Gonna Help Out The Lumber Business

We operate a concession trailer and specialize in burgers and dogs fixed on an outdoor grill.  Next season I want to add wood to our menu.  By that I mean chicken, beef or pork on a stick.
 
I wondered if anyone serves grilled products on a sick.  If so I would appreciate some feedback on things like:
 
(1)  What do you use for a marinade.
(2)  How do you hold them after grilling
(3)  What kind of prices do you charge
(4)  What pieces of beef/pork do you use.  Chicken I know is the breast
(5)  Anything else that will speed up my testing and learning curve
 
Thanks
 
Mike S.

What pieces of beef/pork do you use.  Chicken I know is the breast?

Mike I’m not sure you’re correct on your last assertion.

In central Illinois we have a poultry company named Jones Poultry and they supply a ton of restaurants, and any oriental food service, or BBQ  operation in a 100 mile radius.

And all of those food outlets claim to be selling breast meat but in reality it’s de-boned leg and thigh meat.


It comes in a 30 or 40 lb case fresh, and most pieces are pretty good sized.  I have used it several times as smoked chicken. I’ll just open a case and dump it into a six inch pan and put it in the smoker with no lid or foil on top. By the time it’s done there is 4 inches of chicken broth in the pan and all the chicken pieces are cooked in the smoke and their own juices.

But you can just put it on a stick or skewer, raw and cook it on a grill.


Once they are cooked with whatever marinate you choose, and or basting sauce, I don't think anyone can tell breast from thighs. And the price is great on the de-boned leg and thigh case vs the breast case.

Just don’t advertise it as chicken breast. Announce it in your signage as charcoal or charbroiled chicken on a stick. But make it fancier than that name it “Charbroiled Chicken shis-kabobs with Peanut Sauce on a stick”. Or something related to your sauce that you marinate it in or baste it with. The leg and thigh meat will hold its juice much better than a breast, due to the higher fat content.

I would not do beef on a stick but would do pork. Beef is too expensive.


Use pork shoulders, they are cheap and you can do pork any way you want or several ways charging as per the complexity of your chosen method.

A pork shoulder cut up will cook quickly and suck up the smoke from your grill. If you don’t want to fool around with veggies no big deal (don’t call them shi-kabobs)  just call it chicken, or pork on a stick but again make the name something that people will think oh I have to try that.
 
Just my thoughts
Jack
 
 

we used to sell chicken on a stick. it was thigh meat that came on the stick. they were very good and very popular. all we did was grill and add canadian chicken seasoning to them. we held then in a warmer. the thigh meat doesn't dry out like breast meat does. i have seen at the resturaunt depot that they have pork on a stick. havn't tried any yet though. the reason we stopped using the chicken was the price more than doubled and they became hard to get.

kennyb


we used to sell chicken on a stick. it was thigh meat that came on the stick. they were very good and very popular. all we did was grill and add canadian chicken seasoning to them. we held then in a warmer. the thigh meat doesn't dry out like breast meat does. i have seen at the resturaunt depot that they have pork on a stick. havn't tried any yet though. the reason we stopped using the chicken was the price more than doubled and they became hard to get.

We do yakitori (chicken on a stick) at home - fast, simple, easy to clean up. I've often wondered if I could do this on a cart with a small charcoal or gas grill.

http://www.bento.com/rf_yaki.html
http://www.amazon.com/Yak...=1258045782&sr=8-1


When I traveled to Japan, most street vendors used what looked like a metal window box with a small amount of charcoal in it. The rotated the cooked food to a side of the grill with very indirect heat and continually basted. Usually a couple of dollars for two sticks. We did have a pork version that was cut into small chunks or strips, marinated and cooked the same way.

Thanks a lot to all 3 of you.  That is just the type of info I need.

Jack, I'm not going to mention chicken breast.  It will be advertised as "Chick on a Stick"  and "Pig on a Twig".  I agree with you and don't think I will try steak.  If I did I guess I would have to call it "Bull on a Branch" LOL.

kennyb, I see you are in Paola.  Where is the restrauant depot?  Is it in KC and does the pork and chicken already on the stick come resh or frozen?  Thanks

waydeg, thanks for the tip on yakitori, I'll check into it.  Trouble is I can't spell it, can't pronounce it and can't get it to rhyme with stick.  LOL.

Mike S.

yes, the resturant depot is in K C. not sure if they have the chick on a stick, but they do have the pork on a stick. i think the pork is frozen. i will look this weekend and check on the chicken. we used to get the chicken from evco out of emporia. the thigh meat doesn't dry out like the breast.

kennyb


yes, the resturant depot is in K C. not sure if they have the chick on a stick, but they do have the pork on a stick. i think the pork is frozen. i will look this weekend and check on the chicken. we used to get the chicken from evco out of emporia. the thigh meat doesn't dry out like the breast.

Thanks kennyb I buy from EVCO so I will ask my rep about it.  Let me know what you find out at restaurant depot.  By the way, whats the name on your wagon.  We have worked some shows up North and might have run into you.  Have you ever worked in the Ottawa or Fort Scott area?  Thanks.
 
Mike S.

konnie


waydeg, thanks for the tip on yakitori, I'll check into it.  Trouble is I can't spell it, can't pronounce it and can't get it to rhyme with stick.  LOL.

Mike S.

Funny name, same process. 
Quick and easy to prepare - and handle. A perfect food to walk around with as you eat it. 
Folded chicken strips (we used breast meat cut into roughly  1" wide x 3" long strips) work well as they cook quicker and come off in a single bite.
Chic on a stick and pig on a twig is very funny. 

When I used to work in Phila (Independence Square), there was an Asian guy selling various charcoal grilled meat on a stick from a relatively small grill, and appeared to be doing very well at it.

Personally I much prefer boneless, skinless thighs over breasts or tenders for tenderness, flavor and holding without drying out.  However, they do require quite a bit more trimming of fat.

Keep in mind skewering adds quite a bit of risk to your staff, especially when done in a rush.

For catering I do use the breast meat cut into strips and a trick I've learned is to skewer just prior to serving or prior to placing in the food pan for delivery.  Why?
Skewers don't burn, and I can marinate and cook more meat in a smaller area.  You can use shorter skewers too stuck a shorter distance in to the meat. Just wear a cotton glove under the food grade vinyl glove for the heat.

Since you're tied to a lumberyard, how about some smoke from their lumber? I'll bet they got sawdust you could use that they'd be glad to get rid of, but I can't vouch for the taste using this sort of wood.

Big Ugly Mich


Since you're tied to a lumberyard, how about some smoke from their lumber? I'll bet they got sawdust you could use that they'd be glad to get rid of, but I can't vouch for the taste using this sort of wood.

Sawdust in MHO is not a good idea, in reference to smoked food products, if it's gathered from a general sawdust pile at a lumberyard or sawmill. You'd be mixing numerous kinds of wood fiber, and never be able to achieve any repetition in the outcome of your food product taste, and loose your ability to produce a consistent quality. Not even thinking about the possible induction of chemicals that could be introduced from treated wood sawdust.

If you had a pile of say apple wood sawdust maybe, but I still think that is not such a good idea. It produces a very thick heavy, smoke if allowed to smolder and when used on a hot, well burning fire, it tends to burn up rather quickly.

If it's slightly damp, it will smoke. . . and if it's very damp it won't light at all. Dry sawdust burns very quickly sometimes even with a blue flame, and is entirely smokeless.


I think http://www.alliedkenco.co...owto/tbl/howtos/key/19
is a good general source for information on smoking meats, cheese or fish and this is their opinion on sawdust smoking:

Sawdust: When using sawdust it is sometimes desirable to add water to facilitate more smoke. Also, soaking your chips in water will allow for fewer flare-ups and more smoke and a slower burn. Sawdust is the most economical way to induce smoke into meats and is used primarily in smokehouses where the need for heat is supplied in other ways.



Sawdust produces dense smoke. It should be smoldered instead of burned. A pan over a hot plate will work fine, use a vented lid to control the air supply.



Smoke Bags: These are cloth bags filled with sawdust. They come in several popular flavors. Soak in water for a while prior to placing on a heat source. Add when your cooker/smoker/grill is up to temp.



Wood Bits: This product is very coarse sawdust much like the sawdust produced by chain saws. It can be put in chip boxes or aluminum foil pouches to provide smoke.


But note that talk about sawdust and wood chips as if they are the same and they are not. You may do very well using sawdust but I just don't think it's a good idea.

Two other thoughts  Southern Pride Smokers use wood chips, and they produce a wood chip product that is sprayed with some sort of fat. Their theory is to combine the smoky taste of a smoker and the char-grilled or roasted flavor of a charcoal grill, (Fat drips on the fire burns up and the smoke and burning fat flavor the meat). I bought some and was not impressed.

If I want to add smoke to a char-grill cook-out I just use a large fist sized chunk of wood, dry not soaked in water wrapped in tin foil. I punch some fork sized holes in the top and throw it on the charcoal. When it burns up I throw on another.

All of this is just my theory and that is exactly what it's worth.

Jack

Mother Earth news once wrote on using sawdust to heat your home, "It does give off some fumes, however, and the room where the stove is in use must be well ventilated".

Just some thoughts

i would hate to think what something like cedar saw dust would do to meat. coudn't be good.

Konnie, i went to the depot today. they have pork and chicken on a stick. it is more kabob style than the strips like we used to sell. they are both frozen and sell for $38.80. the chicken has 30 4oz scewers per box and the pork has 30 5 oz scewers per box. we are k & c concessions. we havn't work ft scott or ottawa. they wanted us in ottawa for a car show but we already had 2 events that weekend.

kennyb


Konnie, i went to the depot today. they have pork and chicken on a stick. it is more kabob style than the strips like we used to sell. they are both frozen and sell for $38.80. the chicken has 30 4oz scewers per box and the pork has 30 5 oz scewers per box. we are k & c concessions. we havn't work ft scott or ottawa. they wanted us in ottawa for a car show but we already had 2 events that weekend.

Thanks a lot for the info.  I sure think I have seen K&C Concessions trailer somewhere but can't remember for sure.  If not we will probably run across each other and if we do, I'll buy lunch.  Thanks again.
 
Mike Smalley

konnie

kennyb


Konnie, i went to the depot today. they have pork and chicken on a stick. it is more kabob style than the strips like we used to sell. they are both frozen and sell for $38.80. the chicken has 30 4oz scewers per box and the pork has 30 5 oz scewers per box. we are k & c concessions. we havn't work ft scott or ottawa. they wanted us in ottawa for a car show but we already had 2 events that weekend.

Thanks a lot for the info.  I sure think I have seen K&C Concessions trailer somewhere but can't remember for sure.  If not we will probably run across each other and if we do, I'll buy lunch.  Thanks again.
 
Mike Smalley

Sounds good to me. i'll buy your lunch. are you done for the year? we are set up at ft leavenworth base. been there a month and a half now. probably another 2 or 3 weeks. they are remodeling the food court so they have us and a bbq trailer set up outside doing lunch.   

That sould be a super gig.  We are shut down until April but for a spot like you got I would open back up in a heartbeat.  Glad you got it and hope you do REAL well.

Mike S.