Trailer With Flat Top Grill for Events

This is the project I mentioned a few times in regards to “Showing your customers Fire and Smoke” I have always thought it important to let your customers see you cooking especially at events. I noticed a very long time ago at our state fair the vendors cooking big coils of rope sausage, along side of giant piles of grilled onions and green peppers. They did it behind a window but right in front of the sidewalk that everyone walked along and they always looked so tempting.


So I started this project using a very old boat trailer and some odds and ends I bought on Ebay. I use it right in front of my trailer so that everyone walking by has to see what your cooking and of course smell the food including the peppers and onions.


In order for it to take up less space we built it with a removable tongue and in this picture you can see an angled tube coming up off the tongue and that goes into the front after pulling the travel tongue so that the trailer can be wheeled around with very little effort. The red Leg is adjustable using the bolt and nut.


Here is an overall view.




Here is the back view showing the 3 drawers for storage

Indeed a master at your craft. Being a BBQ guy..HD don't require you to have sinks on that unit?

Not so far, but I set it up right in front of my trailer and can in fact reach into the trailer and turn on a faucet if I had too.


I do have a portable stainless steel single sink that I can use in other counties where required.


Our HD looks at this unit like my smoker and they don’t require a sink right at the smoker either.


I did an art fair at Eastern Illinois College and they made me have a sink next to the smoker but only a single basin unit. I thought that was pretty stupid since a guy two vendors down didn’t have to have one next to his charcoal grill.

If it came down to having to have a 3 hole sink I’d probably build one and mount it on the right hand side over the fender, although I’d not like to have to do that. But the same size as a lot of hot dog carts use could work.

Looks good Jack!!!! Nice Job!!!

Jack I tried blowing up the picture but couldnt get it to fly.  Whats behind the glass doors on the cases?

Like it.
Is this sort of what you are planning with the grill.
And if it is truck,trailer, griddle, grill all going down the road. That would be a sight. Get pic's
 

Good Dr.,
What do you cook on it?
Have you developed a "Benehana Routine" to go with it??
A Toque, Chef's Coat and Flying Knives and Spatulas???
Flipping Italian Sausage in the air and catching them in a Bun???

brittneal


Jack I tried blowing up the picture but couldnt get it to fly.  Whats behind the glass doors on the cases?

There are no glass doors??? I'm not sure what your talking about.

But if you want bigger pictures send me an email Jack@DrofBBQ.com   and I'll shoot you the originals.
Jack

Foodbme


Good Dr.,
What do you cook on it?
Have you developed a "Benehana Routine" to go with it??
A Toque, Chef's Coat and Flying Knives and Spatulas???
Flipping Italian Sausage in the air and catching them in a Bun???

I have only used it twice so far and did several kinds of sausages, burgers, and a ton of green peppers and onions. But at both events it put me right in fron't of the crowd and I passed out a ton of samples which generated a lot of sales.

A "Benehana Routine" What a show that would be. No I'm not the good yet, but it would be kick ass in front of a crowd.
Lots of Smoke and Fire and showmanship. Bet you'd sell a ton of food. I should work on that huh?

Dr of BBQ

Foodbme


Good Dr.,
What do you cook on it?
Have you developed a "Benehana Routine" to go with it??
A Toque, Chef's Coat and Flying Knives and Spatulas???
Flipping Italian Sausage in the air and catching them in a Bun???

What a show that would be. No I'm not the good yet, but it would be kick ass in front of a crowd.
Lots of Smoke and Fire and showmanship. Bet you'd sell a ton of food.

 
You would sell a ton.
So, what are you waiting for??
Start Practicing!!
Showmanship sells!!

Jack under the area with the name and phone number.  AAAAAm I blind?  I swear thats a glass door there.  I think my my little ordeal kind of whacked out here!

brittneal


Jack under the area with the name and phone number.  AAAAAm I blind?  I swear thats a glass door there.  I think my my little ordeal kind of whacked out here!

Those are pictures.

Hey Dr, Looks great.......Does the HD let you serve off the grill or is it like having a BBQ to cook and serve out of the trailer..............The Grill is a great idea and keeps the heat out of the trailer. It also lets the people see the product cooking fresh off the grill...............Great job....Bill

Bill,
.Does the HD let you serve off the grill?

They have never said anything either way, and I never thought to ask. I did a wedding using this and never had an inspection. But it was a very big hit at the wedding because people got to order what they wanted when they got hungry, rather than food sitting in a steam table. And after we took the order we served the food to their table.

But when I did the Springfield Art Fair I was inspected, and only heating up the grill so no food was served straight from the grill to a customer.

After we got started, that day I cooked tons of sausage and staff inside handed me a bun in a boat and I loaded it with the choice of sausage plus green peppers and onions and gave it to the customer. After we got through the noon rush I cooked the sausages and handed them to staff inside the trailer and we held them in a steam table. I did cook all day that day and cut and handed out samples to everyone walking by.

So I'm not sure but I have never read any rules in our blue book that would prohibit it. Any food taken straight from the flat top to a customer would certainly be up to temp so I don't see a problem. The only thing our HD required was a tent or umbrella over the cooking surface. And they sometimes require a fly fan, but when I asked about that they said no problem, if the surface of the grill was kept hot during the serving hours.

Jack

Dr of BBQ


Bill,
.Does the HD let you serve off the grill?

They have never said anything either way, and I never thought to ask. I did a wedding using this and never had an inspection. But it was a very big hit at the wedding because people got to order what they wanted when they got hungry, rather than food sitting in a steam table. And after we took the order we served the food to their table.

But when I did the Springfield Art Fair I was inspected, and only heating up the grill so no food was served straight from the grill to a customer.

After we got started, that day I cooked tons of sausage and staff inside handed me a bun in a boat and I loaded it with the choice of sausage plus green peppers and onions and gave it to the customer. After we got through the noon rush I cooked the sausages and handed them to staff inside the trailer and we held them in a steam table. I did cook all day that day and cut and handed out samples to everyone walking by.

So I'm not sure but I have never read any rules in our blue book that would prohibit it. Any food taken straight from the flat top to a customer would certainly be up to temp so I don't see a problem. The only thing our HD required was a tent or umbrella over the cooking surface. And they sometimes require a fly fan, but when I asked about that they said no problem, if the surface of the grill was kept hot during the serving hours.

Jack

Hi Jack, I was just wondering because the trailer is the approved serving area. I was wondering it they would let you serve right off the grill. If thats the case could you also have a few grills set up around at the fair with just one approved area for washing dishes, hands exctra..........Lets say you are set up at a fair and you had 4 grills like this with a person on each grill .one with Dogs, another with Phili steak melts, one with Italian sausage  and sauteed peppers, and one with burgers. Could you serve off of these and use your trailer for the approved commissay. Or this may also be a way of having multi serving areas for your BBQ while having one main area for distribution...........................Bill

Beautiful job Jack!  It really is a nice looking rig.  Is the flat top commercially produced or did yoiu build that as well?  Also, how long is that tow bar?

i need one of those. that is awesome.

I love how you have logos on the gas tanks. I also have logos on my tanks. lol Funny story, I had my older son go get the tanks refilled and instead of refilling them he exchanged them so I went back out to try to retrive them and they already got rid of them . About a week later I had a guy call me and tell me he had my tanks and he ended up hiring me for a job. Sold 150 dogs and got my tanks back. Bought the guy new tanks these logo are not cheap.

But that is a beautiful cart.

the stainless unit under the flat top, is that something you made or bought? if bought, what was it? or was it a dog cart to begin with? 

Wow. Just wow. I'm REALLY sorry I didn't get to swing by Sprinfield...

You really have your **** together!

From the tank logos to the fire decals what a professional rig.

Impressive.

Dom

BillyB


Bill,
  Hi Jack, I was just wondering because the trailer is the approved serving area. I was wondering it they would let you serve right off the grill. If thats the case could you also have a few grills set up around at the fair with just one approved area for washing dishes, hands exctra..........Lets say you are set up at a fair and you had 4 grills like this with a person on each grill .one with Dogs, another with Phili steak melts, one with Italian sausage  and sauteed peppers, and one with burgers. Could you serve off of these and use your trailer for the approved commissay. Or this may also be a way of having multi serving areas for your BBQ while having one main area for distribution...........................Bill

Bill,
You asked some good questions that I also have pondered. My trailer is the approved serving area, or facility. And to tell the truth I’m not sure the health department would or would not allow me to serve right off the grill. I do it and they don’t object but I don’t think they have been forced to think it through.
 
Then when you asked "If I could set up a few grills set up around at the fair with just one approved area for washing dishes and a hand washing sink, if you had 4 grills like this with a person on each grill .one with Dogs, another with Phili steak melts, one with Italian sausage and sautéed peppers, and one with burgers. Could you serve off of these and use your trailer for the approved commissary".

I had to laugh because I thought of this some time back because I wanted to do some Chicago events they only allow cooking under a tent. They don’t ban trailers but the wording in their applications sound as if trailers are not welcome. The application said something like “You have to provide a tent and everything has to be in line and under the tent”. My thought was so I build three or four serving units like this one and create a cafeteria line and you pay at the end.

The Illinois State Fair forces everyone to be screened in on all four sides, but they allow, smokers to be outside the screened in area.
So I’m not sure. LMAO It’s one of those areas that would require several meetings with the local HD and they would decide something that would most likely cost me some money to comply. So as always you’d have to balance the outlay with the gamble of the income. Pretty much what we do everyday huh?
 
Your thinking is right on line with mine. That proves you’re a good man LMAO
Jack

PopsDogHouse


Beautiful job Jack!  It really is a nice looking rig.  Is the flat top commercially produced or did yoiu build that as well?  Also, how long is that tow bar?

Steve the flat top is most likely 10 years old, and the brand name is long gone off the back. That's why I'm at a loss to find new knobs for it. I have no clue as to what brand it is or where to look for replacement knobs.

The tongue is almost 6 feet long and that was a judgment call I had nothing to do with. It was the decision of Dennis a friend that works at Kelly Matthews Auto Body here in Springfield and when it was done I pulled it down the road to test it up to 80 MPH and you'd not know it was back there.

I asked Dennis how he knew what length it should be he just laughed and said "Well you had to be able to see it and that seemed about right."

But Dennis is a 20 + year veteran of being able to fix or build just about anything.

And Kelly is a good friend to take a project like this on and be patient with my new updates and constant changes. LOL

Jack
The best part is being able to pull the tongue out and put in the handle to steer it around to set it up. If I had a hot dog cart I'd want that to help set it up.

dtortor1


Wow. Just wow. I'm REALLY sorry I didn't get to swing by Sprinfield...

You really have your **** together!

From the tank logos to the fire decals what a professional rig.

Impressive.

Dom

Thanks buddy I'm also sorry you didn't make it. Of course we would have had to eaten at Saputo’s (it was Sunday) and that would have cost me at least a hundred dollars for you and your girlfriend plus drinks, and that's no problem but now you have to ask Buddy Roadhouse about my hospitality to RoadFood visitors when they come to Springfield.
 
Now you know, you’re always welcome and if it’s a day that I’m closed all you need do is call my cell phone and we will go eat and drink the best Springfield has to offer, my treat.
Jack

kennyb


the stainless unit under the flat top, is that something you made or bought? if bought, what was it? or was it a dog cart to begin with? 

Kenny,
I bought that on Ebay for $100.00 from a guy in Chicago. I’m not sure what it was meant to be originally but I suspect something to do with a bakery shop, by the looks of the other equipment in his warehouse. I drove up and picked it up just for this project and was surprised to find it was very well insulated on the top and both sides.
But Kenny I suffer from Stainless Steel disease, and also from an Ebay disease of some sort because I have a two car garage full of stainless steel restaurant equipment that was just too cheap to pass up. I know it’s also contagious because I have girlfriends from 10 years ago that alert me to local and distant auctions on restaurant equipment. LOL

I'm looking for a Stainless Steel 12 step program