The Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast

There are big changes afoot for both the Meatstock food festival and BBQ competition, and the Australasian Barbecue Alliance itself. Jay Beaumont is a co-founder of the Australasian Barbecue Alliance, the founder of Meatstock and man oh man does he know how to put on an event! Meatstock is foodie heaven! It is without a doubt the biggest and best BBQ festival Australia has ever seen. But there's n...

Amy Jungk is undoubtedly the Queen of Spice. Her official title is Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Old World Spices & Seasonings. However, her actual role is much more and deeper than that. She's actually the third generation to be owning and running one of, if not the biggest co-packer in the United States. In turn, Old World Spices is the co-packer behind many of your favourite...

The Arctic Circle is a low way from Australia. Almost the exact opposite end of the Earth. But there is one thing that unites us - BBQ!  Olav Skogaas is one Norwegian who is seriously into his barbecue. Not only does he run the biggest BBQ blog in the Arctic Circle, he's also on the Traeger Pro Team, using his Traeger Pro 34 to compete and create incredibly delicious smoked meat.  In this full epi...

If you've been with our channel for a while, you'll know that here at Smoking Hot Confessions, we're all about low'n'slow BBQ. You'll also know that we love to mix things up. And so when I met Adriano Andrade for the first time, I knew I had to have him on the show.  You see, Adriano Andrade is from Brazil and now calls Australia home. His passion is Brazilian BBQ Fusion. Yep, you read that right....

Joe Wilson is a man who can see the future. And what does he see from his front porch in Bentonville, Arkansas? Squirrels, that's what. And so the World Champion Squirrel Cook-Off was born.  Now, many of us outside of the USA have grown up with Disney squirrels and can't imagine a cooking competition where squirrel is the main dish. However, for a large portion of the American population, especial...

Steven Raichlen is a legend in the world of meat and all things BBQ. I'll wager there isn't anyone reading this right now who hasn't heard of him. Furthermore, I'll wager that many of you have one of his many BBQ books on your shelf right now. He's a best selling author of incredible cook books such as 'Project Smoke', 'The Barbecue Bible', and most recently, 'How to Grill Vegetables'. A foodie ob...

Erica B Roby is a woman on a mission. Her mission: to become the best pitmaster in the world. And here's a hint: she's already up there with the best! Her work has been recognised around the world via her incredibly popular Instagram profile (@bluesmokeblaire), however it was when she was invited to appear in Season Two of BBQ Brawl from The Food Network that things really kicked into gear. Erica...

There are those of us that love BBQ, and then there's Chris Terlikar. What makes Chris different? Not many of us have, or would, go and live in Austin, Texas for three months and work for free in an internship under Tom Micklethwait from legendary Texas BBQ joint Micklethwait Craft Meats, known for having some of the best barbecue in Texas. Chris brought this passion for American barbecue back to...

Junior Urias is a man of action, who isn't afraid of a little hard work. Or a lot of hard work for that matter. Odds are, you've seen Junior before - he was a competitor on the popular TV show 'BBQ Pitmasters'. But there's so much more to Junior than a season of reality television. He started in the BBQ industry at a very young age and has explored almost all facets of the industry since then. He'...

Texas BBQ, often regarded as the best BBQ in the world, has inspired many, many pitmasters around the world. One of those pitmasters is Rob Thraves, from Smokin Hot N Saucy. Together with his wife Randi, herself a native of Texas, Rob took a tour of Austin, Houston, and all the best BBQ joints in between. They came home inspired with a vision cemented firmly in their smoked brisket fueled minds. I...

Stand-up comedy is not an easy game. You have to be very, very brave to get up on stage and try to make a room full of people laugh. And yet this is the career that southern gentleman Vic Clevenger pursued, working for over two decades as 'The Cooking Comedian.' The big world changes in 2020 saw Vic's business model brought to its knees, and so he had to pivot and explore an entirely new career. D...

Low and slow BBQ is a growing food movement all around the world. It now has a solid competition scene not just in Australia, but also in New Zealand. In fact, the scene is growing so quickly in NZ that there are now several BBQ rub and BBQ sauce companies as well as BBQ joints and restaurants that rival the best in the world.  One man leading the charge is Luke Seeney, the head of the New Zealand...

BBQ Spit Rotisseries is a  success story in the world of BBQ businesses, and co-founder Rhiannon Peterson is a driving force behind it. Rhiannon is a highly motivated, hard working entrepreneur and foodie who, starting with just a rotisserie, an idea and a never give up mindset, has built the country's largest independent BBQ store with shops in Melbourne, Victoria and Sydney, New South Wales. Not...

There are BBQ restaurants, there are BBQ joints, and then there's Bluebird Kitchen and Smokehouse. Inspired by American barbecue, Jim and Katie Osborn have brought authentic Texas BBQ to Warwick, Queensland. Armed with a love of food, a do it yourself attitude and plenty of brisket, pork ribs, sausage and chicken, this husband and wife barbeque foodie team have created what is, in my opinion, one...

Designing and Building Smokers is Glenn Tindall-Davies passion. Half of the husband and wife duo that is JAGRD Wood Fired, Glenn designs and builds the smokers that he and Julie-ann then use in BBQ competitions to great success. All of their smokers are competition proven, with JAGRD Wood Fired currently sitting at #1 for Brisket and #2 for Pork Ribs on the KCBS International ladder.  A long time...

BBQ has a power to connect people and heal relationships. It's no secret to anyone who's a part of the barbecue community. This unique ability of BBQ, among all of the different styles of food out there, has been recognised by Matt Logie from Smokin' Sappers BBQ Team. He uses barbeque, and his team to help rehabilitate current and veteran service men and women suffering from PTSD as a result of th...

If you've been following SHC for a while now, then you'll know that I love to cook BBQ, eat BBQ, and talk about BBQ. One man that loves barbecue almost as much as I do, is Ryan Guinea, from the BBQ Talks podcast, based out of the United Kingdom.  Now a quick confession - I bungled the audio on my end. Ryan still sounds awesome, but the recording of my end of the conversation isn't as good as norma...

Daniel Barrington from Smoked Beyond Smoked joins me in The Confessional for this episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast. We recorded this shortly after he was awarded Grand Champion on the second day of the incredible Brisbane BBQ Festival. This was an Australasian Barbecue Alliance double-header event, an Australian first, and just makes Daniel's feat even more incredible - he won th...

Luke Nagel is a man who knows meat. Luke is a career butcher and the manager of Kelly's Meats. One of the most well known low and slow butcheries in Melbourne, Kelly's Meats is responsible for sponsoring many of the best competition BBQ teams in the country, supplying them with only the best steak, beef, lamb, pork, brisket, chicken, and whatever else the promoters might throw at them.  However, n...

If you're in the mood for American BBQ in Sydney, you absolutely have to check out BlackBear BBQ. The Texas BBQ inspired restaurant has become a Sydney food destination thanks to its delicious, mouth watering low and slow smoked meat including brisket, beef short ribs, pulled pork and even picanha. There are many that argue that BlackBear BBQ is one of, if not the best Sydney barbecue spot.  Joini...

Sonia Cattell is one of the top BBQ pitmasters in Australia at this time. She and her competition BBQ team Signature Smoke have risen from Beginner to Pro level in just two short years, racking up a number of trophies and two back to back Grand Champion wins. Whether it's an ABA, KCBS or SCA BBQ competition, they always bring out their best competition BBQ recipes, producing outstanding pulled por...

If there is one thing that separates Aussie BBQ from American BBQ, it's got to be lamb. In fact, we love lamb so much that it's a standard category at almost every BBQ competition we have. There are many that even believe they have perfected this iconic Aussie protein. However, there is one man that keeps coming here and beating Aussies at lamb. That man is Sterling Smith from Loot'n'Booty BBQ. An...

AmazingRibs.com is without a doubt one of the most highly used BBQ resources in the world. In fact, Forbes Magazine recently announced that it was the #1 BBQ website in the world. Furthermore, it's founder and chief content writer Meathead Goldwyn was very recently welcomed into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame. This is an honour that is reserved for those who have made significant contrib...

The Que Club is without a doubt, one of the country's most iconic BBQ spots. But it's hard to define exactly what it is. The brainchild of competition BBQ pitmasters Andrew Kavanagh and his amazingly patient wife Pam, The Que Club is all things to all BBQers. Is it a BBQ joint? Yes. Is it a BBQ shop? Yes. Is it a bar? Yes. Is it an import and distributor? Yes. Do they sell brisket, ribs and more?...

In the world of competition barbecue, Kell Phelps of the Barbecue News Magazine is a man who's seen it all. Since 1990, Kell and his family have been documenting the competition BBQ scene in their magazine. From their HQ in Georgia, there is nary a BBQ contest that they haven't been to, including Memphis in May and the American Royal BBQ Competition. They not only report on the barbecue competitio...