"sp-120"

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Running 60 Chicken Halves at Once Without Losing Your Mind or Your Margins

Had a call last month from a guy running a sports bar outside Beaumont. Said he was doing smoked wings and wanted to add half-chickens to his weekend menu. F...

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What Church's Texas Chicken's New Golazo Meal Tells Us About Commercial Kitchen Equipment Demands

Church's Texas Chicken just rolled out their Golazo Meal — a soccer-themed promotion timed for the sport's growing footprint in the U.S. market. Spicy chicke...

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Why Your Steakhouse Should Be Smoking Prime Rib (And How to Do It Right at Volume)

Had a steakhouse owner out of Beaumont call me last spring. He'd been serving traditional oven-roasted prime rib for eleven years, and his numbers were fine....

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Your Burner Orifices Are Probably Dirtier Than You Think — Here's How to Actually Clean Them

I had a guy call me last month — runs a barbecue joint outside Beaumont — complaining his SP-1000 couldn't hold temp above 225°F no matter what he did. He'd ...

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What Your Wood Choice Actually Does to Yield and Flavor Profile at Commercial Volume

I've watched operators spend $40,000 on a smoker and then grab whatever wood was cheapest at the landscape supply yard. Makes about as much sense as buying a...

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What Wendy's, Chipotle, and IHOP Are Telling Us About Where Smoked Protein Is Headed

I've been watching chain restaurant menus for about fifteen years now. Not because I eat at them regularly — I don't — but because where the big players put ...

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Sequencing Multiple Proteins: The Math Behind a Full Smoker

Had an operator in Baton Rouge call me last month, frustrated. He'd just run a Saturday service where his pulled pork came out dry, his chicken skin was rubb...

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The Franken Pit Experiment: Why Pulled Pork Exposed Everything Wrong With My Client's Cobbled Setup

I got a call last spring from an operator outside Lake Charles who wanted me to look at his smoker setup before he committed to a catering contract. Said he'...

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When Your Door Gasket Fails, Your Hold Temps Lie to You

A gasket doesn't fail all at once. It degrades in slow motion — a little more compression set each month, a little less seal integrity, until one morning you...

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Your First Wedding Catering Gig Will Test Everything You Think You Know

Got a call last month from a guy I'd sold an SP-1000 to about three years back. Runs a decent operation out near Beaumont. He'd just booked his first wedding...

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Eric Dale's Pastry Program Runs on Smoke — And the Right Equipment to Back It

I get calls from restaurant operators every week asking about brisket yields and rib throughput. Makes sense — that's where most of the volume lives. But abo...

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Rotisserie Chain and Spit Maintenance: Why This Kills More Smokers Than Anything Else

I've watched operators spend $18,000 on a smoker and then run it for three years without touching the rotisserie system. Then they call me on a Friday aftern...

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Running a Whole Hog on Rotisserie: What 30 Years Taught Me About Not Ruining 180 Pounds of Pig

I've cooked maybe 200 whole hogs over the years. Lost count somewhere around 2014. And I can tell you that the first dozen taught me more than the next hundr...

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Building Bark That Survives the Hold Box: Rubs, Wrapping, and When to Leave It Alone

I spent a morning last year with an operator outside Beaumont who couldn't figure out why his bark kept turning to mush. Good rub. Decent timing. Running an ...

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What QSR Menu Moves Mean for Commercial Kitchens Running Real Smoke Programs

I've been watching the latest menu rollouts from Taco Bell, IHOP, and Del Taco with more interest than you might expect from someone who spends her days talk...

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The Number on the Spec Sheet Isn't the Number That Matters

I get calls every week from operators who bought a smoker based on the cubic footage in a brochure. They're frustrated. The unit they purchased was supposed ...

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Mother's Day 2024: What the Traffic Spike Actually Means for Your Smoker Schedule

Mother's Day lands differently than other holidays. It's not like Fourth of July where you're running a catering tent and everyone expects to wait. It's not ...

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Your First Commercial Grill Setup: What 18 Years of BBQ Math Taught Me About Getting Started Right

Got a call last Tuesday from a guy opening his first BBQ concept in Lake Charles. He'd already signed a lease, already hired a pit cook, and was three weeks ...

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Smoked Mac and Cheese Isn't Just a Side — It's a Margin Builder

I'll be honest — I slept on smoked mac and cheese for years. Thought it was a gimmick. Something the backyard guys on Instagram do to get engagement because ...

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When Your Rotisserie Cooks Like a Broken Clock: Finding the Real Problem

I got a call last month from an operator in Lake Charles who was ready to sell his SPK-700/M. Two years old, barely broken in by my standards, but he was con...

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You're Asking the Wrong Question (And I Mean That Kindly)

This one came through our contact form last week, clearly meant for a different kind of BBQ site. Someone saw "Southern Pride" and figured we'd point them to...

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What Sweetgreen's Summer Push Actually Tells Us About Where Commercial Kitchens Are Headed

Sweetgreen just rolled out their summer menu along with a marketing campaign that's getting some attention, and I'll admit — when I first saw the headlines, ...

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What 300-Person Events Actually Require: Production Math and the Transport Problems Nobody Warns You About

I got a call last month from an operator outside Lake Charles who'd just agreed to cater a 400-person corporate event. Brisket, pulled pork, ribs. The whole ...

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What the 2026 FABI Awards Tell Us About Where Commercial BBQ Is Headed

I spent three days walking the National Restaurant Association Show floor in Chicago last month, and my feet are still recovering. But here's the thing — the...