Fillmore Farmer
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
- Location
- Fillmore...
I think we all dream about having a small BBQ shack that we'll perhaps have open on weekends or maybe just for lunch & dinner. Somewhere between being a dream of having the true ambition to do it. The thing is, and most of us know this.....I have friends who own restaurants and they all say it's tough and that they wouldn't wish it upon their worst enemy, LOL
Well, I'm here to tell ya, I got a taste of it! Being that we own an avocado orchard, we started selling our pollinator avocados to folks on Nextdoor and some other internet based communities. These internet based resources have been a HUGE key to what amounts to an underground network. Because you're selling with private people, it's not exactly open to the public. We created our own email list and consider it private.
We started selling avocados but started adding other things. A neighbor down the street started making keto bread and muffins while another neighbor did her favorite salad dressing. My daughter added hummus, tangerine sherbert and chocolate covered strawberries. It didn't take long before I decided to throw down my BBQ Beef Brisket.
I don't want to write my traditional novel so I'll try to make this a bit brief. I started with 4 briskets and I'm cooking on a Pitmaker Vault. First rude awakening: 60 pounds of brisket yields about 30 pounds of brisket! Each brisket takes about 12-18 minutes to trim & season, and this is with me trying to move fast. Bigger briskets have a higher ratio of fat to meat, so the little guys tend to be a better buy and faster to process. Expensive seasonings from Big Poppa's add-up fast, best to go bulk really fast! Suddenly you realize why Franklin rolls with just S&P...and why he wraps in paper and doesn't sauce...BUT I'd prefer not to dish into his methods: just know, EVERYTHING adds-up! Meat, seasoning, charcoal, wood, sauce and containers.
Fun gave way to work shockingly fast! When I went up to 6 or 8 or more briskets, I found myself standing for hours, my leg getting numb at times. Constantly washing your hands and seasoning will thrash your hands....suddenly you realize wearing gloves is not exactly for germs but rather to protect your hands/skin! Cooking is perhaps the fun part, but then comes managing each brisket and finishing. Slicing & saucing is also hours!!!!
Compliments were HUGE, the usual array of "Best brisket I've ever had" along with the typical "Amazing"....frankly, it's not hard to beat Lucille's touch/dry/tasteless brisket. They get $23/pound so I ran with $19/pound and felt bad taking that much money for what seems like a relatively small amount of food....but each week I sold out and continued to get the accolades. In truth, it's just seasoning, heat n' meat....as long as you don't mess it up, you really can't go wrong. My boxes mixed both flat & point. Just cook until you have a nice bark and then I found a way to save time: after I get color, I drop the brisket in an aluminum tray, add some apple juice, beer and BBQ sauce (all mixed) to about 1/2-inch, cover tight with foil and bump the heat up to 300F to finish. Yeah, it's braising but moist as heck and the bark remains. When done, I pull the tray, open to let the intense heat out for a few minutes and then re-cover and toss a towel over the top to let it rest for several hours. Slice n' sauce and pack into containers: done!
Yes it's fun.....but during all the work, it can quickly become tedious and you spend HOURS of your day. My mark-up hit about 470% which is great....but it still amounts to about $30/hour. I got some kid who wants to become a chef help me so that makes it easier but the Farmer's market we do each week on Saturday is just one day....the idea of cooking for 7 days a week is beyond daunting! This could be a LOT of work and once you go to a legit restaurant you have health inspections, employees and plenty of other things.
So yeah, if you wanna dabble with BBQ shack owner, start with your local internet based communities and fly it under the radar. Lots of restaurant owners started this way and it'll give you a great taste of what it's like.
Lastly, I just started doing my smoked salmon and OMG it's SO MUCH EASIER as compared to brisket! That's in huge demand as well. It's very gratifying having people praise and love your cooking but you'd best be prepared for some serious work and the guilt trip when you tell people you're sold our or threaten to stop doing it. One thing for certain, people are HUNGRY for good BBQ!
Just sayin' & sharin'
Well, I'm here to tell ya, I got a taste of it! Being that we own an avocado orchard, we started selling our pollinator avocados to folks on Nextdoor and some other internet based communities. These internet based resources have been a HUGE key to what amounts to an underground network. Because you're selling with private people, it's not exactly open to the public. We created our own email list and consider it private.
We started selling avocados but started adding other things. A neighbor down the street started making keto bread and muffins while another neighbor did her favorite salad dressing. My daughter added hummus, tangerine sherbert and chocolate covered strawberries. It didn't take long before I decided to throw down my BBQ Beef Brisket.
I don't want to write my traditional novel so I'll try to make this a bit brief. I started with 4 briskets and I'm cooking on a Pitmaker Vault. First rude awakening: 60 pounds of brisket yields about 30 pounds of brisket! Each brisket takes about 12-18 minutes to trim & season, and this is with me trying to move fast. Bigger briskets have a higher ratio of fat to meat, so the little guys tend to be a better buy and faster to process. Expensive seasonings from Big Poppa's add-up fast, best to go bulk really fast! Suddenly you realize why Franklin rolls with just S&P...and why he wraps in paper and doesn't sauce...BUT I'd prefer not to dish into his methods: just know, EVERYTHING adds-up! Meat, seasoning, charcoal, wood, sauce and containers.
Fun gave way to work shockingly fast! When I went up to 6 or 8 or more briskets, I found myself standing for hours, my leg getting numb at times. Constantly washing your hands and seasoning will thrash your hands....suddenly you realize wearing gloves is not exactly for germs but rather to protect your hands/skin! Cooking is perhaps the fun part, but then comes managing each brisket and finishing. Slicing & saucing is also hours!!!!
Compliments were HUGE, the usual array of "Best brisket I've ever had" along with the typical "Amazing"....frankly, it's not hard to beat Lucille's touch/dry/tasteless brisket. They get $23/pound so I ran with $19/pound and felt bad taking that much money for what seems like a relatively small amount of food....but each week I sold out and continued to get the accolades. In truth, it's just seasoning, heat n' meat....as long as you don't mess it up, you really can't go wrong. My boxes mixed both flat & point. Just cook until you have a nice bark and then I found a way to save time: after I get color, I drop the brisket in an aluminum tray, add some apple juice, beer and BBQ sauce (all mixed) to about 1/2-inch, cover tight with foil and bump the heat up to 300F to finish. Yeah, it's braising but moist as heck and the bark remains. When done, I pull the tray, open to let the intense heat out for a few minutes and then re-cover and toss a towel over the top to let it rest for several hours. Slice n' sauce and pack into containers: done!
Yes it's fun.....but during all the work, it can quickly become tedious and you spend HOURS of your day. My mark-up hit about 470% which is great....but it still amounts to about $30/hour. I got some kid who wants to become a chef help me so that makes it easier but the Farmer's market we do each week on Saturday is just one day....the idea of cooking for 7 days a week is beyond daunting! This could be a LOT of work and once you go to a legit restaurant you have health inspections, employees and plenty of other things.
So yeah, if you wanna dabble with BBQ shack owner, start with your local internet based communities and fly it under the radar. Lots of restaurant owners started this way and it'll give you a great taste of what it's like.
Lastly, I just started doing my smoked salmon and OMG it's SO MUCH EASIER as compared to brisket! That's in huge demand as well. It's very gratifying having people praise and love your cooking but you'd best be prepared for some serious work and the guilt trip when you tell people you're sold our or threaten to stop doing it. One thing for certain, people are HUNGRY for good BBQ!
Just sayin' & sharin'
