# Gourmet burger food trailer



## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

Hey everyone,

Early next year me and my buddy, both of us experienced chefs are opening up a gourmet smash burger food trailer, hand cut fries, hot dogs/sausages. We have limited space inside the truck so we are deep frying behind our trailer. We will be doing festivals/fairs and what not and we are bouncing ideas back and forth on how to execute hand cut fries. Do we cut/wash starch out at our commissary and just transport the fries to the site or is there a feasible way to do this on site? We are open to suggestions.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

What makes your burger gourmet? For the market you are targeting frozen fries would work better.


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

jimyra said:


> What makes your burger gourmet? For the market you are targeting frozen fries would work better.


 thanks for the reply, why would you think frozen would be better??? What makes our burgers different is our custom burger blend as well as different ingredient combinations, everything scratch made (no not the buns and cheese  )


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## Alun Antipodean (Aug 30, 2019)

ChefMike09 said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> Early next year me and my buddy, both of us experienced chefs are opening up a gourmet smash burger food trailer, hand cut fries, hot dogs/sausages. We have limited space inside the truck so we are deep frying behind our trailer. We will be doing festivals/fairs and what not and we are bouncing ideas back and forth on how to execute hand cut fries. Do we cut/wash starch out at our commissary and just transport the fries to the site or is there a feasible way to do this on site? We are open to suggestions.


Morning Chef. I got my start in F&B helping the father of my Greek buddy making handcut chips (not fries) in the old bathtub he had in his fish and chip shop in New Zealand. We literally made bathtubs of chips. For me - fries and the NZ version are not hugely different- infact for what you're doing I would seriously recommend you do chips instead as these really work well with gourmet burgers- nice thick hand cut ones of course.

A fish and chip shop in NZ in the 80s could easily go through 400kg in a day. Yet... they always came out perfect. The process is really a 3x cooking method. Initially after rinsing in slightly salted water you lightly boil the chips then after thoroughly drying them you fry them at a LOW fry temperature- the Levendakis dad used about 150c on a fry master. Do NOT thoroughly cook them but just until the outside of the potatoes looks solid. Done

Then bring them lock stock and barrel with you and finish as you normally would. The final finish then depends on you- crisp through or as I prefer crisp only on the outside. Promise you they will be a perfect accompaniment to your kick ass burgers


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## chefwriter (Oct 31, 2012)

I'm really hoping you work out how to do fresh fries. In my opinion, no frozen fry can compare. 
The question is how fast you can produce them. That will depend partly on the equipment you have available. You'll need a frying system with fast heat recovery for the volume you think you'll do. 
A bit of experimenting would be in order. You can try Aluns' suggestion. That sounds like an interesting approach and a proven one. 
If you can find a place near you that does fresh fries, stop by to get some advice. 
In any case, you will need to adjust things according to your needs. 
I would start by making sure you are set up to cut them on site. Until you have enough past events to predict volume, you will need to bring some extra potatoes in the event you run out of prepped ones. 
A french fry cutter needs to be attached to something very stable to withstand the force of cutting so you'll have to work out your own unique set up for that. 
Then I'd start making french fries. Do a trial run or two with the truck and just the french fries before you do an actual paying event. That can help you know how many fries cook in how much time, what challenges you didn't see, etc. 
You could pick any event you like, then show up and hand out your fries to whoever walks by. Make a sign to let them know it's just a trial run. I don't think you'd need a permit if you're giving them away but you should probably check on that first. Potatoes are cheap enough and what you may learn would be worth the price of 50-100 pounds of potatoes.
This way you can identify and work out issues and at the same time get your name out there.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

russets work best
after cutting, cold water soak 1-8 hours
drain, rinse, cold water quick soak, drain, rinse, dry well
blanch in 325 degree oil
fry to order 375 degree oil


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## ShelteredBugg1 (May 1, 2019)

I have seen a food truck use a drill for curly fries, he was really pumping them out


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

Alun Antipodean said:


> Morning Chef. I got my start in F&B helping the father of my Greek buddy making handcut chips (not fries) in the old bathtub he had in his fish and chip shop in New Zealand. We literally made bathtubs of chips. For me - fries and the NZ version are not hugely different- infact for what you're doing I would seriously recommend you do chips instead as these really work well with gourmet burgers- nice thick hand cut ones of course.
> 
> A fish and chip shop in NZ in the 80s could easily go through 400kg in a day. Yet... they always came out perfect. The process is really a 3x cooking method. Initially after rinsing in slightly salted water you lightly boil the chips then after thoroughly drying them you fry them at a LOW fry temperature- the Levendakis dad used about 150c on a fry master. Do NOT thoroughly cook them but just until the outside of the potatoes looks solid. Done
> 
> Then bring them lock stock and barrel with you and finish as you normally would. The final finish then depends on you- crisp through or as I prefer crisp only on the outside. Promise you they will be a perfect accompaniment to your kick ass burgers


This sounds solid we are going to give it a test run!


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

ShelteredBugg1 said:


> I have seen a food truck use a drill for curly fries, he was really pumping them out


That sounds awesome, so was he trying them from straight raw potatoe or was he rinsing off the starch ?


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## ShelteredBugg1 (May 1, 2019)

ChefMike09 said:


> That sounds awesome, so was he trying them from straight raw potatoe or was he rinsing off the starch ?


He would cut em rinse then fry


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## Seoul Food (Sep 17, 2018)

How is the food truck business where you are? They are virtually gone from our area.


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

Seoul Food said:


> How is the food truck business where you are? They are virtually gone from our area.


every year we get 2-3 more beirgartens and food festivals so the market is deffinetly there, my county is really behind so we are getting in at a perfect time, bigger cities by me like milwaukee has a pretty big food truck population.


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

ShelteredBugg1 said:


> He would cut em rinse then fry


awseome, so how did he rinse the starch and all that on site im trying to envision his operation?


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

chefwriter said:


> I'm really hoping you work out how to do fresh fries. In my opinion, no frozen fry can compare.
> The question is how fast you can produce them. That will depend partly on the equipment you have available. You'll need a frying system with fast heat recovery for the volume you think you'll do.
> A bit of experimenting would be in order. You can try Aluns' suggestion. That sounds like an interesting approach and a proven one.
> If you can find a place near you that does fresh fries, stop by to get some advice.
> ...


thanks for the reply i appreciate it. A trial run is deff going to happen and i think that will determine our starch. i really want to do hand cut fries and i know its possible, but like you mentioned im not clear on how i would execute doing it at an event. i know how to make hand cut fries i just dont know the best way to rinse off starch and dry outside at an event, suggestions? right now if we do hand cut fries we plan on doing all the rinsing of starch at our commisary and transport them in ice water to our site.


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## ChefMike09 (Jan 22, 2018)

cheflayne said:


> russets work best
> after cutting, cold water soak 1-8 hours
> drain, rinse, cold water quick soak, drain, rinse, dry well
> blanch in 325 degree oil
> fry to order 375 degree oil


Chef thanks for the reply, now obviously as you know cut potatoes oxidize so we would have to transport them in buckets/coolers of water from our comisary to the event site. Any ways to get around this? How would we cut/prep on site if we are running out of prepped fries?


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## chefwriter (Oct 31, 2012)

Off the top of my head, prepping on site means your two big problems will be water supply and water drainage. You may not be allowed to drain the water on the ground but you can check with the appropriate people to find out ahead of time. if you can park near or next to a street drain, that would make things easier.
You could rig up a water supply fairly easily if an outdoor spigot is available at the venue. Probably not but you can always ask. 
You can also determine in advance how much water is needed to rinse the fries. If a water source is available nearby, bring some large water containers with you and fill up on site as needed using the water sparingly. 
And of course, you can experiment with cutting them to order and cooking immediately with no rinsing. The potatoes won't darken that fast. ( You can always cut one and time how long it takes to darken.) Of course, the extra starch ends up in the oil so then you might need to bring extra oil. 
Ultimately I'm a big fan of the trial and error method and learning as you go. So I'd start making some fries and see what happens.


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## ShelteredBugg1 (May 1, 2019)

ChefMike09 said:


> awseome, so how did he rinse the starch and all that on site im trying to envision his operation?


Twas not off site, in a kitchen


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Okay, so I've read all the posts so far.
This past May i was in Seattle WA visiting my niece. I stayed at an AirB&B across the street from a neighborhood brewery. Every day a couple of new food trucks would be parked on the curb in front of the place. 
I had perfectly executed Pomme Frites, sprinkled with sea salt and served in a parchment cone, so hot I had to wait to enjoy them. 
They were fried inside the truck, and you could see a huge pan with fries that were already cooked partially waiting to be finished.
I also had Gyros, Italian meatball sandwiches, pizza slices, and there was even a pastry truck serving up French pastries, tarts, and chocolate everything.....that was cool.


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## Seoul Food (Sep 17, 2018)

ChefMike09 said:


> Chef thanks for the reply, now obviously as you know cut potatoes oxidize so we would have to transport them in buckets/coolers of water from our comisary to the event site. Any ways to get around this? How would we cut/prep on site if we are running out of prepped fries?


The way to get around it I would think is to prep and flash fry them ahead of time off site and transport in containers. After being fried the first time they will not oxidize.

As far as prepping from whole potatoes on site, you may find that it will just be better to do them off site, bring plenty with you and finish on site. I don't think it is realistic to cut, rinse, fry and finish french fries in the truck. It may be more of a trial and error to see what you needed pars are for each day.


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