The 4 Things You Need To Do To Become A BBQ Pitmaster
If you are a food lover and have more passion for cooking than you know what to do
with, then you may be a good candidate to start a food-based business. Since it’s easier
than ever to start a business these days, you can take your passion and make it a
career.
There are so many ways to start a food-based business, but one of the best ways is to
find a specialization that is underserved in your area. And unless you live in the BBQ
belt in the Southern and Southwestern US, then that means that a real pitmaster that
understands how to make barbecue is a perfect starting point.
A pitmaster who knows how to smoke meats, make a killer BBQ sauce and can roast a
whole pig over a spit will have a long waiting list of clients for birthdays, corporate
events, and any other gathering that requires a lot of delicious food.
Find one of the best smoker boxes to add to your gas grill and enjoy the best of both worlds. In this article, I will go over what it takes to become a pitmaster so you can get started cooking for your loyal fans right away.
The 4 Things You Need To Do To Become A BBQ Pitmaster
1 – Have the right gear
One of the biggest benefits of being a pitmaster is that your friends and relatives will
never run out of grilling gift ideas for you for your birthday. There is quite a bit of gear
that you’ll need to get started and you’re always going to find new toys to experiment
with.
The type of gear you’ll need is going to depend on what kind of barbecue you plan to
do. You may want to specialize in a certain style to get started to keep your start-up
expenses low. For instance, if you want to do pig roasts, then the smoker grill is going to
be specialized to handle a big job like that. Being a rib and brisket guy will be a lot
different to set up.
Figure out the type of barbecue and then settle on the actual smoker that you need to
do that. Next, you need things like a mop to keep the meat basted with juices so it stays moist, a good thermometer both for the meat and for your smoker, and a spray bottle to also keep it moist. Then pots are necessary to make your barbecue sauces and tons of pans for keeping your meat once it’s cooked. Lastly, make sure you have lots of serving
utensils to get everybody fed.
If you plan to do this on-site where the parties are hosted then a truck with a good
flatbed and tow set up are essential.
2 – Find your niche
I alluded to this in the last section but it bears its own section as it’s very important.
Unless you are already an expert in every type of barbecue, then you want to focus on
one or two types and become a specialist in those.
This way, you can get really good at your craft and become known as the whole hog
roast guy, or the brisket guy, etc, etc. It’s better to be the best at a couple of things than
mediocre at a lot. You’ll develop a reputation if you do this and never want for clients.
3 – Become a marketer
No matter how good you are at making barbecue, if nobody knows that you are then
you won’t make much money. Make sure you are able to get the word out by being a
good marketer.
Start out with a website that has a way to capture emails and for people to book you for
events. Then, connect it to your social media profiles. Have at least a good Instagram
page and Facebook page so you can always bring your followers over to your website
where you can collect their emails and market to them over time.
Also, do it the old fashioned way by printing up some attractive fliers that you can
distribute to many of the businesses around town. Companies are always on the lookout
for catering that they can use for their corporate events and they can make quite an
impression by using a pitmaster that smokes up some tasty barbecue.
4 – Scale it up
Once you have a waiting list of clients, it’s time to grow. During the entire process, you
should have a right-hand man that learns the ropes over the years. Then when it’s time
to grow, that person can take over the next stage. Since you can’t be at two events at
once, this guy can be the one at other locations and you know that the job will be done
right.
