Taking the plunge. Selling BBQ!

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chaostheory

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Hey fellas,
Well everyone who came over loved my bbq bla bla bla same story I've read on here a 1000 times. So, I'm going to do a small venture with 0 risk except for my time. Im going to try and sell brisket once or twice a month at my butchers shop. I have a pitmaker vault and UDS. going to start with 2 briskets at a time and see where we go! My butcher covers all the cost of meat and supply I do the smoking, we split the profit. My questions are:
1. how the hell can a guy make money selling brisket? I mean I've got to sell it at like 24 bucks a pound to split a profit with my butcher. I've seen bbq joints sell brisket for 13 bucks a pound. That hardly covers cost??
2. This is the biggest issue I have is the serve time. I really need help and suggestion on this one. The way I smoke brisket is about 11-12 hour process at 250*.4-6 in smoke then wrap till done usually 2.5-4 hours and let rest for 3-4 wrapped in towels. The butcher wants to target a 3-6pm crowd which means I've got to have the meet on by 3-6AM. Any suggestions to make my life easier with start times.


Thanks guys ANY suggestion is welcome!
 
You need a lot larger plan than just selling 6-8 briskets. At cost x 3 I'd be closer to $30lb right now. People won't pay it in my neck of the woods. In my experience (and other may chime in with different results) the 3-6pm time range for a Saturday always sucks for food sales. We make most of our sales from 11am-2:30pm. On Saturdays I think people are planning to go out to dinner that evening and maybe the 3-6pm would be better on a weekday where people can grab dinner on the way home from work. I'd see about a plan to serve multiple selections of meats and sides from say 11am-6pm of you would like to turn a profit. As for making things easier well that's just the nature of the beast to cook all night serve all days and spend most of Sunday cleaning up from it all. Good Luck! It's a lot of work but fun and rewarding.
 
HBMTN What would you suggest selling brisket at per cooked pound if its costing me 3.83 a pound raw.
 
chaostheory said:
HBMTN What would you suggest selling brisket at per cooked pound if its costing me 3.83 a pound raw.
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I was paying $3.79lb this past season and charging $19lb. I'm in pork country so we don't sell lots of brisket by the lb. If you see my other post I am now paying $4.25lb and with a 45% yield (sell able product) from a whole packer my cost is close to $9lb. I need to be at $25-$28lb but people won't pay it. I've had no problem getting $9 for a brisket sandwich though. Brisket is getting about like ribs are, not worth fooling with based on what you can make off of them.
 
"Serve Time"
I see you own a Vault. I'm not real familiar with them but I see they are a vertical box (insulated I presume). I have a BWS and I often do cooks for my fellow co-workers and have the same challenges (a mans gotta sleep right?). I load my BWS into the back of my pickup and I do the overnight cook right there using a Guru to get me through the night. Before I leave my house in the AM, I close the damper all the way down to just a crack to avoid the smoke stack from acting like a Ventura and sucking air through the smoker, running the temps way up to 450° (did that once). Plug the Guru into your cigarette light 12Volt for my 45 minute drive into work. WORKS AWESOME EVERYTIME! Good luck with your venture and most of all, Enjoy it!
 
16+ hours of work to sell 2 briskets?

Your doing all the work yet are splitting your profits with the butcher?

Theres no money in selling brisket right now. I'd look into doing pulled pork sammies instead.
 
Thanks for the ideas. I do like it very much, this is my hobby. Bubba Im just doing two briskets to drum up interest. I don't want to smoke 6 or 8 briskets and not have the interest there yet. So, I'll kinda take a hit in the beginning but the hope is this will build.
 
If you are in the Butchers parking lot, and he makes his own links, those would most likely get decent profits for you.
 
are you cooking this on site?

just wondering how you are getting around your HD regs since you are selling to the public
 
ButtBurner said:
are you cooking this on site?

just wondering how you are getting around your HD regs since you are selling to the public
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Butcher shops most likely have their own kitchens. Your cooking for them so no permit needed.
 
I am cooking on sit and the butcher shop holds all the correct permits. I think the sausage idea is a good one. So then what do BBQ joints make their money on if not brisket?
 
chaostheory said:
I am cooking on sit and the butcher shop holds all the correct permits. I think the sausage idea is a good one. So then what do BBQ joints make their money on if not brisket?
Click to expand...

I can only speak for my self..... brisket is break even at my shack, I bank on pulled pork, sides, drinks and specialties. Drinks and sides are big money makers..... soda cost is less then .25 and I get 1.50, sweet tea is even better. You have to adjust the price with the cost.... but keep it within the what the market will bare

Clint
 
chaostheory said:
I am cooking on sit and the butcher shop holds all the correct permits. I think the sausage idea is a good one. So then what do BBQ joints make their money on if not brisket?
Click to expand...

Pork Pork Pork in my neck of the woods
 
Traditionally where I live everyone has always eaten tri tip. But, everyone seem so burnt out on tri tip and discussed with the price. I'm hoping to introduce some good ol' briskets to the area. What do you guys sell your pork butt sammies for?
 
We sell pork sandwiches for $5 but looking around the country I've seen others sell for as high as $8 in other areas.
 
chaos, where in NorCal are you looking to start up? I am pretty familiar with the area and BBQ markets.

There is a huge potential for brisket in a lot of areas, however, you will need to adjust your plans some. If you are in the Bay Area, you can easily approach $20 to $22 a pound with a quality brisket product. Sacramento, probably do that as well. Northern Coast and Jefferson areas, you are going to need a different meat plan.

I also agree with the idea that you will need to be selling earlier than 3pm to sell any appreciable amounts of meat. Which does mean losing sleep. Since you are firing the Vault up and your costs are fixed other than meat, you might was well cook more. It will be a shame to cook two packers and be out of meat within an hour.

Traditionally, brisket has been a tough sell in California, but, that has changed over the past 5 years, and you certainly can sell a lot, with just a little advertising. Ribs and pulled pork are still the biggest sellers. And to be honest, most Californians still possess crappy BBQ palates. Still, brisket is hot and fashionable, advertise up front for a week or two.
 
Incidentally, brisket sandwiches are a good way to get $25 a pound for brisket. You can sell a brisket sandwich with 4 ounces of meat for around $8 to $10 in the metro areas pretty easily. Toss in a cheap soda and tiny bag of chips and you are up to $12 a sandwich.
 
brisket is what's known in the business as a loss leader. You make up for losing money on brisket, by selling pork. 2 briskets a day, after 12hrs of smoking, a bag of charcoal. You're going to be splitting peanuts. BBQ is a volume business, like any other business. I'm around 18/lb for brisket, if the prices keep going up, mine will have to also. But I currently sell twice as much pork as i do beef, so for the time being, i'm alright.
 
landarc said:
Incidentally, brisket sandwiches are a good way to get $25 a pound for brisket. You can sell a brisket sandwich with 4 ounces of meat for around $8 to $10 in the metro areas pretty easily. Toss in a cheap soda and tiny bag of chips and you are up to $12 a sandwich.
Click to expand...


THAT'S THE TICKET!!!! Sage advice there. :thumb:
 
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