help, or at least someone who has been in the restaurant business before, as cooking at home is a whole lot different than cooking commercially and you must follow all the health department rules as they will check to see if you are.  I wish you all the luck in the world but like many of us here who have been smoking for several years we learn something new everyday here.  We are glad to have you here with us and hope that we can be of help to you as  you begin your smoking career.....just remember....low and slow, to me, the three greatest words in BBQ.  Best of Luck to you!

Barry

aka VirginiaSmokeSignal

 

[SmokinAl]

Good luck to you. We will all be watching your progress. You have set the bar pretty high for yourself. 

 

[bbqchamp]

I really thank all of you for your support. I have been barbecuing for about 8 years. Now I'm just trying to make the transition from using a charcoal pit to a wood smoker. I don't really don't know how to keep a constant temp for a long period of time. I'm figuring it shouldn't be that hard to learn. With a little help from my smoking meat family.

 

[pineywoods]

Welcome to SMF I was in Palatka not all that long ago. Good luck with your plan. Smoking with wood isn't really that hard what kind of smoker are you going to be using and we might be able to give you some help with it

 

[beer-b-q]

 

Welcome to SMF, Glad to have you with us.
 

This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.
 

For those of you new to Smoking, be sure to check out Jeff's 5 Day Smoking Basics eCourse.

Click Here it's "FREE" ... 5 Day eCourseE

 

[meateater]

Stick around and Read, Read,Read. Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

 

 

[scarbelly]

Welcome and like the others have said read like a fool and reread especially the processes.  At 22 I am concerned that you do not have the business skills necessary to RUN the restaurant. The health laws alone are going to cause you serious greif not to mention how to purchase for a profit. I would seriously take some restaurant courses and some business management before even thinking about such an endeavor. Good luck and keep up posted  

 

[the dude abides]

I really thank all of you for your support. I have been barbecuing for about 8 years. Now I'm just trying to make the transition from using a charcoal pit to a wood smoker. I don't really don't know how to keep a constant temp for a long period of time. I'm figuring it shouldn't be that hard to learn. With a little help from my smoking meat family.

Lataveus,

God bless ya for chasing the dream.  And from reading the copy'd thread, you're not totally new to BBQ.  But in the opening thread you also said you "didn't even know how to light a firebox".  

That scares me for you.  But I admire you for wanting to do this.  I'm going with the assumption that you're more of an entrepenuer than a BBQ lover and you see a need for this type of resturant in your area.  Just beware.  BBQ is one of those foods (like pizza) that in my mind, that people will instantly notice if it's not good, or just average.  That doesn't fly.  Especially in the south.  That's not to say this isn't possible...but not likely probable.  I don't want to put cold water on your dream, but I'd rather hurt your feelings that have you piss away your life savings on an unreal idea.

However, following Les' thread, if you choose to do this, my advice is to find an experienced resturant BBQ person to run your kitchen.  As the mastermind of this resturant, it's likely you're more suited for a front of house position where you can be in the limelight and shmoozing with the customers.

Good luck in whatever you do.  Be sure to let us know what you do.