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Catering, Food Handling and Awareness *OnTopic* Forum to educate us on safe food handling. Not specifically for Catering or competition but overall health and keeping our families safe too.


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Old 07-05-2014, 06:11 AM   #1
GottaQ
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Default Best Food Truck/catering smoker

Our Food Truck, GottaQ BBQ Food Truck and Catering from Cumberland RI has a Problem. We are now so busy that our onboard smoker (smokin tex 1500 cxdl) can't handle the volume! We use this smoker with the electric element because local laws wouldn't allow wood/charcoal or wood/gas burning in a moving vehicle and we need to cook all the time. I own a stick burner and a propane driven wood but neither is "Commercial use" approved!
Our 1st choice was an FEC120 but we were warned about auger problems in a bouncing truck so we decided not to use it!
We are going to build a Trailer for more Fridge and Prep space that goes with the truck but am caught up in the "Which Smoker is the best choice" dilema!
We could stand a little more smoke (and smoke ring, lol) on our Q but need to find a commercial smoker that is 300-500lb capacity, Rotisserie, and lets us sleep at night so we can vend at long events during the day.
We are proud of the quality of our Q and want to stay as true to "Lo & Slo", Applewood Smoked Meats as we can but How do you stay Traditional, do volume and Sleep, all in the same sentence??
Which smoker would be the best for the trailer?? Pellet, LP, Charcoal/Wood
Any Help would be appreciated
Mike
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Old 07-05-2014, 07:44 AM   #2
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I'm confused. At first you say that you chose an electric smoker because you can't use other types of smokers while the truck is moving and then you ask for recommendations on non-electric smokers. Is cooking while moving no longer a concern for you or are you still going to rely on your electric smoker for that and use the new smoker only for onsite cooks?
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Old 07-05-2014, 11:08 PM   #3
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Old hickory or Southern Pride. A few options to choose from.
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Old 07-06-2014, 07:28 PM   #4
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Thats how confused I was, not telling the whole story, LOL! We are building a commissary trailer for prep that tows behind the BBQ Truck. It Will Be Used At Home Parked and ONSITE, not while it's moving! It will have a full kitchen including lots of refridgeration, Prep tables, Prep and wash sinks and a very large capacity Smoker!
Looking at FEC 500/750 for pellet, similiar sizes from Southern Pride and Ole Hickory for gas as well as some of the "Look Alike" less expensive units. No restriction on type here so just need maximum smoke, overnite w/o loosing too much sleep but not sacrifice the quality of Our Q!!
Gas, Pellet, Charcoal, Wood? What ever lets me continue to serve the Best BBQ I can!
Mike
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Old 07-06-2014, 08:05 PM   #5
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Most of the restaurants here in Memphis use Southern Prides, but some also use Ole Hickory smokers. I don't think you could go wrong with either one. You can get a lot of smoke flavor in your meat with both of those smokers if you use enough wood in addition to the gas. I am not aware of any commercial operations here that use pellet smokers, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

I would look at the models that Southern Pride and Ole Hickory have available that fit your capacity needs and budget to see which one would work best for you. I would also keep a lookout on eBay and Craigslist since a used one in good shape could save you a lot of money, even if you have to drive a long way to pick it up. The seller might even agree to deliver the smoker or at least meet you halfway.
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Old 07-07-2014, 02:14 AM   #6
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Real Urban Barbecue in Chicago uses a FEC Pellet Cooker.
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Old 07-10-2014, 01:55 PM   #7
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OK, So I'll expand on the Question, FEC 500 Pellets OR Southern Pride or Ole Hickory Equivelent LP/Wood??? Best for Smoke Flavor, Smoke Ring, Authentic BBQ. I Use Apple so I struggle with smoke sometimes depending on the wood i get!!
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:46 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GottaQ View Post
OK, So I'll expand on the Question, FEC 500 Pellets OR Southern Pride or Ole Hickory Equivelent LP/Wood??? Best for Smoke Flavor, Smoke Ring, Authentic BBQ. I Use Apple so I struggle with smoke sometimes depending on the wood i get!!
SO this might be going the opposite route, but might make more sense. Why not sell the food truck and just upgrade to a porch trailer that have enough room to do what you need. Mount a southern pride or ole hickory on the porch with the opening inside the trailer. Just a thought.
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:53 PM   #9
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Trailer is in addition to the food truck!! The events I'm doing are Food Truck Festivals where the big trailers are not allowed to vend. The Truck does great for daytime Lunches, Suppers and Catering but the festivals can be 15-30-50 Trucks and can reach 10k-30k-50k people over 2 days. BBQ is by far the Hardest "Food Truck" to own/Operate because of the Prep/Cook Times but i really am getting it down to a science. We're turning over 40 orders and hour with 2 of us and the events are getting bigger, OK, We're Gonna Die!! LOL
We Love It!!
Mike
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:55 PM   #10
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BTW, We are NOT sacrificing our Quality for Volume, Just Sleep!!
Mike
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Old 07-11-2014, 02:20 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GottaQ View Post
OK, So I'll expand on the Question, FEC 500 Pellets OR Southern Pride or Ole Hickory Equivelent LP/Wood??? Best for Smoke Flavor, Smoke Ring, Authentic BBQ. I Use Apple so I struggle with smoke sometimes depending on the wood i get!!
As a disclaimer, I have an FEC120 and LOVE FECs. Now, having said that....

Smoke flavor is subjective. As an example, I took my brother and father to a place tonight that has 3 oylers, which many would agree are probably the gold standard in restaurant BBQ smokers, as authentic as you usually can get in a commercial setting. I loved the food. My father and brother though did not care for it as much as I did. They enjoyed it, but both felt the smoke flavor was too overpowering. Looking at yelp, the have lots of great reviews, but there were some that felt the same way about the smoke being too much. My point is not any ding against the place as I think the food was awesome, but that smoke flavor and how intense it is is definitely subjective.

The FEC does give a little lighter smoke flavor, but I do not view that as a negative. Also, it is easy to add a little more smoke with simple accessories.

I like that they are super easy to run by any staff, its much easier and cleaner to store pellets than wood splits, no need for any gas or special electrical hookup, and virtually no chance of fire in the cook chamber as all models other than the 100 have a seperate furnace outside the cook chamber. I would have much less of an issue running an FEC all night than a gas assisted pit like a SP or OH.
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Old 07-11-2014, 04:17 AM   #12
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Old Hickory CTO or CTODW
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