Opening a new BBQ restaurant first time smoker!

[mcp12331]

Hello everyone, in a few months I will be helping to open a new "smokehouse" Style restaurant. My boss has placed me in charge of the kitchen and all the smoking. What would  be the best way to get started, I've never done this before. What would be a good meat to start out with  as a practice run?

 

[mdboatbum]

Wow. Read thru these forums and then start off with whatever you think will represent what you might be cooking most. Do you have any culinary experience? Pulled pork is a good place to start as it's forgiving and fairly cheap. Once you get to know the process you can move on to other meats. Good luck!

Sent from my mind using Google Telepathy.

 

[daveomak]

Where are you located ??? What kind of cooking equipment will you have ???

Are there other BBQ joints in your area ???  Just trying to figure out your competition.... Dave

 

[scooper]

I'm not normally a negative person when it comes to food.  Butt...

Making it in the restaurant business is hit or miss.  Mostly miss.  Most fail after the first year.  Almost all struggle.  Some eventually make it. 

Besides atmosphere, informed friendly trained staff, ambiance, and location, the food is what really brings people in. 

You have no experience in BBQ at all, and your boss put you in charge of the kitchen?  Generally, independent restaurants are based around the food that the chef/owner has developed. 

I have seen so many restaurants fail because someone decides they want to own one, they have a good idea of what they want to serve, yet have no direction at all when it comes to the most important part of the operation.  The food. 

Don't get me wrong.  I am wishing you all the luck in the world.  Everyone has to start somewhere.  I hope you have a good working knowledge of food prep and kitchen management.  If so, learning to "Q" should come fairly easy.  Do a LOT of reading here and you'll find some of the best Q methods and recipes to get you started.

 

[mcp12331]

So I guess I should have been more clear, scooper. My boss owns several thriving restaurants in the area, I have several years of cooking experience including prep work, sautéed menus,and some BBQ. I am new to smoking meats, we are taking advice and help from several people but ultimately it will be my decision making and my product. I will have at least 2 months to experiment with it.

It will be the only BBQ place within an hours drive so not much competition there, it's just a small town in PA.

Will keep reading up on these forums and do some more research, and thanks for the luck. I will be needing it!

 

[solaryellow]

Poultry is a cheap meat to start practicing on. Pork shoulders are pretty forgiving. Briskets are painful until you screw it up enough times that you know what not to do. Ribs are fairly easy too if you start with the 3-2-1 and 2-2-1 methods. Sounds like you are in for a crash course and this forum is going to be one of the most helpful places to learn your new craft. Good luck!

 

[scooper]

I am glad to hear he is a successful restaurateur, and that you are an experienced cook.

Start with the basics:

Butt

Spare Ribs

Chicken - thighs and wings are the easiest.

Once you can do those easily, move on to the more difficult stuff like brisket.

Good luck!

 

[rbranstner]

So I guess I should have been more clear, scooper. My boss owns several thriving restaurants in the area, I have several years of cooking experience including prep work, sautéed menus,and some BBQ. I am new to smoking meats, we are taking advice and help from several people but ultimately it will be my decision making and my product. I will have at least 2 months to experiment with it.

It will be the only BBQ place within an hours drive so not much competition there, it's just a small town in PA.

Will keep reading up on these forums and do some more research, and thanks for the luck. I will be needing it!

Well that sounds a lot better. Your first post had  me worried that you didn't have any experience and were getting thrown into this. Sounds like you don't have any competition which could really work in your favor. We have a similar situation where I live as there aren't any "Good" BBQ joints in this area. There have been a few that  have come and gone around here but they weren't any good so they didn't stick around very long. If you can put out some good Q and get the word to spread you could end up having a gold mine. Personally if I was going to a BBQ joint I would be looking for ribs, pulled pork and brisket. I would also say some type of chicken would be good to have as well. My best advice  would be to read a bit here  and then the best thing you can do is start practicing. Start making stuff and you will learn a ton. Invite your friends and family over for some taste testing and get their honest opinions on what needs to change until you get a top notch product. Best of luck to you.

 

[roller]

I would start with whole chickens then you can half or qtr them up to sell as you please...Pork Butts are next  but you will have to have Briskets sooner or later then Ribs..The tools that you need to learn all of those things are on this site just start reading and smoking...I would get me a nice big stick burner...and a nice stack of Oak Wood seasoned well.  And may I say...The Very Best to you !! I like your style ! !

 

[tdwester]

I would assume you are using an electric smoker? It is like the old saying. "How do you get to Broadway"? Practice practice practice.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Where in PA are you going to open? Seems to me, Chicken, Pulled Pork and Baby Back Ribs will be your biggest seller...Has your equipment been installed? What Smoker are you working with? Are you going more traditional Smoking Styles or are you going to use a Combi-oven with a CharBroiler finish? What Regional Style do you plan on focusing on? I wish you best of Luck on what will be a very busy next several months...I have opened two new restaurants and it is a very exciting but Exhausting time...JJ

 

[SmokinAl]

First of all welcome to SMF, and good luck with your new business. 

Would do us a favor & update your profile info to include your location, then head over to roll call & introduce yourself so we can all give you a SMF welcome.

 

[africanmeat]

I am glad to hear he is a successful restaurateur, and that you are an experienced cook.

Start with the basics:

Butt

Spare Ribs

Chicken - thighs and wings are the easiest.

Once you can do those easily, move on to the more difficult stuff like brisket.

Good luck!

  I will second that and good luck

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Mcp, develop a really good Patience . You are going to need it, a good pitmaster will not rush the food . Watch the temps., judge the time and keep the Smoke light.

You should have plenty to do in between and can show the Boss you're decicated to his welfare.

Start with Chicken, and Fatties ; or Pork Butt , fairly easy. Just get it done and try to sell the taste without adding any sauce... the sign of a good B-B-Que.

Good luck and...

 

[mcp12331]

Chef jimmy j: we aren't sure yet what regional style we are going to focus on, still experimenting with sauces and rubs to see what works best. The smoker is not yet installed and we are still deciding on what kind. The restaurant is going to be in central PA near Danville.

Thanks smokinAl and I will do that.

To everyone thats given me advice on where to start thank you all!

 

[pops6927]

As you are in a time crunch, I would not start with something easy myself.  Go with a variety and do chicken, ribs, butts and briskets right from the start.  If you wait on briskets it will take you too long to get a working feel for them, and you must get accustomed to preparing all at any time anyways.  Your boss will have to be tolerant and give you opportunity (and resources) to practice practice practice and you, he and the staff will have to eat all your mistakes and successes constantly (oh we should all have this horrible problem, lol!).  You can also create a menu of fatties too, breakfast, lunch and dinner - yum!  Do some of each every day, get the basics down first then get creative.  Have patience, read the wiki on stalls, understand what's happening, and most importantly, keep detailed records of everything you do and update them constantly!  Good luck and we'll give you addresses if you practice too much!

 

[pops6927]

Oh yes, and pictures tell a thousand words, so take lots of Qview and keep us abreast of what you're accomplishing!  And of course, we are always here to help!

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Remember...Patience