BBQ smoker to rent?

Awhile back Ernie L. was contemplating making a smoker from a 500 gal tank to possibly rent.

Actually, a good idea, I know of an electrician in Moline that has two different types of rentals.

The first, and most used is a griddle. He had a 1/4"x48" plate blanchard ground and made a rotating griddle out of it. Usually a 3 person operation for pancakes or sausage/burgers. The rotation is V/S and set so one person pours, one flips and the last removes. Actually 4 people work best at this, the fourth brings and re-fills beverages (for the cooks) then takes away the food. One unit easily handles feeding for 100 at a time (100 x 1/2hr x $5 to $10 ticket, do the math).

The second is like a mini Southern Pride smoker, (think bakers oven with rotating rack). I think it smokes/cooks something like 30 whole chickens at a time. I was about the size of the 500gal oval tanks with both direct and indirect heat. There are many people in the south that contract cook with mobile southern pride units and make a living (price of these can run north of $20,000). Pictures of Southern pride at:

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I've also in the past seen some really insane BBQs hauled back from guys working in Texas/Oklahoma after the 1982 downturn. They shipped everything else but hauled the cooker back first...

Matt

Reply to
matthew maguire
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matthew maguire wrote in news:gj82qp$7j0$ snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org:

Ernie's would be a Medium-sized BBQ pit in Texas.

For those who get into the BBQ Cookoff circuit, 1,000 gallon tanks are fairly popular until they outgrow them and go on to big ones.

4'x4'x30' plus a 4' cubic firebox isn't uncommon for a trailer-mounted pit. One that size lets you cook a ton or two of beef plus some pork ribs and sausage.

Home-size units are often .25" to .375" wall tubing 3'to 4' in diameter by 6' long plus a 2.5' cubic firebox and using a 2' diameter smokestack with grills and a door. The smokestack is sealed except for a 3" hole with a rain cover.

Of course, you can still find the old oil drum pits: the kind made from a split 55-gallon drum with a smokestack at one end, a firebox on the other, and grating halfway from the bottom to the top of the lower half.

Reply to
RAM³

Someone just had to get a Texan going... ;)

Wes

PS

I'll take my cooked on the outside mooing on the inside.

Reply to
Wes

Wes wrote in news:LPe6l.25384$kG.2875@en-nntp-

06.dc1.easynews.com:

SWMBO is one of those whose idea of "properly done" meat involves a live steer, a knife, and a Bic lighter.

FWIW, that 4'x4'x30' + 4' cubic firebox pit that I mentioned was (is?) in a custom-built 53' fifth-wheel trailer. It belonged (belongs?) to an Oilman's Charity BBQ cooking team that I was once a member of in the

1980s.

Fully insulated and air-conditioned, the trailer contained a fully- stocked pantry and a fully-functional kitchen in addition to the pit.

The largest group that we normally cooked for was an Annual Benefit in Houston with over 2,000 attendees.

In this area, at least, BBQ is a staple for Fund Raisers that may draw from 500-5,000 people depending upon the cause and who's cooking.

Each year, in just this one little (5,000 pop. max.) we have a "Square Fair" that will usually draw close to 10,000 people of all ages. In addition to a handfull of vendors selling craft items, there will be at least 4 pits going, 2-4 burger/hot dog trailers, and at least one Funnel Cake trailer.

They all make handsome profits for their organizations and/or themselves.

Most of the pits will be homebuilt 25'-35' long x 3'-4' diameter and mounted on 3-/4-axle trailers that have removable/collapsible roofs/canopies, soft drink dispensers, and work surfaces.

As you can see, Ernie's 500-gallon tank pit wouldn't be considered large around here.

Reply to
RAM³

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