Local Festival Vending (Ribs).....

I have a question that I can't really seem to find on the site. I'm starting to expand my BBQ craft to the masses this year. I want to hit local festivals this Spring and Summer and see if I really want to do this or not.

I've noticed that a lot of the local festivals only give you so much time to prepare onsite before the festival begins. I plan on serving ribs at all festivals I do. I generally need about 6 hours to do ribs which includes the smoker getting to temp. Most of the local festivals like street parties and farmers markets in my area only give you about 3 hours to show up before the event. So my question is do any of you precook ribs before an event? I do have a commissary kitchen that I use. I've catered several events and parties but always cooked Ribs and served right away (Staggered Times as well). I might just have to leave the ribs off my menu. I'm concerned about the quality and I think precooking ribs just might not be what I want to do.

Thanks

bizznessman said:

We have tried ribs at festivals and won't do it anymore. As mentioned by Chuckwagonbbqco we also found that very few folks want ribs at these events due to the "mess" and price. They tend to not be willing to shell out for the price of ribs at these events. We stick with pulled pork/brisket sammies, sides & beverages. People like something they can easily eat while walking around (there isn't always seating available at festivals). We keep it simple and fast. The quicker we can get the customer served and cashed out the happier they are. It also helps our gross sales. One event we attend every year is a street festival. They have an ugly dog contest, at 11:00 am, right across from our booth. When it ends at about noon we get hit with around 300 sales in approximately 45 minutes. Sammies are fast to make and serve and have a MUCH higher profit margin than ribs. We also precook the meats and reheat on site with a grill.

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Awesome... Thanks for the info. I will look into this for sure

I have the necessary food license and insurance. In Florida your required to have a food License even though at the events you pay and they issue a food permit. I've just never vended at a local festival and wasn't sure how to go about doing ribs because most events only allow so much time to setup.