longwayfromhome
Full Fledged Farker
I am very interested in commercial BBQ processes. While timing is very important (in relation to when customer demands are expected), the long times associated with the smoking/cooking process + the batch-nature of the process, means that whatever way you time things, quite a significant proportion of the cooked meat must be held for varying lengths of time before final serving. There are really only two ways of holding – cooling and reheating , or holding at a high heat. I am ignoring the third alternative – reheating by grilling (which effectively is a partial cook followed by a finishing cook).
How is it that some BBQ restaurants are good at this and some are not? I was watching a youtube video taken at the counter of Franklins BBQ in Austin, and the ribs were sourced out of a warmer, where they were sitting wrapped in foil. Franklin ribs have been reported as ‘ordinary’ through ‘fantastic’. I recently tried BBQ that was foiled, then held in a steam holding unit – the pulled pork was mushy (I believe due to the holding) yet the ribs held in exactly the same way were way better. I have tried brisket and ribs in Albuquerque, where they were pulled out of a very warm pit directly behind the serving counter and the meat was juicy as in straight off the smoker (which it kinda was, but it was a holding pit). In five BBQ joints tried in one week, three places had ribs that were tasty, but quite dry, in each case being served from a pile just sitting in warming containers (chafing dishes). I also suspect that a fair proportion of places that sauce their meats do so to counter the dryness of held meat.
So, are there any secrets people can pass on regarding their chosen holding processes? Seems like there must be some real subtleties in there somewhere. Food warmers/holding units are not cheap, are quite varied and seem an important/critical part of the entire process, so would appreciate your input.
TIA.
How is it that some BBQ restaurants are good at this and some are not? I was watching a youtube video taken at the counter of Franklins BBQ in Austin, and the ribs were sourced out of a warmer, where they were sitting wrapped in foil. Franklin ribs have been reported as ‘ordinary’ through ‘fantastic’. I recently tried BBQ that was foiled, then held in a steam holding unit – the pulled pork was mushy (I believe due to the holding) yet the ribs held in exactly the same way were way better. I have tried brisket and ribs in Albuquerque, where they were pulled out of a very warm pit directly behind the serving counter and the meat was juicy as in straight off the smoker (which it kinda was, but it was a holding pit). In five BBQ joints tried in one week, three places had ribs that were tasty, but quite dry, in each case being served from a pile just sitting in warming containers (chafing dishes). I also suspect that a fair proportion of places that sauce their meats do so to counter the dryness of held meat.
So, are there any secrets people can pass on regarding their chosen holding processes? Seems like there must be some real subtleties in there somewhere. Food warmers/holding units are not cheap, are quite varied and seem an important/critical part of the entire process, so would appreciate your input.
TIA.