unixadm
Take a breath!
I'm considering starting up a catering gig during the next 24 months. That would involve purchasing a NSF compliant catering trailer, rotisserie smoker, CVAP warmers and the other odds and ends needed for prep, cooking and serving.
I have the opportunity to purchase a 2011 Cookshack Fast Eddy FEC-750, full stainless rotisserie pellet cooker with the smoke extractor provision. I've been a pellet guy and have owned several Cookshack products. I've been mostly happy with their performance. I do have some concerns that the 750 would be overkill and would make it hard to mount on a trailer to meet California HD standards. The unit has low use and is in good condition, but is missing six racks.
Pros:
- Relatively new.
- Smoke extractor.
- 500 miles away.
Cons:
- Size and Portability.
- Fuel consumption on smaller loads.
The second unit in a 2003 Southern Pride SPK-500 with stainless interior and the digital cook/hold controller. It does not have smoke extraction. It is well used, but the owner indicates it's been maintained. It's missing five racks, could use a new convection fan, and may need a conversion to LPG for my use. Overall the unit looks solid, but it could use a good cleaning, polishing and probably $3-500 in refurbishment (seals, racks, fan, grease, etc).
Pros:
- Full Stainless.
- Digital Controls.
- Size.
Cons:
- Age and Use.
- LPG conversion.
- Could use a deep clean / general refurbishment from restaurant use.
- A bit further at around 800 miles.
- I'm in CA, so having access to good large smoking wood besides oak can be a bit challenging.
I have not inspected either in person. Going off of pictures and talking with the current owners. Neither is local unfortunately. The SPK-500 is nearly $3,000 less than the FEC-750. From my reading, people seem to love the Southern Prides. From customer service to reliability to the product it puts out. Some have complained about lack of smoke, but those who don't have that problem are loading up the firebox in a staged manner with 5-6 logs/splits.
The FEC-750 has always received good comments about taste and performance. The only negative I've read about is the rotisserie being a weak link, along with the igniter rods. I have been cooking with pellets for years so I guess this is my comfort zone.
Resale is also important. I'm thinking that the FEC-750 may hold it's value just a bit better due to it's capacity and newness. I think the SPK-500 is near the lower end of it's depreciation cycle and it probably won't lose much value over the next couple of years.
So for those who use these things every day, tell me what your pros/cons of each. What spares should be kept on hand? What failures have you had? What are the results of the products you're cooking? Do you find your fuel consumption to be excessive? If you had it to do all over again, would you go a different direction?
I understand my message doesn't contain much detail. Cooking wise, butts, brisket, ribs, chicken, turkey, meatloaf, wings, etc. I'd probably have a smaller cooker, like an FEC120 for doing chicken and sides like beans. Not sure just yet about that.
Other cookers I've been kicking around would be:
- Ole Hickory CTO-DW
- FEC-500'
Whatever I buy must be NSF and UL compliant. I'm intrigued by the SP simply because it's something new. However the purists call it a gas oven and I've had food off of a SP here in the Sacramento area at Dickies. However I don't think they use much wood in their cooking process, but maybe they do. However we all said the smoke flavor was pretty weak compared to what I get at home on my pellet cookers, such as my Yoder YS1500.
I've been working for a Fortune 300 company for 18 years next month in Information Technology. I earn a great income, but I'm bored and don't love what I do like I once did. I have really come to like cooking and BBQ, plus I get a lot of great compliments about my food. That doesn't mean it's great, but the reason why I want to buy the cooker first is so that I can practice longer and really validate if it's the right thing to do or not. If not, I'll sell it and any other equipment I've sourced and come up with another idea. If it does, then I have the key component to the operation.
Thanks for any help or feedback.
I have the opportunity to purchase a 2011 Cookshack Fast Eddy FEC-750, full stainless rotisserie pellet cooker with the smoke extractor provision. I've been a pellet guy and have owned several Cookshack products. I've been mostly happy with their performance. I do have some concerns that the 750 would be overkill and would make it hard to mount on a trailer to meet California HD standards. The unit has low use and is in good condition, but is missing six racks.
Pros:
- Relatively new.
- Smoke extractor.
- 500 miles away.
Cons:
- Size and Portability.
- Fuel consumption on smaller loads.
The second unit in a 2003 Southern Pride SPK-500 with stainless interior and the digital cook/hold controller. It does not have smoke extraction. It is well used, but the owner indicates it's been maintained. It's missing five racks, could use a new convection fan, and may need a conversion to LPG for my use. Overall the unit looks solid, but it could use a good cleaning, polishing and probably $3-500 in refurbishment (seals, racks, fan, grease, etc).
Pros:
- Full Stainless.
- Digital Controls.
- Size.
Cons:
- Age and Use.
- LPG conversion.
- Could use a deep clean / general refurbishment from restaurant use.
- A bit further at around 800 miles.
- I'm in CA, so having access to good large smoking wood besides oak can be a bit challenging.
I have not inspected either in person. Going off of pictures and talking with the current owners. Neither is local unfortunately. The SPK-500 is nearly $3,000 less than the FEC-750. From my reading, people seem to love the Southern Prides. From customer service to reliability to the product it puts out. Some have complained about lack of smoke, but those who don't have that problem are loading up the firebox in a staged manner with 5-6 logs/splits.
The FEC-750 has always received good comments about taste and performance. The only negative I've read about is the rotisserie being a weak link, along with the igniter rods. I have been cooking with pellets for years so I guess this is my comfort zone.
Resale is also important. I'm thinking that the FEC-750 may hold it's value just a bit better due to it's capacity and newness. I think the SPK-500 is near the lower end of it's depreciation cycle and it probably won't lose much value over the next couple of years.
So for those who use these things every day, tell me what your pros/cons of each. What spares should be kept on hand? What failures have you had? What are the results of the products you're cooking? Do you find your fuel consumption to be excessive? If you had it to do all over again, would you go a different direction?
I understand my message doesn't contain much detail. Cooking wise, butts, brisket, ribs, chicken, turkey, meatloaf, wings, etc. I'd probably have a smaller cooker, like an FEC120 for doing chicken and sides like beans. Not sure just yet about that.
Other cookers I've been kicking around would be:
- Ole Hickory CTO-DW
- FEC-500'
Whatever I buy must be NSF and UL compliant. I'm intrigued by the SP simply because it's something new. However the purists call it a gas oven and I've had food off of a SP here in the Sacramento area at Dickies. However I don't think they use much wood in their cooking process, but maybe they do. However we all said the smoke flavor was pretty weak compared to what I get at home on my pellet cookers, such as my Yoder YS1500.
I've been working for a Fortune 300 company for 18 years next month in Information Technology. I earn a great income, but I'm bored and don't love what I do like I once did. I have really come to like cooking and BBQ, plus I get a lot of great compliments about my food. That doesn't mean it's great, but the reason why I want to buy the cooker first is so that I can practice longer and really validate if it's the right thing to do or not. If not, I'll sell it and any other equipment I've sourced and come up with another idea. If it does, then I have the key component to the operation.
Thanks for any help or feedback.
