Matthews - Sounds like you are kickin ass with your first two events. A friend and I are also starting a small food vendor venture at a local park concert series and would love some advice. We are doing smoked ribs and chicken drumsticks. The ribs are traditional spicy sweet dry rub with a sweet and tangy finishing sauce, smoked for ~3 hours. The chicken drums are the same recipe and turn out great (but really we added as a belly filler because they are fabulously cheap).
Our first event is coming up July 27 and I'm trying to figure out the logistics of having the food pre-smoked and ready to finish on the grill upon order. I was thinking of renting a
hot box to store ribs and drums in while I get another batch going in the smoker. I've read that ribs can be kept hot in these things for up to a few hours and actually tenderize further as a result. We are allowed to begin setup at 8AM and the event starts at 2PM, it's mainly a dinner crowd. I figured if I can have a batch done by Noon and a second batch coming out at 3:30, I should be good. What do you think of this procedure? Do you have any general start-up tips?
Much Respect for going for the BBQ glory. I hope to get there soon.
nerb