Let’s talk ribs!
***************************
Hi Steve,
I’m locking up a new location at a flea market and would like to introduce ribs to my menu.
I’m not sure how to go about pricing.
I have sold them at another location and did great but it was more of a private club type of setting. The flea market will be a new venture for me any idea’s on bringing in ribs into such a setting? This flea market sees up to 30,000 people during the week.
Thanks,
James
*****************************
Ribs! Mmmmm. I love ribs, but I have never attempted to serve them from my hot dog cart.
I’m assuming that we are talking about cooking them in a pit, then just keeping them warm and serving them from your hot dog cart?
What are the health code considerations? (I see a lot of roadside BBQ pits on trailers here in rural Missouri and they don’t appear to be heavily regulated, even though the meat falls into the potentially hazardous category. That always baffled me but I never checked into it. They sure know how to cook, though. Delicious!)
How would you price the ribs?
What are we missing here?
I have some contacts in the world of competition BBQ so hopefully some of them will pop in and share their experience and know how.
Let’s hear your ideas in the comments Slingers!
-Steve
P.S. Check out Jame’s rig! (click pic for a larger version).
I am not sure what your health department would say about this, it would definately be a No-Go here in Oklahoma. However in order to price the ribs, we would need to know the cost of supplies. Ribs/sauces/time spent. time spent being a major factor here. is your time worth more or less money? Also does this flea market have a “sit down” area, people are not going to want to walk around and eat ribs as they would with a hot dog. Hence the ribs will need to be in some sort of container, as opposed to wax paper or foil for your dogs. Figure out the markup you have on dogs and apply that same to the ribs, however you may find that not all foods will fit every venue. hot dogs and walk around foods are usually the exception.
We are going to be offering a BBQ dog which has pulled pork blanketing the hot dog. Maybe that is an option and you can keep the pork ready to go like Steve described in a previous post and how to do roast beef with au jus. Best of success to you.
You’re making me hungry Charlie! Sounds awesome!
That what I do! I sell some real tasty pulled pork and if people want it on a dog, they have a barbecued pork hot dog. I would go with pulled pork rather than ribs. You can buy it frozen at Sams ready to go and heat it up in the steam pans, add what you like to “make it your own” and offer it as both a sandwich or topping. It’s one of my top sellers.
If we did ribs on the boat the customers would likely be wearing more
sauce than they can eat !! Even if they are sitting. We like it simple.
And remember this. Ribs are a major pain in the arrrrrrr to clean up after.
Baked on stuff takes a lot of elbow grease & time. Like Steve said factor in
your time. Probably not a good margin matey.
1St Mate Jim.
Thanks Mate!
Steve,
In ref; to the ribs on a cart, we can’t do it here in Florida as we must limit ourselves to “pre cooked meats” unless we are in one of those inclosed jobs with all the sinks, etc. I think you can get away if the ribs are boiled first, as is some peoples habit, but again, this must be done at your commissary, not your house unless you have a restaurant approved and licensed kitchen!
Antiquated laws for a state lost in time. It could be worse, as I could be in Chicago. There you can’t prepare any food on the truck or trailer. You can’t even assemble a sandwich or cut it in half !
Rick
Rick your right.Here in Denver you are allowed to sell certain other items as long as you prep your food at a licensed Commissary.You will be given a 2 hour travel time to get your product to it’s destination if it can retain the proper temperature during travel.So you need the right setup and equipment.After a formal contract between you and the owner have been verified along with the other legalities needed will you be given a license.I have been through this torture! And it is indeed torture!!
where i am, i have done rubs from my fryer cart. All approved by the department of ag.. i fry them for 7 minutes. it takes 12 minutes from peep to plate. they are tasty and tender.
Sounds tasty!
Well……
I live in Missouri to and I have to say yes there is a good deal of regulation for any and all food vending including BBQ. I don’t have a hot dog cart or a BBQ operation but I have done the research. It all depends on your city and county health codes. If you look up Boone county health department that would give you a guide line for vending food in Missouri. I say this because they are the some of the more strict codes I have come across during my research. Hope you get things figured out
Anthony.
Thanks for the response guys.Fried Ribs!!! WoW! I have got to try them for sure. Anthony i live in Denver,Colorado. The name of the cart is St.Louis Bistro De’portabal (De’portable) is made up.The wife thought it was a classy way to say St.Louis portabal Bistro and it has a nice ring to it. I gave the cart that name because i’m from St.Louis and the menu reflects St.Louis Style Ribs and other St.Louis staples. Steve thanks again for your wonderful input and commentary you guys are great! I can sell the Ribs on private property but i can’t on public.
Check out your local codes !!
You may not be able to sell them at all,public or private.
Best O luck to mate !!
1St mate Jim.
Aye.
I smoked ribs last summer every Saturday at my spot at the Portland Head Light. As long as I kept the raw ribs refridgerated (not iced) in transport. I cooked them at the cart in a Weber kettle grill set up with the indirect heat and drip tray using charcoal and apple wood for smoke. For the last two hours of cooking the place smelled awesome! The smell alone would sell them out. I sold them by the bone or a service of three and offered BBQ baked beans and cole slaw as sides. I only did one rack each Saturday and was a lot of work but it was a lot of fun stepping it up for my customers and a nice suprise for the people who were walking by a hot dog stand. My food cost was kept at 30% and was still reasonable pricing compared to the res of my menu. Hope this helps.
Great comment Frank. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I had a bbq hut at a Maryville Tn Flea market the key is to have an open smoker with all your meats visible even if only during checking of . The aromas alone will have rthem following their noses. I cooked an extensive amount of food and sold out each day. People were buying burnt scraps at the end. Of course I had other vender haterz who called in the health department who ordered me to enclose my grill, dig a waste water pipeline, and put a 3 cpt sink in a 8’x8′ building. There went that venue. But if your legal with good food……charge what ever you want!
Great info thanks for chiming in guys.And once again thanks Steve for the commentary