Upscale menu?

[Dixielandbbq]

I'm pretty new to the catering end of BBQ and need some menu help. IV done a few weddings but mainly for friends needing to keep cost down but heyvits been good practice. IV got my basic menu down for the lower budgets but alot of the business in my area is fancy weddings so my question is does anyone do upscale catering from a smoker??? I'm thinking of things like crown roast pork, standing beef rib roast, salmon, grilled lobster. Am I way off base here I don't want to miss business because of my menu but I also know there have to be limitations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[BBQMAN]

Yes we do them, and with his background I'm sure Harry (and a number of others) do as well.

I have a very upscale Super Bowl menu for a small party with a pig roast, steamed lobsters (they are better than grilled) and deluxe sides.

Grilled to order steaks, prime rib, and smoked salmon are all wedding favorites.

That being said, a smoker isn't the best tool for all of those menu's, and some additional equipment is IMHO a necessity if you plan on going that route.
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BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[Geronimo]

Given the opportunity, I can compete with most "regular" caterers to provide an "upscale" meal...right out of my smoker.

70% of my business is weddings and I would say 60+% of those are upscale events with 30% of those high end foods (prime rib, salmon, crown pork just to name a few).

My sides are basic but I have done (made) some pretty elaborate salads.

Haven't done lobster but then again I have never offered it either...at $20 lb MY cost, not sure what I could sell it for.
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[Dixielandbbq]

Thanks guys I am going to be building a bigger rig very soon including two large grills designed like the meadow creek chicken cookers to that should cover my grill needs and the new smoker is going reverse flow with a warmer, how are y'all cooking cornbread onsite or is that even possible?

[Grnmtn BBQ Chef]

If you have the back ground to do upscale menus you should most definately do it. You are leaving money on the table if you don't. I run a pair of Meadow Creek Pig roasters. I got the additional racks for both and I have the grilling pan that goes in where the drip pan is when you remove it. This allows me to do every thing from slow cook items to direct cooking methods. The ability to close the cover also allows me to use it like a wood fired oven, so you can run temps of your pit into the 375+ range without any issue, plus with the damper systems you can control the heat and smoke draw. Having the ability to run it like an oven lets you do anything from potatoes, to mac and cheese... well pretty much anything you can do in your own home oven. Take a look at my website and pop over to my FB page and you can see the rigs in use doing alot of up scale stuff.

Brian
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Eat hearty and live life to the fullest..... Chef Brian

Meadow Creek PR72T modified adding a 2nd Meadow Creek PR 60 this week and 2 well loved Red Rivers going into retirement