Hello there. Well I have been smoking and cooking for several years on old off sets, the last 6 years with XL Green Egg, but i just achieved a 15 year dream and purchased a Lang 60 deluxe with the 40 char grill in front. Just had first cook yesterday.
So I am sure this has been discussed, but I am wanting to do some very limited part time catering/ fairs/ farmers markets... and I have NO CLUE what you need to do. I know you need a food card, business license, but that is all i know. The net talks about a separate kitchen for prepping meat? Totally lost, any help?
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Welcome to The Pit Papa's BBQ ! Ncie to have you and your experience here. Congrats on the fine smoker! To get a wide angle intro to the commercial food service industry's ups & downs, please check out Meathead's article on the subject.
Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.
Also, it's very important that you add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list in case you are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner!
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Grilla Grills Pellet Pizza Oven
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks Square DOT
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Joule Turbo Sous Vide Circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
Cookers:
Large Big Green Egg with a Ceramic Grill Store rack system, and the SnS setup.
Weber Genesis SA-E-330 LP INDIGO with SS Grates, Weber Crafted frame kit, baking stone, griddle (2/3), all from Ace Hardware.
For the first time in a long time I have no kettles as I gave them all away.
Everything Else:
SnS #3 with certificate. I was their first customer.
Sous Vide equipment.
SnS and Thermoworks instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates for BGE.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church Holy Cow.
Rubs without salt: Home-mixed versions of previously sold SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef using their recipe. SPOG.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
Welcome, Papa. Here in Texas any food sold or given to the general public has to be prepared in a kitchen which is inspected regularly by the Health Department. Your own local department can probably give you some guidance as to what is required.
Hey Papa, doing catering is fun, but there are a few things to do before you start. Cold and hot storage will cost you as much as the cooking apparatus, and cannot be omitted. Sanitation is also very important, but cheaper to accomplish and keep up with. Your food temps need to be below 40, and above 140. In between is verboten. As a long time pro(38 years), my experience is to really watch the logistics of every job. The cooking is the easy part, really. The setup, cleaning and re-cleaning, and storage is what separates the rock stars from the groupies, so to speak. This is not meant to dissuade you in any way, just to give you a heads up. It isn't that difficult to put this together, nor accomplish a good cater, but if you want to have the best food and guest experience, one needs to be aware of all this stuff.
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