Sundays at Buckshot's......

A few weeks ago I received a call from one of my classmates in regards to cooking out at his new establishment Buckshot's. Buckshot's is a new outdoor entertainment venue that features live bands from around Texas and other parts of the country. It has a huge outdoor fireplace, bar, stage and nice little pond that's right in the middle. It's a very nice set-up and has been attracting up to 250 people on any given Sunday. We had found out that the up and coming artist Josh Langston was going to be playing that day. That very same weekend I had also planned on competing in the World Championship Bison Cook-Off is Santa Anna, TX but since I had a few other things pending that weekend as well I decided not to enter the competition and felt I should try and make a little money vending on a Sunday afternoon instead.

If you have never vended before it's a little different than catering from what I am finding out. I definitely wanted to give this a shot but to be honest it did not turn out the way I had intended. Since my specialty is Ranch Style Cuisine that's what I had wanted to do this first time around. I wanted people to know the true definition in my opinion of what Ranch Style BBQ really is and what Colins Creek BBQ was capable of doing. I know that there is a little money to be made in vending but I was not prepared in all honesty for the up front expenses of vending this type of cuisine.

I had decided to do something out of the norm that would appeal to most everyone thinking I would attract more customers. We had a menu that featured Mesquite Smoked Ribeyes, Baby Back Ribs, Beef Ribs, Sausage, Brisket and Chicken. I also made up some Ranch Style Potatoes and some beans. This was one of the most intense cook's I have done before not knowing really what kind of audience I would have.

I took my family out with me and also was able to get the help of another great cook and friend of mine Chris Canon. We had anticipated on having a big crowd but to our amazement only 40 people showed up. We served up about 26 plates from the 40 in attendance but did not really even come close to breaking even. I know we will definitely do this again but will probably go with "Plan B" next time and just try to keep it simple. I will be taking this as a learning experience and hopefully will recoup our losses at a later date. Until then I have been reading up on my new book Americas Best BBQ on what to do with all the leftovers and will probably be cooking up some new recipes that will come in handy as I try and figure out why I even do this. I guess it's my addiction but if you want to know the truth I still have a few things up my sleeve for next time that most people here in West Texas have never seen done on a BBQ pit.