The Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast

Okay dokey folks. I have something a little different for you in this episode. This is the first episode of a two-parter where I turn the mic over to Saffron from Bush Cooking to be guest host. Saffron is an ex-pat now living in the US and absolutely kicking butt on the BBQ scene. Most recently she hosted the NBBQA Conference and Awards in Fort Worth, Texas where she also was nominated for and won...

There are few BBQ joints that have a lineage like Salt Lick. In this case, the BBQ joint in question has been passed through three generations and the family itself can trace their BBQ origins all the way back to the Wild West in the days of wagon trains and cowboys. As part of our trip, we headed out to their original location in Driftwood, Texas on the family's 500 acre ranch. Miriam the Chief O...

In this episode I'm chatting with owner and operator of Lockhart Smokehouse, Jill Bergus. If you've heard the name Lockhart before, that's because it's one of the most famous BBQ joints in Texas: it's overall history stretches back 100 years, it has been listed in the Top 50 BBQ joints in Texas by Texas Monthly and the Lockhart Smokehouse team competed in Season 4 Episode 1 of TV's BBQ Pitmasters....

Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to be able to take my family on a road trip through the United States, competing at the World's BBQ Championships in Houston, Texas before road tripping through Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. I stopped as often as my stomach could handle, and interviewed BBQ competitors, BBQ joint owners, event promoters and more.  The results is Season Three: U.S. Road Trip...

To close out Season Two 'Living the Dream' I sit and talk 'Q with the one and only Jess Pryles. Jess is an Aussie who's now taking it to the Americans, living in Texas and teaching them their own game. In this interview Jess takes us through what it takes to become an internationally published author after the launch of her BBQ cookbook 'Hardcore Carnivore'. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a...

Julie-ann swings by the Confessional for Ep 14 of Season 2 'Living the Dream' to take us behind the scenes of successful Western Australian smoker manufacturer JAGRD Woodfired Smoker Ovens. In this episode, Julie-ann walks us step-by-step what you need to do to start your own smoker manufacturing company. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode.   Julie-ann and Glenn are a h...

Cameron from BBQ Spit Rotisseries takes a knee in Ep 13 of Season 2 'Living the Dream'. Cameron runs the Sydney branch of one of Australia's most successful independent BBQ retail stores. In this episode, Cameron takes us behind the scenes of what must be a dream for so many of us - he gets to hang out and play with BBQs and talk 'Q with people all day long. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a...

Ricki from Bully BBQ is my special guest in Ep 12 of Season 2 'Living the Dream'. Ricki embodies the very concept of living the dream. Unhappy in his job, he designed the lifestyle he wanted and then built a BBQ business to fit that lifestyle. The result was Bully BBQ - a travelling BBQ school. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode.   Having spent a year living in the Stat...

A quality butcher is vital to success in BBQ and one of the best butchers around is Brad from Pure Meats Robina. He's a classically trained butcher who's become a low'n'slow specialist butcher. He has a tonne of knowledge and his shop is known as the only place to go for low'n'slow cuts on the Gold Coast. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode.   As a young kid in rural Vic...

One of the friendliest guys in the BBQ scene, Gus from Gusface Grillah joins me in The Confessional for Ep 10 of Season 2 'Living the Dream'. You've seen the glorious pictures of his 'Stoner Burger' on social media and you may have had a crack at recreating it. Hell, you might have been the motivation for it! Gus runs a business based around his blog and in this episode details how he did it. Plea...

Adam from Primal Iron BBQ is my special guest in Ep 9 of Season 2 'Living the Dream.' In this digital age, if there aren't pics on Instagram and Facebook, then it never happened. But it's so frustrating when you've had the cook of your life but just can't get a good shot of your work. Pitmaster Adam is a professional food stylist and will be taking us on a tour through the world of styling foods f...

Joy from Homestead Lovers drops in to the Confessional for Ep 8 of Season 2 'Living the Dream'. She helps us explore the world of food dehydration and rub manufacturing. Making rubs is something that all BBQ enthusiasts enjoy doing and take great pride in. Joy is here to help you take it to the next level. She also drops some very helpful hints and tips for people wanting to get into manufacturing...

Mark from Smartfire takes a knee in the Confessional for Ep 7 of Season Two, 'Living the Dream'. In this incredible Ep Marks takes us through the painstaking process he went through to create on of Australia's best BBQ inventions in decades. Moreso, he teaches us how to get own ideas off the back of a napkin and out to consumers. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode. Mark...

In Ep 6 of Season Two, 'Living the Dream', Aidan from Cut Throat Knives swings by the Confessional to reveal what goes on at an artisan blade smith. Whether it's forging or stock-removal, Aidan tells us exactly just how far he will go to ensure that his knives are the most beautiful and functional knives on the market. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode.   Aidan and his...

For Ep 5 of 'Living the Dream' Bronnie from 4670BBQ takes a seat in the Confessional to reveal all the behind-the-scenes goings-on at BBQ competitions. She tells all the stuff we don't know about how BBQ competitions are put together, executed, and of course how she navigates the political minefields that typically separate competitors from sponsors and vendors. Please be sure to subscribe and lea...

Ep 4 of 'Living the Dream' sees me having a good chat with Abel from Clean Heat Charcoal about all things fuel. Clean Heat is renowned for their environmentally friendly wood-based charcoal products and is making serious waves in the Australian BBQ scene. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode. In this Ep, Abel lets me in on how his charcoal briquettes are made, and more in...

In Episode 3 of 'Living the Dream', Hillbilly Wes from Bovine & Swine takes me through all the steps involved in opening a bricks'n'mortar BBQ joint. Bovine & Swine is based in Enmore, Sydney and is one of, if not the, most popular BBQ joint in Australia. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of this episode. Wes covers just about every topic you can think of in this interview. He discuss...

This is Episode 2 of the 'Living the Dream' series and in it, I talk vending and catering with Rob from Smokin' Hot'n'Saucy. Smokin' Hot'n'Saucy is based in Newcastle, NSW and hits the road as far south as Melbourne and as far north as the Gold Coast. Rob was trained in BBQ in the United States and has spent significant time competing there and also in Australia. Please be sure to subscribe and le...

In Episode One of the 'Living the Dream' series, I was very privileged to have the opportunity to interview Mikey from Man Meat BBQ, based out of Chicago in the USA. Man Meat BBQ is one of the most popular BBQ podcasts out there and Mikey has leveraged the success of this, along with a cult-like following on Instagram into a very tidy business. Please be sure to subscribe and leave a review of thi...

Season Two of the Smoking Hot Confessions Podcast is called 'Living the Dream' and in it I'll be interviewing 15 successful BBQ entrepreneurs to find out how they got there, and how you can do it too.  The first three episodes will drop December 2 and then there will be one episode every week for 12 weeks after that - your new Summer addiction is here!

Episode 18 of the Smoking Hot Confessions Podcast sees me head to Port Macquarie for the Blues & BBQ Festival, or as it's known in the circuit, BBQ Wars. With 101 teams, not only was it the biggest comp in the Southern Hemisphere, it was the biggest competition ever outside of the US. What started out as a fun weekend away with mates quickly evolved into something very unexpected… The mates in que...

I hit the pavement at the fabulous Burleigh BBQ Championships 2017 to chat to as many people as possible. I got to meet up with a range of new and experienced teams and event got some one-on-one time with BBQ great, Andy Groneman, which I of course recorded and am sharing in this episode. Did I mention I was also competing? It was a busy weekend for sure! Tune in to catch up on all the action! Sti...

This episode was recorded live at the BBQ & Beats Competition at the NightQuarter on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. It's a very interesting episode as it documents a BBQ competition that was the first of its kind in Australia – a day competition. It was a small comp teams-wise – there were only 8 of us. Yes, I said us. I threw my hat in the ring and decided to take a swing. I was up agai...

This episode is coming to you hot off the mic. Just this weekend past I jumped in the car and headed up to Brisbane for the annual Brisbane BBQ Festival. It was the third year in a row that I'd been. The first year was my first ever BBQ judging experience and the second year I covered the event for the Smoking Hot Confessions website and got one of my most popular photo galleries. This year, Dom a...

Not too long ago I was very privileged to have the opportunity to MC the Clean Heat Charcoal BBQ Rib-Off for Underground BBQ.  It was the first competition of its kind in Australia and it was a hell of a great day out. It was essentially a down-and-dirty grudge match to work out who cooks the best pork ribs in Australia once and for all, earning themselves the title of Rib King or Queen. Oh, and a...