Thermodyne Foodservice Products, Inc. Blast Chiller
For the last 29 years, Bubba’s Barbecue has been owned and operated by restaurateur Ralph Miller. The restaurant, located in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina, uses a 33-hour process to produce traditional Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue. The majority of the food produced at Bubba’s is slow-cooked for a minimum of 18 hours including pulled pork, ribs, and chicken.
The Challenge
The challenge Bubba’s faced when producing bulk quantities of barbecue was being able to meet both local and state codes regarding food safety as well as meeting HACCP standards. According to the USDA, in North Carolina, when food is cooked in bulk or is not going to be served immediately, you are required to get the food out of the temperature danger zone as quickly as possible. The temperature danger zone is between 41°F and 135°F, the temperature range in which bacteria can grow. Food that is sold in a restaurant is required by law to be cooled below the 41-degree mark within 4 to 6 hours. If the temperature is not reached in time, the food must be reheated and then cooled again. This can negatively affect the overall quality and flavor of the food and lead to a large amount of wasted product.
The Results
With the Thermodyne 1500RC Blast Chiller unit, Bubba’s Barbecue was able to drastically cut down on wasted food while meeting both local and state codes and HACCP standards. After the barbecue is slow-cooked on the pit, picked, and placed into full-sized pans, the Thermodyne Blast Chiller is used to rapidly cool the product to the appropriate temperature. The food products are kept in the Blast Chiller for at least 4 hours and then stored in a walk-in freezer. The night before the food will be served it is moved to a cooler to thaw, then rethermalized and served to order. With his $12,000 investment in a Thermodyne 1500RC Blast Chiller, Bubba’s Barbecue estimates to have saved between $200,000 and $250,000 on wasted and undesirable product that was unable to be cooled in the allotted amount of time.
Thermodyne Blast Chiller
Thermodyne’s 1500RC offers high-powered chilling in a compact footprint. Furthering the use of our patented Fluid Shelf® technology, each shelf in the unit is chilled by pumping refrigerated fluid through the shelves, minimizing the time required to cool down to HACCP required temperatures.
Posted in: Product Information