Odd question...


 
B

Bradley Chopp

New member
I have an odd question about how BBQ joints operate…probably an obvious answer, but I cannot figure it out. Keep in mind, these are all hypothetical here: Lets just say you own a small, local BBQ joint. The normal operating hours are, say, 11 AM to 8 PM. Most of your meats take approximately 4 (Ribs, Chicken), 8 (Pork Butt), and 10-12 (Brisket) hours to smoke. How on earth do you get this food ready to be served at 11:00 AM?? Do you:

A) Get there at midnight, stay up and smoke all night, leave at like 2 PM and let someone else operate the place? (Makes sense logistically, but not likely)

B) Spend all day yesterday to cook today’s food, put it in the refrigerator overnight, then re-heat the next day? (More than likely to compromise the quality of the food).

C) Fire up the pit at 10:00 PM before you leave, go home and catch some shut eye, then return at 9:00 AM when the food is done? (The local fire department cringes at this possibility)

I’m baffled here. How do they get food ready for the lunch crowd at 11:00 AM when smoking brisket takes 9-12 hours???
 
I got no idea buuuuuuuuuutttt....I would guess that local BBQ joints are using some type of thermostatically controlled commercial smoker. Once you have your "menu", you can train anyone to prepare it. I'm sure BBQ joints get there meat just the way they need it, slap their signature rub on it, and just toss it in a smoker thats sits at a constant temp. Just thinking out loud here...

Ron
 
I don't know about the chains but the joints I do know about do everything in advance. A place in south Ga I like, the pit man comes in twice, maybe three times in a week and smokes what's needed for the next 3-5 days.
 
We stop at a place in Prattville, AL (Fatboys BBQ, if you're ever in Prattville) every year on vacation, and always check out his pits when we leave, this year his pit guy was there and he had a huge offset going outside with at least 30 butts, foiled in it.
 
I've thought about that also. I can see butt's and brisket, but ribs? (Spares or B/backs)
I see one guy that has a mobil shack and he sets up at a Harley dealership. H makes his own smokers, and the one he was building held 50 eye of round roast he would slice up. I think he cooked on Saturday, and that last the w/e.
 
I was recently fishing in N. GA. and drove by a BBQ place at 9:00 p.m. The pit was a rock and steel thing outside in a fenced-in shed and it was smoking to beat the band. I went by the next day for lunch and a tour with the cook. He had about 8 - 10 fresh hams smoking (in paper sacks, no less). He said they cook for 20 hours. The heat is low in the mornings, but he fires it up. I think he refrigerates his hams and heats them up on a steam table. For some reason most BBQ'rs around GA cook hams and pull them. ???? The meat was good but lacked a smoked taste - due to the sacks I guess. Waste of good smoke.

Loren
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The meat was good but lacked a smoked taste - due to the sacks I guess. Waste of good smoke. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've seen and thought the same thing. I love fresh ham--but I like them sliced.
 
Bradley
That's not an "odd" question. A lot of us dream of opening a barbecue joint and are interested in how it's done. At least I do.

Prof. Kruger,
Fresh ham (chopped) is the thang around here in GA at least for BBQ joints and I find that odd when most of the barbecuing and subsequent talk on the internet is about shoulders.

Loren
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Fresh ham (chopped) is the thang around here in GA at least for BBQ joints and I find that odd when most of the barbecuing and subsequent talk on the internet is about shoulders. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Fortunately (for me) there are many of Q joints in Ga that use butt since I eat Q out in Ga more than any other state. I've had adequate chopped ham but I think butt works better, imo of course; I'd far prefer flavor-brining a ham, cooking it a higher temp to a lower internal, and eating it sliced. The talk of shoulder here and on the rest of the net reflects the experiences of most people around the country--shoulder is far more commonly used at home, in competitions, and in Q joints.
 
It's going to depend on the type of BBQ being prepared . . . and the nature of the restaurant. A more 'commercial' operation might have the type of equipment that provides for automatic temperature controls and doesn't require as much 'hands-on' supervision. Of course some (not all!) of these commercial operations, especially the chains, are using (gasp!) GAS and not wood as their heat source so temp control can be easier. When you get to your more traditional operations, especially whole hog cookers, there's a lot more hands-on control from an experienced pit master.

For a really excellent read on real people doing BBQ the old fashioned way, check out the Southern Foodways BBQ Oral History Project. These are interviews with real people cooking real BBQ in Tennessee. Some of these people are getting on in years and these types of operations might not be around that much longer.

http://www.southernfoodways.com/projects/tnbbq/R00_index.shtml
 
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