BBQ Food Truck questions

Most ppl on this site haven't got a clue how restaurants prepare their menu. They have never been in a restaurant kitchen.

Just like the original poster to this topic who thought most BBQ trucks smoked their ribs in a truck

You can tell all the posters on this site who said they love Tony Romas ribs.....

Or the hundreds who walk into a TV BBQ Pitmasters restaurant near me

they are eating oven baked liquid smoked ribs.

BTW the next time you eat pasta in a high volumn restaurant, enjoy it cuz it's been cooked a day or 3 before. You can also enjoy the warm rolls and butter that have been on a previous diners table along with the salad from a big bowl who everyone puts their hands into. Yum. The list goes on and on.

And, thats from a "good" restaurant.

But.....you already knew that.
 
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Motley Q said:
@smokethis

Ever eaten ribs at chilis, fridays, longhorn, roadhouse, o'charleys, applebees, ruby tuesday, etc??

Then you've eaten ribs prepared this way.:loco::loco:

surprissssse, surprisssse
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As I do restaurant refrigeration, those chains you speak of in this area get most of there food pre cooked and frozen and then thaw them when needed and only warm up on the grill. I am also starting to see
more microwave use than grill use in chain restaurants.
 
Check out the pitmaker site... they have some pretty nice trailers outfitted with several cooker styles!
Take a look at Ernest Servantes new pit that he bought with his winnings from Chopped!
 
Motley Q said:
@smokethis

Ever eaten ribs at chilis, fridays, longhorn, roadhouse, o'charleys, applebees, ruby tuesday, etc??

Then you've eaten ribs prepared this way.:loco::loco:

surprissssse, surprisssse
Click to expand...

Those ribs are fine for what they are. Mass produced garbage. I would be able to tell in an instant and that would be my only trip to your crappy restaurant.
 
bobaftt said:
Those ribs are fine for what they are. Mass produced garbage. I would be able to tell in an instant and that would be my only trip to your crappy restaurant.[/Q



That's ok.... those restaurants do fine without you walking in the door.

The next time you're in pigeon forge.......don't order the ribs at Tony Romas....but you already knew that.

Blah blah
Click to expand...
 
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Motley Q said:
bobaftt said:
Those ribs are fine for what they are. Mass produced garbage. I would be able to tell in an instant and that would be my only trip to your crappy restaurant.[/Q



That's ok.... those restaurants do fine without you walking in the door.

The next time you're in pigeon forge.......don't order the ribs at Tony Romas....but you already knew that.

Blah blah
Click to expand...

Most restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's, etc. can make it with offering ribs because they don't hang their hat on them. It's not their "cash cow". But you won't see their ribs carrying the joint, I can tell you that. But that's okay. The average person who goes to places like that to get their rib/bbq fix has never eaten anything else. That's all they know. And again, that's okay.

Funny you mentioned Tony Romas. They DO push their ribs as their "show hog" of the menu. What they hang their hat on so to speak. The one in our city was doing great until places like the Country Tavern and Silver Smoke House starting popping up. Then they shut their doors. Slowly but surely those who went to Tony Romas to get their BBQ fix started venturing out into places that did it a different way and liked it better. They could tell the difference and Tony Roma's going out of business proved that.
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Motley Q said:
A restaurant trick...

No smoking necessary.


Dust some ribs, put in a pan with liquid smoke, cover, and place in an oven.

Finish on a grill if they have one.

Probably most on this site has eaten ribs prepared this way but not know it.
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That may be the most inaccurate post I have seen on here..and that includes most of mine. :doh:


Motley..I hate to tell you, but most of the folks on this site WOULD know better.
There is not even a close comparison to meat cooked with liquid smoke and the real deal.


Next.


To the OP:

It is a mixture between what the HD will allow, what your audience is, and what you can afford.

Southern Pride units work well for trucks, but are gas fired cookers with minimal smoke.
Most HDs want NSF certification which narrows your choices substantially.

If you can get your HD to accept a non-NSF unit (a lot have), then your choices open up tremendously.
 
Tell that to the millions of ppl who eat ribs prepared that way everyday

Put em on the grill to finish and booyah


Hate to tell ya porky but I know of at least 2 TV BBQ Pitmasters who do ribs that way in their restaurants.


Never heard a compaint about the taste.

Doesn't make it right........just a fact.
 
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Guess I'm the odd ball. I cook everything fresh for both concessions and catering. Yes this means up most of the night even when I do get to lay my head down it's barely considered resting. When I sell concessions I pull my trailer to my spot and my Lang 84 by making two trips early 7am on Saturday mornings after cooking most of the night. We will usually sell from 11am-3pm as late as 5 or 6pm. Then I pull my Lang home and go back Sunday morning and get my concessions trailer.

I would not recommend this as it is exhausting. I can do it as much as 3 nights in a row and then I am dead but usually only 1 night. One day I would like to upgrade to a 24ft trailer and a Southern Pride but that will require going full time to even think about paying for it.
 
Motley Q said:
Tell that to the millions of ppl who eat ribs prepared that way everyday

Put em on the grill to finish and booyah


Hate to tell ya porky but I know of at least 2 TV BBQ Pitmasters who do ribs that way in their restaurants.


Never heard a compaint about the taste.

Doesn't make it right........just a fact.
Click to expand...

"Porky" cute. :doh:


I wouldn't go around bragging about BBQ restaurant or TV BBQ Pitmasters food in their restaurants. :tape:

At least not where people can see. :roll:


If your gold standard is what you eat at Dickeys, Sonny's or Tony Romas, then we really have nothing to discuss anyways. :shock:
 
SirPorkaLot said:
"Porky" cute. :doh:


I wouldn't go around bragging about BBQ restaurant or TV BBQ Pitmasters food in their restaurants. :tape:

At least not where people can see. :roll:


If your gold standard is what you eat at Dickeys, Sonny's or Tony Romas, then we really have nothing to discuss anyways. :shock:
Click to expand...

I got to give him credit though. He's hell bent on telling us we CANNOT tell the difference. No matter if we really can. I know I can. I've eaten at Tony Roma's, Applebee's and Chili's and there was an obvious taste difference. I'm not saying their stuff was "awful". If it was "awful" it wouldn't sell. But if I'm using a criteria of smoke flavor, texture, and tenderness. I can usually tell you real quick if something was truly Q'd or not.

We used to have a "Smokey Bones" here in Shreveport that stayed open less than a year and a half. The first time I went I had their rib plate I notice the texture and just the overall flavor didn't seem like anything I'd ever eaten that I knew was pulled out of a smoker. So I asked the waiter if these were smoked in a smoker in the back or not. He asked me why I asked. I told him I do a lot of Q'n and something didn't taste right. Not meaning it tasted "bad" but just different. He said they didn't actually smoke them their but were shipped frozen and already prepped they just tossed them on the grill. He never said if they were actually smoked or not. But either way. I was right about them not being smoked there. So I could tell some form of difference.
 
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Motley Q said:
Tell that to the millions of ppl who eat ribs prepared that way everyday

Put em on the grill to finish and booyah


Hate to tell ya porky but I know of at least 2 TV BBQ Pitmasters who do ribs that way in their restaurants.


Never heard a compaint about the taste.

Doesn't make it right........just a fact.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you are being intentionally dense or not? No one is debating whether or not you can get crappy non bbq ribs from a chain restaurant or even from a so called bbq joint. What we are saying is that we can tell the difference and wouldn't eat ribs there. Have I had applebees ribs before? Sure. Did I expect the same result that I get with 6 hours in the backyard? Nope.
 
the bottom line of advice in my oppinion, is what type of food quaility do YOU want to prepare, put your name on it and sell to the cash buyer. If some nit-wit thinks you can outsmart the customer, let him do it, while you are seeing your lines get bigger. Yes, I have been out-sold by the bigger vendors who bring in thier ribs pre-smoked and so be it...at the end of the day I KNOW that what was sold was real and not just a misconception or deception. Be true to your self and your customers and it will work out..real bbq sometimes does not mean bigger profit, but if you stay real then so will your customers...they can tell..
 
BigBellyBBQ said:
the bottom line of advice in my oppinion, is what type of food quaility do YOU want to prepare, put your name on it and sell to the cash buyer. If some nit-wit thinks you can outsmart the customer, let him do it, while you are seeing your lines get bigger. Yes, I have been out-sold by the bigger vendors who bring in thier ribs pre-smoked and so be it...at the end of the day I KNOW that what was sold was real and not just a misconception or deception. Be true to your self and your customers and it will work out..real bbq sometimes does not mean bigger profit, but if you stay real then so will your customers...they can tell..
Click to expand...

Amen brother!
 
BigBellyBBQ said:
the bottom line of advice in my oppinion, is what type of food quaility do YOU want to prepare, put your name on it and sell to the cash buyer. If some nit-wit thinks you can outsmart the customer, let him do it, while you are seeing your lines get bigger. Yes, I have been out-sold by the bigger vendors who bring in thier ribs pre-smoked and so be it...at the end of the day I KNOW that what was sold was real and not just a misconception or deception. Be true to your self and your customers and it will work out..real bbq sometimes does not mean bigger profit, but if you stay real then so will your customers...they can tell..
Click to expand...

So FECs and Southern Prides are keeping it "real"?
 
C Rocke said:
We have 2 trucks out here in LA and Orange County - Happy to share what we know. PM me with a phone number and I will give you a call. Best of luck!
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And may I say that I liked the pulled pork and mac and cheese!! Mrs. SJ and I almost wolfed it down in the parking lot of your store on Tustin Ave.
 
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