Mobile meat smoker

[DrYes]

Does anyone have any sense of how a mobile meat smoker needs to be permitted out there? All the regulations and rules we can find are clearly aimed at camps, and we're just wondering how things would differ if we were smoking meat and feeding people (on buns) out on the playa, with a smoker on a trailer we're towing around on a bike.

[digital]

Does anyone have any sense of how a mobile meat smoker needs to be permitted out there? All the regulations and rules we can find are clearly aimed at camps, and we're just wondering how things would differ if we were smoking meat and feeding people (on buns) out on the playa, with a smoker on a trailer we're towing around on a bike.

No permit needed if you are serving under 125 people. Otherwise you need to go through the normal food permitting process. Keep it under 125 and off the playa ground and you are good to go!

[DrYes]

Does anyone have any sense of how a mobile meat smoker needs to be permitted out there? All the regulations and rules we can find are clearly aimed at camps, and we're just wondering how things would differ if we were smoking meat and feeding people (on buns) out on the playa, with a smoker on a trailer we're towing around on a bike.

No permit needed if you are serving under 125 people. Otherwise you need to go through the normal food permitting process. Keep it under 125 and off the playa ground and you are good to go!

We're talking a fairly small-scale operation with one smoker so under 125 people is probably not an issue, but in what time frame is that 125? Per day?

[digital]

Explicitly, they state if you are serving 125 campers. My interpretation of this is 125 or more meals at a time, i.e. A large operation. I can't see a mobile smoker coming anywhere near this. However, it might be a good idea to get clarification from food service folks. To me driving around with a mobile smoker serving a handful of people while out on playa should be no issue at all.

http://blog.burningman.com/2013/08/news ... -kitchens/

[GreyCoyote]

Doc: our camp navigated those waters last year. The trigger point is serving more than 125 persons in your own camp (ie, your own group), OR serving the public. If you serve anyone not in your group, you need a permit.

The good news is the Health Dept folks were a joy to deal with. These are not some overzealous Nazis. They really took the time to educate us, and showed us where certain rules did not apply, and how to maximize sanitary efforts without being invasive. They focussed on making the most of what we had and understood the challenges present at burningman. A very positive interaction indeed.

All of the requirements are mostly common sense once you see how they fit in to the overall picture. The permit is cheap and pretty easy. Call them and start the dialogue!

[Elderberry]

GreyCoyote is exactly correct. If you are serving to anyone outside of your group you need a permit. And the health department is very helpful and easy to deal with. If they find violations, they take the time to help you fix them so you can be approved.

[Savannah]

Does anyone have any sense of how a mobile meat smoker needs to be permitted out there? All the regulations and rules we can find are clearly aimed at camps, and we're just wondering how things would differ if we were smoking meat and feeding people (on buns) out on the playa, with a smoker on a trailer we're towing around on a bike.

Just had to report that the words "Mobile Meat Smoker" seemed extremely funny at 2:23 in the AM.

Carry on.

[DrYes]

Doc: our camp navigated those waters last year. The trigger point is serving more than 125 persons in your own camp (ie, your own group), OR serving the public. If you serve anyone not in your group, you need a permit.

The good news is the Health Dept folks were a joy to deal with. These are not some overzealous Nazis. They really took the time to educate us, and showed us where certain rules did not apply, and how to maximize sanitary efforts without being invasive. They focussed on making the most of what we had and understood the challenges present at burningman. A very positive interaction indeed.

All of the requirements are mostly common sense once you see how they fit in to the overall picture. The permit is cheap and pretty easy. Call them and start the dialogue!

Great, thanks! We'll get on this.

[DrYes]

Does anyone have any sense of how a mobile meat smoker needs to be permitted out there? All the regulations and rules we can find are clearly aimed at camps, and we're just wondering how things would differ if we were smoking meat and feeding people (on buns) out on the playa, with a smoker on a trailer we're towing around on a bike.

Just had to report that the words "Mobile Meat Smoker" seemed extremely funny at 2:23 in the AM.

Carry on.

[FIGJAM]

Isn't there a sparkle pony named Mobile Meat Smoker???

[Popeye]

I went through this for smoked fish a few years ago on a commercial basis, in Alaska, so ymmv for Nevada. Basically, they will want to know that you have kept the temperature of the meat high enough for a long enough period of time. If cold smoked they may may want a bacteria count as well but of course that won't be possible on playa. Hot smoke should be very doable. If they question your process think about freezing your meat in a high acid marinade (vinegar, tomato) before leaving home and thawing just before smoking.

[forty_eight]

I was thinking about smoking meat out there, but it just seemed like a dusty and ashy affair.

[The Rod]

[media]

[Jovankat]

If they question your process think about freezing your meat in a high acid marinade (vinegar, tomato) before leaving home and thawing just before smoking.

As I understand i that would need to be done in a commercial kitchen for it to meet the requirements.

[Popeye]

That shouldn't be hard to do. I'd talk to a smaller butcher shop and ask them to slice and package the meat w/ a marinade. Price should not be excessive, I assume the OP will buy more than 50 pounds of meat. It is doable and the OP is planning early. I'm looking forward to some smoked meat on playa.

[Jovankat]

I hadn't thought of the butcher, that would indeed be super easy.

Still it was probably worth mentioning that prepping food in your home kitchen that you plan of gifting on playa falls outside of the food permit regulations.

[Eric]

Explicitly, they state if you are serving 125 campers. My interpretation of this is 125 or more meals at a time, i.e. A large operation.

This interpretation is very much incorrect. "Campers" means people in your camp, period. If they are staying within the boundaries of your physical camp with you, they are a "camper" by the definition. If they are not camped with you, they are "the public", and technically if you serve a single item to the general public (again, anyone not camped in your own camp), you need a food permit. Even if you cut limes at a bar camp you need a food permit. These are not pointless regulations, but exist to make sure that fellow burners don't end up with a case of the shits on playa.

We all make exceptions when a friend pops by at dinner time, but to interpret it loosely when you are expressly planning to serve the general public is ... not kosher, to put it politely.

[digital]

Thank you, Eric, for the clarification!

I suppose the violations are just overlooked. I'm surprised the goat roasting in the man embers wasn't shut down with all the copper fumes infusing flavor.

[The Rod]

Most places and especially in larger cities there's options for renting certified commissary kitchens if you're set on using your own recipe. Ranging from full on profesional to community centers. Two years ago when we made tamales there a couple in our camp had parents who were involved with a church and they let us take over the certified church kitchen for a day.


I've always thought about bringing a smoker and smoking the bacon on playa... Never got around to it but damn I'm glad to see someone getting excited about smoking meats and actually hauling out a smoker.

[Elderberry]

I'd actually recommend anyone cooking and serving anything to anybody on the playa take a minute to read the rules on food preparation. They are easy to understand, common sense things that should be done whether you're serving 125 people or only yourself. Certainly worth it--especially if you've ever experienced the consequences of eating improperly prepared or stored food out there.

[Ratty]

I suppose the violations are just overlooked. I'm surprised the goat roasting in the man embers wasn't shut down with all the copper fumes infusing flavor.

The violations may be overlooked in the sense that everybody doesn't get a ticket. But they will shut you down. There are plenty of sad kitchens every year that didn't bother to get a permit. You can't get one after you are out there. The 'mobile' food cart may complicate it a bit. How do you wash your hands?

[Dr. Pyro]

Am I the only one that thinks this should be one of those "things that sound dirty but aren't" catagories?

[Captain Goddammit]

Nope. You and Savannah.

[forty_eight]

When I first read my own post, I was like ...

SMH

lol

[DrYes]

I'm looking forward to some smoked meat on playa.

Damn it, that even sounds dirty to me.

[Popeye]

I'm looking forward to some smoked meat on playa.

Damn it, that even sounds dirty to me.

Only dirty if you drop your meat on the playa. Maybe tasty and entertaining.

[trilobyte]

I'm moving this thread over to the Food & Drink board, since that's a better fit for a general preparation question related to food service (the year specific boards are for announcing and updating about projects for that specific year).

You would need to not only apply for and be approved as a mutant vehicle, and then pass on-playa inspection, but you would also need a NV health permit.

A health permit is required when your camp kitchen is preparing food for 125 or more people, or ANY number of people when you're talking about public food service (more details and a link to the NV health department pages can be found here). I'll guess you'd need to have some kind of cleaning/washing capacity (for hands, dirty utensils, etc). Your best bet would be to reach out to them in advance to talk about your plans (believe it or not, the health department people who work the event are long-time participants... their primary goal is food safety), then you can do the same with Burning Man DMV (email them at [email protected]). I don't know what (if any) special considerations they might have regarding mobile food prep/service (and the resulting MOOP), but talking to them early on helps to figure out what you might need to consider. Good luck with the project!

[forty_eight]

mutant vehicle permit for a trailer towed by a bike?

[The Rod]

Actually I'm pretty sure you will not need any approval from the DMV for a bike pulling a trailer.


Portable hand washing stations are easy. Water, soap and paper towels.

I would recommend disposable/burnable plates and flatware. If the only dishes you have to clean are a pair of tongs and a temperature probe your mobile dishwashing setup is easy peasy. 3 small Tupperware containers.

Especially if you have a permitted full kitchen at your camp for dealing with larger dishes (pans etc) you can get by with the compact and portable versions for when the smoker is mobilized. I would also recommend that if you have permitted food prep/dishwashing kitchen at your camp to keep it separate from your communal camp kitchen (if you even have one).

[trilobyte]

Oops, sorry, my eyes glazed over the bike bit. Yeah, you're probably free and clear of any DMV requirements, so it's just the health department you need to work with. You would both need to be permitted for the camp kitchen (since prep work was being done there) and for the mobile vehicle. I imagine that it's very difficult to get permitted for mobile service... since you're talking about a mobile cooking thing, mobile washing/cleaning, prep area, and whatnot. That'd be a challenge in an MV, a bike seems more open and potentially more difficult.