Social Saturday is BBQ Day V3 - How big is your meat?

[wvboy]

Sure. The best restaurant in Denver is Mercantile. So freakin good. A couple of other good ones: Frasca (Boulder), Rioja (Denver), Acorn (Denver), Fruition (Denver), Root Down (Denver), and Oak at Fourteenth (Boulder). Actually Avery Brewing has a damn good restaurant in it now too. I had Wagyu brisket there.

There are a lot more awesome restaurants. I gave you some fine dining ones right there, but if you want some every day ones I'll try to think of some.

Estes won't have much, but they have this really cool beer bar called The Barrel. I'd just go with what the locals would recommend, or what you can find on TripAdvisor for Estes.

I'll check some of those out before we leave. We're staying in southern Denver for a few days before heading to Estes Park so that'll give us free time to check out some local restaurants. When I was looking for restaurants for our rehearsal dinner in Estes Park I was surprised there wasn't a ton of nice restaurants. I guess I thought the area was a lot bigger than it actually is. The Barrel is right down the road from our hotel so I'll be sure to swing by there one night at least.

 

[MASShole]

I'll check some of those out before we leave. We're staying in southern Denver for a few days before heading to Estes Park so that'll give us free time to check out some local restaurants. When I was looking for restaurants for our rehearsal dinner in Estes Park I was surprised there wasn't a ton of nice restaurants. I guess I thought the area was a lot bigger than it actually is. The Barrel is right down the road from our hotel so I'll be sure to swing by there one night at least.

Estes has a big reputation, being close to Rocky Mountain National Park, but it's small. You can always visit The Stanley Hotel and do a ghost hunting tour! There's good food in Estes, but it pales in comparison to Boulder and Denver.

Cheers man, let us know what you end up trying.

 

[MASShole]

Smoked chicken Wednesday. I smoked the chicken thighs at 350, which is the same temp I roast potatoes, so why not throw those bad boys in the smoker, covered, for the same amount of time?

Half mesquite rub, half salt/pepper.

 

[xHeadx]

Here's a brisket I smoked a couple of weeks ago. Smokey, juicy, tender & delicious!

 

[MASShole]

Here's a brisket I smoked a couple of weeks ago. Smokey, juicy, tender & delicious!

View attachment 615595

I like your picture framing. What app did you use?

 

[xHeadx]

I like your picture framing. What app did you use?

It's the stock Samsung app. I like it.

 

[MASShole]

It's the stock Samsung app. I like it.

Wow, that's cool.

 

[AznTrojan]

Smoked chicken Wednesday. I smoked the chicken thighs at 350, which is the same temp I roast potatoes, so why not throw those bad boys in the smoker, covered, for the same amount of time?

Half mesquite rub, half salt/pepper.

how long did you smoke the thighs?

 

[wvboy]

I cooked the turkey on Sunday. The brine was excellent. I'm not sure what all the vegetables added to the brine, but I'll keep adding them in the future. The meat had the right amount of salt which I was worried about given the flavor of the brine. I added two cans of apple juice concentrate which didn't add a lot of sweetness, but I didn't feel the need to add more sugar this time around. The only problem I came across was my own doing with the rub that I chose. The honey hickory rub burned and made the skin inedible. Next time I'll get a smaller turkey (19lbs. was way too much) and try a non-sugar based rub.

 

[MASShole]

how long did you smoke the thighs?

Thighs generally cook for 45-60 mins. These were 50 at 350, roughly the same time I'd do in my oven or toaster oven. It's also roughly the same time those small potatoes roast at 350 too.

 

[MASShole]

Good news! So, we're officially starting a small catering/private chef company, and we already have two events scheduled at breweries to pair with beers, and many more are in the works. It's kinda crazy, but really nice knowing the both of us have a great network and are well liked in the community. I am flattered by the support already, and now we just have to deliver.

 

[usmctanker242]

Good news! So, we're officially starting a small catering/private chef company, and we already have two events scheduled at breweries to pair with beers, and many more are in the works. It's kinda crazy, but really nice knowing the both of us have a great network and are well liked in the community. I am flattered by the support already, and now we just have to deliver.

Right on! Congratulations and just be very meticulous with everything you put out.

 

[usmctanker242]

So I just finished a 9 day vending event...lunch every day (even Saturday and Sunday) and holy fuck I am wiped out. Heat index has been above 100° every day and it has been so god damned hot! I've been serving roughly 100 people so I was doing about 80-90Lbs (raw weight) of pork butts and about 40-50 Lbs of chicken everyday. Today the "big dogs" were out so I busted out a full case of briskets in addition to pork butts. I had at least a 10 person deep line from 1030 this morning until 1250 when I FINALLY ran out of food. Holy crap what a brutal couple of weeks, but I can safely say that I am straight up sick and fucking tired of pulling pork. haha It's pretty humbling when people will stand in line for 20 minutes as I pull another tray of pork, or slice yet another brisket. I'm shocked because I would NEVER wait 20 minutes in line for a food truck...so it's a good feeling.

Running this food truck / trailer is without a doubt the hardest work I've ever done...and that includes being a Marine.

 

[MASShole]

Right on! Congratulations and just be very meticulous with everything you put out.

Yep, thanks for the offline convo. All is done right. My partner in crime is a classically trained chef, so he's meticulous, and I'm pairing/marketing/event and sous chef to him.

 

[MASShole]

So I just finished a 9 day vending event...lunch every day (even Saturday and Sunday) and holy fuck I am wiped out. Heat index has been above 100° every day and it has been so god damned hot! I've been serving roughly 100 people so I was doing about 80-90Lbs (raw weight) of pork butts and about 40-50 Lbs of chicken everyday. Today the "big dogs" were out so I busted out a full case of briskets in addition to pork butts. I had at least a 10 person deep line from 1030 this morning until 1250 when I FINALLY ran out of food. Holy crap what a brutal couple of weeks, but I can safely say that I am straight up sick and fucking tired of pulling pork. haha It's pretty humbling when people will stand in line for 20 minutes as I pull another tray of pork, or slice yet another brisket. I'm shocked because I would NEVER wait 20 minutes in line for a food truck...so it's a good feeling.

Running this food truck / trailer is without a doubt the hardest work I've ever done...and that includes being a Marine.

Sounds like food trucks gone wild! Also, sounds terrible. I bet in situations like this it would be worth it to hire a friend for a few hours to help.

 

[usmctanker242]

Sounds like food trucks gone wild! Also, sounds terrible. I bet in situations like this it would be worth it to hire a friend for a few hours to help.

I have hired a friend to take the money, refill sauce bottles, etc.. but she has been sick all week. It's tough to find somebody who can help me who also has access to the Marine Corps base...so most of the time I'm out there by myself. For good food people have a ton of patience though and it's always endearing when I yell out to the line "Just a few minutes as I have to pull some more pork," and NOBODY walks away...they all just stand there. haha

You and your buddy are going to kick some ass with your new venture. Keep us posted as it's exciting!

 

[MASShole]

I have hired a friend to take the money, refill sauce bottles, etc.. but she has been sick all week. It's tough to find somebody who can help me who also has access to the Marine Corps base...so most of the time I'm out there by myself. For good food people have a ton of patience though and it's always endearing when I yell out to the line "Just a few minutes as I have to pull some more pork," and NOBODY walks away...they all just stand there. haha

You and your buddy are going to kick some ass with your new venture. Keep us posted as it's exciting!

It's a great feeling! "Give me a minute, I have to do something", and they all wait. It's great. The best food trucks are like that, so you're doing a good thing apparently

And thanks, it's exciting to pair with a classically trained chef for this. I have tons of rough ideas and he helps hone them in and add flair and finesse. Except in BBQ, that's my domain in this endeavor.

 

[MASShole]

Aw snap, looks like we'll be doing an Oktoberfest event at a German brewery here in town.

 

[xHeadx]

So I just finished a 9 day vending event...lunch every day (even Saturday and Sunday) and holy fuck I am wiped out. Heat index has been above 100° every day and it has been so god damned hot! I've been serving roughly 100 people so I was doing about 80-90Lbs (raw weight) of pork butts and about 40-50 Lbs of chicken everyday. Today the "big dogs" were out so I busted out a full case of briskets in addition to pork butts. I had at least a 10 person deep line from 1030 this morning until 1250 when I FINALLY ran out of food. Holy crap what a brutal couple of weeks, but I can safely say that I am straight up sick and fucking tired of pulling pork. haha It's pretty humbling when people will stand in line for 20 minutes as I pull another tray of pork, or slice yet another brisket. I'm shocked because I would NEVER wait 20 minutes in line for a food truck...so it's a good feeling.

Running this food truck / trailer is without a doubt the hardest work I've ever done...and that includes being a Marine.

My wife & love to cook. We frequently host for our family & friends. Food includes a lot of different types, mostly all made from scratch. I can't imagine cooking for that many people on a consistent basis. It's awesome though that you're that busy. Must be some damn good food. Keep it up!

As a side note, the heat index was 111 a few weeks back when I smoked some beef ribs. It was worth it though.

EDIT: here are the beef ribs w/ the setup:

 

[xHeadx]

Here's a pork butt for pulled pork. This bad boy took 18 hours to smoke.