December 20, 2024 • 36 mins
It's that time of year again, where I head down south of Sydney, Australia, to a tiny town called Kangaroo Valley. KV is famous for having one of, if not THE best Craft Beer and BBQ Festivals in the country. And 2024 did not disappoint.
Join me as I spend the weekend at the festival, chatting with competitors, vendors, suppliers and more!
#bbq #bbqfestival #podcast #bbqpodcast
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Episode Transcript
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(01:00:00):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome, barbecue enthusiasts, to another
smoke and hot episode
of the Smoke and Hot
Confessions Barbecue podcast.
[APPLAUSE]
I'm your host, Ben, and
(01:00:20):
I'm thrilled to take you
on a mouthwatering journey
through the world of barbecue,
grilling, and the vibrant
culture that surrounds it.
Recorded right here in the
heart of the barbecue world,
our podcast is your
backstage pass to all things
smoking and sizzling.
We'll be chatting with top
pitmasters, grill masters,
and foodies, giving you an exclusive peek
(01:00:42):
behind the scenes of
the barbecue universe.
[APPLAUSE]
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster
or just fired up the
grill for the first time,
you are in the right place.
The Smoking Hot
Confessions Barbecue podcast
is your one-stop destination for
flavor-packed stories,
grilling tips, smoker
secrets, and all things barbecue.
(01:01:05):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So grab a seat, fire up your smoker,
and get ready to sink
your teeth into the juiciest
conversations, the boldest flavors,
and the most unforgettable moments
in the world of barbecue.
[APPLAUSE]
Here's to the thrill of the
grill and the magic of smoke
and fire.
Let's get started.
(01:01:25):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
September is a great time for barbecue.
The weather is warm enough to be outside
without being blistering hot, and the
flies and mosquitoes
haven't woken up yet,
meaning we can cook outside
without being eaten ourselves.
And so it is that September every year
is the Kangaroo Valley Craft
Beer and Barbecue Festival.
(01:01:47):
I've been there every
year it's been on since 2018,
and I've got to tell you, it just
keeps getting better
and better every year.
2024 was no different,
with a double SCA cook-off,
as well as a round of the
ABA Low and Slow National
Competition.
This is on top of a
festival jam packed with things
for the family, including
barbecue vendors, craft beer
(01:02:07):
and wine stalls, and a heap
of activities for the kids too.
This year even saw the
addition of the Knights of Albion,
which saw men and women
in authentic medieval armor
and weaponry hold several bouts and
battles throughout Saturday.
And on Sunday, we saw a
professional wrestling
troupe take the stage
and entertain everybody
with their brand of humor and combat.
(01:02:27):
It truly was a beautiful weekend of
smoke, meat, and beer.
So let me take you now to
the always incredible Kangaroo
Valley Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
I hope-- was it still morning?
It is just still morning.
It's almost lunchtime.
It's coming up.
(01:02:48):
And I'm here up on the food
vendor circle with Nomad Kitchen.
Please introduce
yourself and let them know
where you've come from today.
Hi, I'm Kim.
I'm from Nomad Kitchen.
And we are from St. George's
Basin, so Shalehaven Locals.
And this is our seventh
Kangaroo Valley Beer and Barbecue
Festival.
You just jumped the gun.
(01:03:08):
I was going to say that.
You've been here every year since it
started, haven't you?
Sure haven't.
It's been fantastic.
We've loved every minute from the time
we get here till the time we leave.
It's just unreal.
So what is it about the
Kangaroo Valley Craft Beer
and Barbecue Festival that keeps you
coming back year after year?
Just the support from
everyone who's traveled.
It's quite sort of a mutual area.
(01:03:30):
So Southern Highlands,
Naur, as far as Canberra,
they all congregate.
And even the boys down
in the barbecue arena,
they've traveled some
from Paul Macquarie.
And as far as Victoria's, I know.
And everybody just enjoys themselves.
There's live music.
There's food.
There's smoke.
There's drinks.
(01:03:51):
There's beer.
Like what more can you get?
Beautiful.
Well said.
Now, you actually going to win the award
today for Bigger Smoker
here, I believe.
Tell us about the new
addition to the family.
So we purchased a 1956--
it was built--
ex-hepsy air tank receiver.
That's a mouthful.
(01:04:12):
Back in 2022, we tried to
have it ready for last year.
We just ran out of year.
So she's here today.
And she's running pretty.
We're very excited.
Beautiful.
So tell us what's for lunch today.
So this year, we've got our--
well, it's 14-hour
smoked black market brisket.
(01:04:33):
Miber score five.
We've got our pulled pork.
We've got beef ribs.
We've got pork ribs.
We've got share boxes,
sample boxes, anyone.
And we've got Southenaro's
jalapeno and cheese snags.
My god, that sounds amazing.
What's your personal favorite?
(01:04:53):
The ribs.
Definitely the beef ribs.
They are dinosaurs.
They're about four
fingers high, two inches wide,
mouthful and a half.
That's impressive.
I'm going to do a quick lap and I'll be
back for a set of them.
You can box them up for me shortly.
Thank you, Ben, for
coming out each and every year
and supporting us all as well.
Thank you.
Have a good day.
(01:05:13):
You too, darling.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, happy lunchtime.
Happy lunchtime.
The sun is out.
The sky is blue.
And there's smoke
wafting through the air.
Isn't it delightful?
With me right now, I've got Jay from
King's Pork, a barbecue
and catering.
And he has got a hell of a
rig up here on the top oval.
Mate, tell us about what
you're doing here today.
So we've got a venison
(01:05:35):
hanging over here, low and slow.
We've got some kangaroo.
We've got some sausages, pork lollipops.
We have a variety of everything.
So not everything's the same.
So everyone can get a
little bit different.
And I don't know.
I don't know.
Enjoy the day.
I suppose we'll be
here in some nice nibbles.
Sounds awesome, mate.
(01:05:55):
Now we first met for
the first time last year
here at Kangaroo Valley.
And you had just built
your barbecue trailer.
And then today you've brought this--
what is this, like an asado wagon?
What do you call this guy?
I don't know.
Fire pit wagon.
I don't know.
Old school bit of cooking over flame.
Very slow and low.
Not low and slow.
(01:06:16):
Slow and low.
It's pretty good.
It works.
It works off being minimum fire and be
consistent with heat.
That's it.
So I don't know.
Just something I created
just so I can pull people in
and do a different style
of cooking and smoking.
Beautiful.
It looks and smells absolutely amazing.
(01:06:36):
When is that venison going
to be ready for the public?
Probably about 5 o'clock, I reckon.
About 5 o'clock should be ready.
Just letting it go slow and
then cause an indirect fire
and cut some bits off and feed people.
Delicious.
So tell me, what do you got available
right now for lunch?
I have.
So we've got beef ribs, pork
lollipops, grilled chicken,
(01:06:59):
beef brisket, pulled pork, kangaroo tail.
What else have I got?
Some amazing sauces.
So burgers, barbecue
boxes, and I don't know,
nibbles on the side.
I don't know.
And kangaroo sausages as well.
So I got kangaroo venison sausages.
Mate, lots of game
meat here this weekend.
(01:07:20):
How do you find the game meat tastes
different to the regular low and slow?
What's the difference?
Game's good, so you can get away with it.
It's a different flavor.
It's very rich, iron-wise,
I reckon, with a kangaroo.
Kangaroo is very red compared
to what you get with a deer.
The deer is a bit more subtle on the
(01:07:40):
whole game side of stuff.
If you look at the color, the color,
kangaroo is very red.
The deer, you get your
pigment the more you cook it.
So normally you get this to 52.
52 is medium rare.
56 with the kangaroo.
So that's it.
I like my meat cooked.
So I don't know.
(01:08:00):
It depends on how these people like it.
So later on, we mess around with that
once we got these all organized.
And then we can go and suss
out different types of nibbles
and how people like it.
Well, mate, I'm looking forward to seeing
how all that turns out.
I'm going to let you go.
I can see you've got a
crowd of people lining up here
waiting for your attention.
So thank you for your time.
And enjoy the rest of the Kangaroo Valley
Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
(01:08:20):
Thank you.
Good to see you again.
Thank you.
Everyone enjoy your day.
Come see me.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
And what a wonderful
afternoon it is here.
It is absolutely cracking at the Kangaroo
Valley Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
And with me, I've got Benji from Bent
Spoke, one of our craft beer specialists.
Mate, how are you enjoying it?
Yeah, good, mate.
It's a bloody good day.
The weather's out and
we're all having fun.
So having a good time.
(01:08:42):
It is a cracking day.
Have you tried any of the barbecue yet?
100%, yeah, King Palker down here.
I've been able to nab a few
bits and pieces from them.
Delicious.
Loving it.
And I think we're in the prime spot for
all the smoke of the barbecues
to come up this way too.
So we're pretty stoked with that.
It's all wafting uphill for you.
Lovely.
It is.
It is.
100%.
So, mate, that bit of
barbecue that you ate there earlier,
(01:09:03):
what of your beers
here that you got today,
would you recommend to
go with some barbecue?
Mate, we've got some bloody good ones.
So Dick Tracy is our American Brown Ale.
I think anything kind of dark or anything
kind of that has that
dark fruit kind of flavor
goes very well with the meats.
But Crankshaft is obviously our mainstay.
It's our big IPA.
It's the number one
selling IPA in Australia.
(01:09:24):
And I think IPA cuts
through the meat pretty well.
So should go for a cranky.
It does, doesn't it?
Because some of that barbecue gets a bit
heavy in the flavors.
And I've got the straightforward beer
here, this blue one.
Tell me about this one.
It's a bit of an elbow bend to that one.
So it's exactly what it's meant to be.
It's just a straightforward beer.
Low carb, low gluten.
(01:09:44):
Pretty good for everyone to drink.
So I hope you're enjoying it.
Mate, it sounds fantastic.
I'm going to have a quick sip here.
Oh, man, that hits the spot.
Cheers, mate.
Cheers.
That is seriously so good.
Yeah.
Now, I couldn't help but notice you got a
barrel aged sour up here on the menu.
(01:10:05):
Tell me a bit about that
because I love a good sour beer.
Yeah, good.
So we have a couple
of-- they're called Fudas.
They're big barrels that
we have in the brewery.
So they're Chardonnay barrels that we
used to age for 12 months.
And yeah, we do a bit of blending with a
few different varieties
and got the end product
here, which is pretty tasty.
Mate, that sounds absolutely delicious.
So how many years have
(01:10:26):
you been at Kangaroo now?
Because I think I've chatted
to you guys a couple of times.
Yeah, Bentz.
Oh, God, Bentz.
I've been here for three.
Bentz has been here for a lot
longer than that, I believe.
So yeah, we are
definitely a mainstay here.
And we will be whenever
this festival comes up.
So absolutely love it.
Sounds good, mate.
Look, enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
And thank you for taking
the time out to chat with me.
(01:10:46):
All good, mate.
Cheers.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's Ben again here.
And I'm now chatting with
George from Down Under Smoke
as one of our regulars
here at Kangaroo Valley.
And he's selling these
beautiful drum smokers.
Mate, how are you enjoying the weekend?
Loving it.
Weather's beautiful.
People are great.
Big crowd.
Loving it, mate.
Now, you've been a regular
here for a couple of years.
(01:11:07):
How long have you been coming here now?
Well, this is my third consecutive year.
Three years coming.
It's a great show.
I love coming out here, Kangaroo Valley.
Couldn't ask for anything else.
Yeah, beautiful.
Mate, tell me about
these wonderful drum smokers
that you got for sale here.
So we make our drum smokers
ourselves in our own factory.
(01:11:29):
They come in a range of colors.
They come with ceramic
coat paint, stainless steel
accessories.
All the welding is
done with quality in mind.
The whole thing is
done with quality in mind.
Anyone can use it from
your barbecue competitor
to the backyard barbecue.
Anyone can use it.
Super easy to use.
Mate, it's funny you say that.
(01:11:50):
I was just having a bit of a walk through
the competitors area.
I noticed a lot of them
have this style of barbecue.
What do you think that is?
They're very easy to use.
And once you cook a type of meat,
you're not cross-contaminating it with
another type of meat.
If you're going to cook
brisket, cook brisket.
If you're going to cook pork, cook pork.
(01:12:12):
They're very easy to use.
They have low maintenance.
You don't have to keep
topping up the firebox with wood.
You fill up the basket
once, set your temperatures,
and off you go.
Mate, that sounds
almost too easy, doesn't it?
Now, I know that they
can do low and slow,
but how hot can they get?
They can get up to
approximately 570 Fahrenheit,
(01:12:35):
which is close to 300 degrees Celsius.
That's your hot and fast.
A lot of guys do low and slow.
That's what they're made for.
But having stainless steel
accessories and ceramic coat
paint, you can take
it as hot as you want.
Nice.
That actually sounds like
you could actually maybe even
do some wood-fired pizza in there as well
(01:12:55):
if you're feeling brave.
You can if you buy the wood-fired stone.
You can place it on the
top grill, light it up,
crank it up, and you
can do a pizza as well.
You can do anything you want.
Fantastic, mate.
And I love that you've
got the Aussie staples here.
We're standing in front of the Ford drum.
We've got the brocky
blue Commodore over there.
(01:13:15):
Which one of them sells
better between the two?
Which one do you sell most
of, the Ford or the Holden?
Well, they both sell equally the same,
but the Ford cooks faster.
I don't know about that.
Look, mate, thank you
very much for your time
and enjoy the rest of the festival.
Pleasure.
Thank you.
Have a nice weekend.
That was nice.
Hey, folks.
Welcome to Sunday at Kangaroo Valley
(01:13:36):
Craft Beer and Barbecue
Festival.
With me right now, I've got Scott
from the Knights of Albion, who's
got some very
interesting things to tell us
about what he's doing today.
Mate, what are you up to?
Today, we're just doing a demo.
And we're going to be
demonstrating our guys in armour.
We're going to be fighting mostly duels.
And we're going to be
showing off some longsword
like this, some sword and
(01:13:57):
shield, some sword and buckler.
And we're also going to
be doing some team fights
and some soft armour as
well to show some people how
to get into the sport as well.
Righty-oh.
Now, you've obviously got
this whopping great sword here.
What other weapons are you
guys bringing to play with today?
Today, we brought some
swords, like some fashions.
They're kind of like a
machete kind of style.
We've got axes.
Single-handed axes are
about 80 centimeters long.
(01:14:20):
We've got long swords.
And I think, yeah, we
just got them for today.
We're just doing a lot of duels today.
So we're going to keep
away from the big boy toys.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, yeah.
Now, these are not sharp, obviously.
But they are period accurate
in terms of weight and length
and all the rest of it, aren't they?
Yeah, so we have a lot
of rules and regulations
when it comes to our
weapons, our weight restrictions,
(01:14:40):
length restrictions,
obviously dull points.
And we get checked by marshals
before we go into every event
to make sure that
there's nothing dangerous that
could occur to any of the fighters.
Because, yeah, we're not
here to kill each other.
We're just here to hurt
each other, as it were.
Right, so how much
does, say, that sword weigh?
Probably about a kilo, 0.2, maybe.
(01:15:01):
So they're not
designed to be super heavy.
You need to be able to
fight and defend yourself
for at least a minute and a half, that's
how long our rounds are.
And if you have a really heavy weapon,
you actually can't lift
it or use it properly.
So a lot of people don't
realize that original weapons
like this, they weren't that light.
Sorry, they weren't that heavy.
But they were just
heavy enough to do damage,
but light enough to be
able to use all day, really.
(01:15:23):
Right, OK.
Now, does that extend to the armor?
I can see a couple of gentlemen here
behind us getting warmed up.
Tell me about the armor.
So the armor varies
from fighter to fighter.
But we have-- most people
wear about 30 kilograms of armor,
distributed all over their body,
protecting their head
all the way through their toes.
So again, it's heavily regulated.
We make sure everyone's safe.
And we have a few areas that we
(01:15:43):
definitely never strike,
regardless of what type
of fighting we're doing.
So yeah, it looks
dangerous, but it's actually
quite restricted.
We've got marshals.
We've got-- we're going to have a few
people on the line today
making sure everyone's safe.
It's going to be a good day.
Now, if you're swinging a
sword that weighs that much,
that arm has got to be sort of thick,
heavy armor, doesn't it?
No, actually, it's only
about a millimeter thick.
It's tempered steel.
(01:16:04):
So it can take a serious beating.
It's not like your mild steel.
It can-- it'll-- I mean,
as you'll see later today,
it'll take blow after blow
after blow, and it'll be fine.
But yeah, so it's one
millimeter thick, tempered steel.
So it's usually made overseas.
There's a big following overseas
as we get our armor from.
But yeah, we've imported over
here, and we love it so much.
We just can't get enough.
(01:16:24):
Beautiful.
Now, I understand that you have a
national championship event
coming up next month,
and that this sport is
part of a wider international scene.
It's somewhat unknown here in Australia.
Fill us in on the reality
of just how big this is.
So yeah, it's an international sport.
It's called Boo-Hurt, and B-U-H-U-I-T.
(01:16:45):
Hang on, sorry.
Boo-Hurt, as in it rhymes with you hurt.
Exactly.
Boo-Hurt.
Yeah, it's based off a
French word, boo-hurt,
which means to smack
or something like that.
But yeah, so we have an
international organization
called Boo-Hurt International.
Our nationals is on the
5th and the 6th of October.
And all the teams from around Australia
are all going to be
coming and producing teams
(01:17:05):
to come fight together.
And it's going to be held
in Leppington next month.
Right.
Oh, and I noticed
yesterday with the wrestling,
they had lady wrestlers,
and they had male wrestlers.
Do you have lady
knights fighting here as well?
Not today, but we do have
lady knights in our team.
They just haven't got armor yet.
A lot of our clubs around Australia
do have female fighters.
(01:17:26):
It's not as popular as the
men, but they definitely exist.
And we're growing as quickly as we can.
So we always encourage
females to come and fight with us.
It's just, yeah, we understand.
It's a small
community, but we're growing it.
Fantastic.
And where can people find out more?
Yeah, we've got Facebook and Instagram.
So we're the Knights of Albion.
You can find us on Facebook.
(01:17:46):
That'll be our tag on Instagram as well.
Yeah, you'll find us online.
Beautiful, mate.
Well, best of luck with it today.
I hope you keep all your limbs.
Thank you very much.
Hey, folks, we're
enjoying a beautiful morning here
at the Kangaroo Valley Craft
Beer and Barbecue Festival.
And right now, I'm having a chat with one
of our vendors here.
We've got Adam from Chef Supply Co.
Mate, how's the weekend treating you?
Very well, mate.
(01:18:06):
I'm really happy that the sun's out.
It's not too windy.
The pigs are about to race.
We've just seen the lawmowers go.
Yeah, it's been a great weekend, mate.
Can't complain at all.
Beautiful.
And give me the rundown on what you've
brought to Kangaroo Valley this weekend.
All right, yeah, we do knives.
So kitchen knives, here's one of them.
(01:18:28):
Whip it out of the old leather sheath.
Try not to cut myself.
That's one we did for meat
stock this year and last year.
And yeah, I've brought
probably a quarter of my range down.
We've got steak knives.
I've got sharpeners.
Yeah, and that's about it.
Mate, they are beautiful looking knives.
Are they Damascus steel?
(01:18:48):
Have I got that right with that wavy
pattern in the blade?
Yeah, yep, they certainly are.
So this one's a 45 layer.
If we can get the angle right, you'll
probably see the wavy steel.
But yeah, 45 layer,
bespoke handle for our brand.
You can see our logo in there.
And yeah, we've got a whole bunch of
other ones, different designs.
(01:19:11):
But most of ours are quite blingy.
So what sort of work goes into designing
and creating all these knives?
Do you do all this yourself?
I do the design, but I don't make them.
I get them made overseas because it's too
much for me to manage doing all that.
But yeah, I do a lot of the graphic
design and just sort of the whole look
(01:19:32):
and feel of the brand, you know?
Yeah.
Beautiful.
So when did you all
get started with this?
This brand, I had another brand before,
but started in September 21.
Right.
Oh, so a bit of a COVID business.
Yeah, yeah, started at COVID.
Beautiful, mate, beautiful.
We've got some other fantastic products
(01:19:52):
here as well, some beautiful cutting
boards, sharpeners,
all that sort of stuff.
So what sort of special
deals have you got running?
I can see you've got some different
prices on things there.
What should the
punters be looking at today?
Yeah, we've got a few steak knife deals,
the knives that have been opened, open
boxes, and they get a bit dusty in places
(01:20:13):
like this, you know?
So we've got some deals with those.
We do have the knives a little bit
cheaper than what
they are on the website.
So, you know, if you come over and talk
to me, I could definitely
sort you out with a deal.
Beautiful.
There you are, folks.
You heard it here first.
Come on over, talk to Adam and grab a
beautiful set of knives.
Mate, thank you very much for your time
and I hope the rest of
the weekend treats you well.
(01:20:34):
Thank you, sir. Thanks for having me.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
We are having a cracking time down here
at the Kangaroo Valley Craft
Beer and Barbecue Festival.
And with me right now,
I've got Carlos from...
Oh, people are standing
in front of the sign here.
From...
Sue Direct.
From Sue Direct.
There we go.
And tell us what products have you
brought to Kangaroo Valley this weekend?
So we've got authentic
(01:20:55):
South American flavors.
We've got your traditional mao
chimichurri, your hot chimichurri, and a
limited edition of the smoky chimichurri.
Right. That sounds delicious.
So can you explain a bit about the
relationship between
chimichurri and barbecue?
Yeah, for sure.
So look, I was born in South American
Argentina and that's all I knew and know,
eating meat or part of
(01:21:15):
the cows and beef and pork.
So chimichurri is a bit like tomato sauce
for kids in South America.
Lovely.
So it sort of goes hand in
glove then with barbecue.
I saw that you got three different
variations here and I got to try the
green one yesterday.
Give us a bit of a rundown of the
different types of
chimichurri you've got.
Yeah, for sure.
So we've got the mao chimichurri, which
(01:21:36):
is your traditional
ready to eat chimichurri.
It's got your extra virgin olive oil,
fresh parsley and garlic.
Amazing on your steaks and you got your
hot, which is very similar to the mao,
but it's got a nice kick at the back
without overpowering your cook.
And then the smoky, which is a limited
release chimichurri.
Beautiful again for your
barbecue meats, veggies and more.
(01:21:57):
We actually did that with a collaboration
from a MasterChef contest in Dishi.
As in the TV show MasterChef?
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, Dishi's MasterChef.
Wow, congratulations.
That's absolutely fantastic.
And I also saw that you've got a whole
bunch of different
spice rubs and thing here,
which as we've learned here at the
Kangaroo Valley Craft Beer and Barbecue
(01:22:18):
Festival is really
important to season the meat.
Give us a bit of an idea about how your
spice rubs vary from say the traditional
American style spice rubs.
Yeah, for sure.
Look, first of all, we don't put any
additives in our rubs or any sugars or
any other salts either.
So it's all natural.
We've got three young kids, so we're
teaching them about
eating healthy and clean,
(01:22:38):
but you can still have
good flavors in your cooks.
So we basically use it
like most of the guys do.
But again, we don't we stay away from
that other sugar and other salts.
Beautiful.
Yeah, it's really important for our
families to do the best we
can to take care of them.
And speaking about families, that's
something that's really
important to your business, isn't it?
It is.
Yeah, the business was
(01:22:58):
basically built on family.
We've got three young kids, so we started
just before COVID and then through COVID
we grew and expended.
But again, we're all about teaching our
kids where money comes from and what it
means to go to work,
wake up and your money.
Beautiful, mate.
Sounds like you're doing a great job.
Now, you did mention before that they are
your traditional family recipes as well.
(01:23:21):
So then there's that
added layer to it as well.
How old are these recipes?
Mate, I'll be lying to you.
I mean, I grew up eating especially the
Maochumi Churri, the way
that we make it now since young.
So I think it's just been passed on from
generations, I'll probably say.
Yeah, I mean, I remember my auntie and
uncle in Argentina making it and my mom
and uncles and cousins.
(01:23:42):
So, yeah, it's gone a long way and it's
nice to have it here
in Ajarnao for you guys.
Fantastic, mate.
There you go.
Generations of family love have gone into
these traditional South
American barbecue products.
Come on down, check them out, say hello
to Carlos and, mate, enjoy
the rest of the festival.
Thank you so much, guys.
I appreciate it.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm over here at the competitors corner,
(01:24:04):
the competitors arena,
the blood sport mats.
I don't know what you want to call it.
And I've got AJ here
from Smoke and Swine.
Mate, how are you enjoying the festival?
This is an awesome festival.
I come in here every year.
Probably one of my more favorite comps on
the circuit, actually.
So came here last year, got an RGC.
So we'll see how we go this year as well.
Reserve Grand Champion, very nice.
So what are the
(01:24:24):
implications of that for you?
Like what does coming in Reserve Grand
Champion or Grand Champion mean for you?
Yeah, I mean, it just sort of shows that
what we do and sort of the effort we've
been putting into our
processes and flavours
is actually hitting the mark with a lot
of our judges at the moment.
So we are really happy with how we've
been working and getting the results that
we've been aiming for.
So beautiful.
Now, I just saw them doing the I believe
(01:24:45):
it was pork rib hand in.
How did your pork ribs go today?
Mate, super happy with the pork ribs.
Made a few changes in the way that we
sort of worked some
processes and that sort of stuff.
They came out juicy, tender.
Presentation was a mark as well.
So you're really stoked
with how they came out today.
Mate, they look absolutely sensational.
Now, I believe brisket's coming in last.
Can you give us an idea of the amount of
preparation and cook time that goes into
(01:25:07):
barbecuing a perfect brisket?
Yeah, so we started with the pits going
at four o'clock this morning.
Brisket went on just after that as well.
They trimmed last night, injections, all
the rubs, all the seasonings,
those sort of things as well.
So it came off probably
about two and a half hours ago.
So it's about six hours
cooked for that bad boy.
But I was super happy with how I was
looking at the moment.
So yeah, six and a half hours.
(01:25:29):
Wow. Now, that sounds like a long time,
but I know that for a brisket, that's
actually a quick time.
How do you go about
doing that in six hours?
Yeah, so with the brisket,
we now do it hot and fast.
So we actually go on the hotter side.
So we cook them all
300 to 350 Fahrenheit.
Just we're seeing better result instead
of cooking something for that tall 14
hours, especially with competition.
So yeah, just makes
it a lot easier for us.
We don't have to say it all
night cooking that brisket.
(01:25:50):
So yeah.
Beautiful. Now, I happen to know that
there's an Australasian barbecue
alliance, sort of national leaderboard.
Where are you guys
sitting on the leaderboard?
Yeah, I think last check was sitting
about 12 on the leaderboard nationally.
Yeah, so super happy with that.
We finished up 18th last year.
We're currently sitting 12th on the
leaderboard at the moment.
So yeah, super stoked with those results.
Mate, that is awesome.
I'm so happy to hear that for you.
(01:26:12):
Now, give us a quick idea of the smoker
that you got here behind us.
Yes, this bad boy.
We got this made by BOSOC
Smokers up in Toowoomba.
We've had it for just
over 12, 18 months now.
So me and my business partner, Dan, we've
gone into the catering side of stuff and
doing weddings and functions.
Starting the competition.
And now we use this thing for catering
for 500 plus people.
(01:26:32):
Wedding is all up through the Hund and
Valley, down the south coast
of the north coast as well.
So we love cooking.
I think it's so easy to cook with.
Brenda makes an
awesome smoker and trailer.
It's just if you're looking for a smoker,
you've got to be
looking at BOSOCs for sure.
Beautiful, mate. That sounds amazing.
So if somebody was wanting to book you
for catering gig, how
would they track you down?
Yeah, we are on Facebook and Instagram.
(01:26:53):
We do have a website as well,
smokeandswinebarbecue.com.au.
So if anyone wants to reach out or come
and see us here today, more of the
welcome to have a chat with you.
Beautiful, mate. I appreciate your time
and best of luck with the competition.
Thanks so much. Cheers.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm over here in
the competition circle
with the Barbecue competitors.
If you haven't been over here yet, make
sure you come check it out.
We've got some of Australia's best
championship barbecuers here
(01:27:13):
this weekend at Kangaroo Valley.
And one of them happens to be...
My God, that's a fantastic helmet.
Thanks, Dave.
That's what happened to people from
taking me recipes and just watching out
for the 5G signals at the moment.
So that's your anti-shicking helmet?
Correct.
Right. OK. And how's it
working out for you this weekend?
(01:27:34):
Well, apparently it's about a thousand
bucks worth of oil foil in this hat.
And we're going all right. We lost our
roof last night, but overall
the cook's going quite well.
So the wind came up and blew the roof off
but didn't manage to take the hat away?
No, I ran like a girl and put it in my
car, so I stayed safe.
Nice. Nice.
So cook wise then, mate, how's the
competition going for you cook wise?
(01:27:56):
Really good. Chicken, very happy with
ribs. Absolutely delicious.
We're about to start
the short ribs going soon.
And brisket sitting in the Canberra, just
resting, waiting to be
chopped up, ready to go.
Nice. Now, I was talking to another team
earlier who told me they got their
brisket done in six hours.
How did you go?
We did it in five hours and 55 minutes.
Ah, there you go.
(01:28:16):
So I guess that's a win then if you're
doing it five minutes
faster than somebody else?
I wouldn't say a win. We just like to get
our brisket out of the way.
So when we're doing our chicken pork
ribs, we don't have to worry about it.
It's getting a nice long rest. So no
stress on us and puts it out of the way.
And just means I have to
wake up a little bit earlier.
Fair enough, mate. So do you do the
(01:28:37):
brisket in the undertaker here behind us?
Yeah, correct. The brisket and
short ribs done in the offset
and the chicken and
ribs were done in the jack.
But the ribs we ended up
finishing up in the offset.
Just the smoke and jack just didn't quite
get to the right temperature we wanted.
So I finished it off in here and yeah,
(01:28:59):
they came out delicious.
Right. Oh, so was that due to the wind?
Like was the wind affecting
the jack more than the offset?
No, it was just because we tried to use
one fire lighter to light the thing
rather than a proper chimney.
You know, apparently
the hack got in the way.
And distract the grant and he just threw
a fire lighter in and
thought that would be enough.
So he went cheap on the firelighters and
(01:29:19):
then it cost you later.
Correct. Yeah. Nice. Nice.
So you've been here just about every year
that I've been here.
What is it about Kangaroo Valley that
just keeps you coming back?
Oh, the weather. The winds just
absolutely beautiful.
But generally it's just it's
got a real nice vibe to it.
People come here, we relax.
(01:29:39):
It's almost like a Christmas party for
the Sydney sort of comp scene.
Everyone's just chilled. It's
not about being too serious.
It's just getting in, having fun, doing
the best barbecue you can.
And just hopefully at the end of the day,
you get a trophy or not.
But that's more the atmosphere and the
actual people here than over
winning or anything like that.
(01:30:00):
Absolutely. It is one of the competitions
that for me is is a
highlight of the year.
Now you were mentioning
wanting to pick up a trophy.
Is there a particular category that you
reckon you've got dialed in that you are
probably going to get a call up in?
Well, if it's anything like meat stock,
hopefully you've got the beard
competition where I
took out second place.
So I'm hoping to go for
first if they've got it here.
(01:30:21):
If not, we always like to get a call out
and brisket and chicken.
There are there are two
strong strongest categories.
Brisket and chicken. Yeah, that's that's
quite opposite sides of the of the
barbecue scale there.
Is there a particular
chicken cut that you like to use?
Are you a rib man or thigh man? Where do
you go with your chicken?
I think thick thighs have saved lives. So
(01:30:42):
definitely the chicken thighs.
Thick thighs saves lives. There you go.
You heard it first here, Dave from
Cracking Pepper Barbecue, mate.
Thanks for having a chat with us and
enjoy the rest of the weekend.
No worries. All right. Thanks, Benny.
Love having you around.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're here in the
competitors corner in the the
field of dreams, as it were.
(01:31:03):
And we got the big man
himself. We got the Bosca Hoonah.
We got Jason from the
Australasian Barbecue Alliance.
Mate, tell us what your
role is here this weekend.
Today, I'm the head judge.
So I'll be making sure that the
competition runs smoothly and work out
who the winner is for the day.
Beautiful. Now, speaking of the
competition for the punters here who are
not familiar with competition barbecue,
(01:31:23):
are we just like having a car
park cook off, bunning style?
Or what's it all about?
Not quite like that.
It's a low and slow comp.
So cooking started
about 5 p.m. yesterday.
Teams are turning in four turn ins.
So they're doing chicken, pork ribs, beef
ribs and brisket for today.
They can spend a number of
(01:31:44):
hours cooking all of those.
So again, they've only got 10 minute
windows to turn in as well.
So they've got to be they've got to make
sure that it's ready
and they're on point.
So it's it's quite a science to it, but
it's yeah, it's a lot
of fun at the same time.
And now you said it
started at 5 p.m. yesterday.
So that's more we're up to about what, 17
hours by this stage.
Is that right?
That's right. Some teams like to cook
(01:32:05):
their briskets longer, some a
bit more, a bit more quicker.
But we open up that window of 5 p.m.
so that they can start injecting and
getting all their meat
ready for today's turn ins.
Beautiful. And how is it judged?
So we have the tables of six and each
table will have one
portion each of each turn in box.
(01:32:26):
So today we've got about 27 teams here.
So we've got 24 judges.
So we'll evenly distribute
the boxes amongst each table.
And judges get to take about six or seven
portions per turn in.
So then they'll score it on taste,
texture and appearance.
And then we get a score at the end that
determines the winner.
Oh, beautiful. Now, speaking of the
(01:32:46):
winner, what's the
significance of this weekend's event?
Is there a national leaderboard?
Is it is it just for the
glory of this competition?
Where does this competition fit in?
So some are here for the competition that
are locals, but most most people are
competing for the
leaderboard championship.
So Barbecue's Galore sponsor that, which
is greatly appreciated.
And they are they will go towards the
(01:33:09):
2024, 2025 championship this year.
So they will be competing
through all over Australia.
In some cases, teams even go to New
Zealand to score
points in the championship.
So yeah, it's a lot of teams here have
come from like, you
know, Adelaide or Brisbane.
Just to be here today for the to do their
(01:33:30):
best in the championship series.
So it's it's pretty serious stuff.
Very nice. Now, speaking of serious
stuff, I've noticed that there are some
folks with some really flash looking
smokers like this big trailer behind us.
And then there's people with some things
that look like rescued
webbers off the side of the road.
So can you cook on anything?
Like, do you have to have a giant trailer
like like behind us here?
(01:33:52):
Anything works. And so long as you know,
your smoker, that's what it's all about.
I've seen people taking home trophies
with webbers as well as everything right
up to your offset smokers.
So as long as it's a wood fired source or
like wood, charcoal or pellet, that's
then anything can go.
So yeah, it depends on how well you know,
(01:34:13):
your rig is how it is, how well you do.
So it's pretty much a run
what you brung situation.
Basically, yeah. And if you know those,
if you know that grill
well, that'll work for you.
Beautiful, mate. Look, I can see your
judges are starting to line up.
So you're going to
have to go back inside.
Thank you very much for your time and
I'll see you at awards ceremony time.
That's a pleasure, mate. Take care.
(01:34:43):
That brings us to the end of another
sizzling episode of the Smoking Hot
Confessions Barbecue Podcast.
We hope you've enjoyed this flavorful
journey through the world of barbecue,
grilling and all things smoked and
sizzling at the beautiful Kangaroo Valley
Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
Before we wrap up, don't forget to
(01:35:04):
subscribe, rate and leave
us a smoking hot review.
Your feedback helps keep the fire burning
and helps us bring you
more mouthwatering content.
Stay connected with us on social media to
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You can join us at the Smoking Hot
Confessions Barbecue
Community Group on Facebook.
(01:35:24):
And remember, whether you're a seasoned
pit master or just getting started,
keep those fires stoked, those grills hot
and those flavours unforgettable.
Until next time, here's to
the magic of smoke and fire.
Keep those confessions smoking.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome, barbecue enthusiasts, to another
smoke and hot episode
of the Smoke and Hot
Confessions Barbecue podcast.
[APPLAUSE]
I'm your host, Ben, and
(01:00:20):
I'm thrilled to take you
on a mouthwatering journey
through the world of barbecue,
grilling, and the vibrant
culture that surrounds it.
Recorded right here in the
heart of the barbecue world,
our podcast is your
backstage pass to all things
smoking and sizzling.
We'll be chatting with top
pitmasters, grill masters,
and foodies, giving you an exclusive peek
(01:00:42):
behind the scenes of
the barbecue universe.
[APPLAUSE]
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster
or just fired up the
grill for the first time,
you are in the right place.
The Smoking Hot
Confessions Barbecue podcast
is your one-stop destination for
flavor-packed stories,
grilling tips, smoker
secrets, and all things barbecue.
(01:01:05):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So grab a seat, fire up your smoker,
and get ready to sink
your teeth into the juiciest
conversations, the boldest flavors,
and the most unforgettable moments
in the world of barbecue.
[APPLAUSE]
Here's to the thrill of the
grill and the magic of smoke
and fire.
Let's get started.
(01:01:25):
[MUSIC PLAYING]
September is a great time for barbecue.
The weather is warm enough to be outside
without being blistering hot, and the
flies and mosquitoes
haven't woken up yet,
meaning we can cook outside
without being eaten ourselves.
And so it is that September every year
is the Kangaroo Valley Craft
Beer and Barbecue Festival.
(01:01:47):
I've been there every
year it's been on since 2018,
and I've got to tell you, it just
keeps getting better
and better every year.
2024 was no different,
with a double SCA cook-off,
as well as a round of the
ABA Low and Slow National
Competition.
This is on top of a
festival jam packed with things
for the family, including
barbecue vendors, craft beer
(01:02:07):
and wine stalls, and a heap
of activities for the kids too.
This year even saw the
addition of the Knights of Albion,
which saw men and women
in authentic medieval armor
and weaponry hold several bouts and
battles throughout Saturday.
And on Sunday, we saw a
professional wrestling
troupe take the stage
and entertain everybody
with their brand of humor and combat.
(01:02:27):
It truly was a beautiful weekend of
smoke, meat, and beer.
So let me take you now to
the always incredible Kangaroo
Valley Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
I hope-- was it still morning?
It is just still morning.
It's almost lunchtime.
It's coming up.
(01:02:48):
And I'm here up on the food
vendor circle with Nomad Kitchen.
Please introduce
yourself and let them know
where you've come from today.
Hi, I'm Kim.
I'm from Nomad Kitchen.
And we are from St. George's
Basin, so Shalehaven Locals.
And this is our seventh
Kangaroo Valley Beer and Barbecue
Festival.
You just jumped the gun.
(01:03:08):
I was going to say that.
You've been here every year since it
started, haven't you?
Sure haven't.
It's been fantastic.
We've loved every minute from the time
we get here till the time we leave.
It's just unreal.
So what is it about the
Kangaroo Valley Craft Beer
and Barbecue Festival that keeps you
coming back year after year?
Just the support from
everyone who's traveled.
It's quite sort of a mutual area.
(01:03:30):
So Southern Highlands,
Naur, as far as Canberra,
they all congregate.
And even the boys down
in the barbecue arena,
they've traveled some
from Paul Macquarie.
And as far as Victoria's, I know.
And everybody just enjoys themselves.
There's live music.
There's food.
There's smoke.
There's drinks.
(01:03:51):
There's beer.
Like what more can you get?
Beautiful.
Well said.
Now, you actually going to win the award
today for Bigger Smoker
here, I believe.
Tell us about the new
addition to the family.
So we purchased a 1956--
it was built--
ex-hepsy air tank receiver.
That's a mouthful.
(01:04:12):
Back in 2022, we tried to
have it ready for last year.
We just ran out of year.
So she's here today.
And she's running pretty.
We're very excited.
Beautiful.
So tell us what's for lunch today.
So this year, we've got our--
well, it's 14-hour
smoked black market brisket.
(01:04:33):
Miber score five.
We've got our pulled pork.
We've got beef ribs.
We've got pork ribs.
We've got share boxes,
sample boxes, anyone.
And we've got Southenaro's
jalapeno and cheese snags.
My god, that sounds amazing.
What's your personal favorite?
(01:04:53):
The ribs.
Definitely the beef ribs.
They are dinosaurs.
They're about four
fingers high, two inches wide,
mouthful and a half.
That's impressive.
I'm going to do a quick lap and I'll be
back for a set of them.
You can box them up for me shortly.
Thank you, Ben, for
coming out each and every year
and supporting us all as well.
Thank you.
Have a good day.
(01:05:13):
You too, darling.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, happy lunchtime.
Happy lunchtime.
The sun is out.
The sky is blue.
And there's smoke
wafting through the air.
Isn't it delightful?
With me right now, I've got Jay from
King's Pork, a barbecue
and catering.
And he has got a hell of a
rig up here on the top oval.
Mate, tell us about what
you're doing here today.
So we've got a venison
(01:05:35):
hanging over here, low and slow.
We've got some kangaroo.
We've got some sausages, pork lollipops.
We have a variety of everything.
So not everything's the same.
So everyone can get a
little bit different.
And I don't know.
I don't know.
Enjoy the day.
I suppose we'll be
here in some nice nibbles.
Sounds awesome, mate.
(01:05:55):
Now we first met for
the first time last year
here at Kangaroo Valley.
And you had just built
your barbecue trailer.
And then today you've brought this--
what is this, like an asado wagon?
What do you call this guy?
I don't know.
Fire pit wagon.
I don't know.
Old school bit of cooking over flame.
Very slow and low.
Not low and slow.
(01:06:16):
Slow and low.
It's pretty good.
It works.
It works off being minimum fire and be
consistent with heat.
That's it.
So I don't know.
Just something I created
just so I can pull people in
and do a different style
of cooking and smoking.
Beautiful.
It looks and smells absolutely amazing.
(01:06:36):
When is that venison going
to be ready for the public?
Probably about 5 o'clock, I reckon.
About 5 o'clock should be ready.
Just letting it go slow and
then cause an indirect fire
and cut some bits off and feed people.
Delicious.
So tell me, what do you got available
right now for lunch?
I have.
So we've got beef ribs, pork
lollipops, grilled chicken,
(01:06:59):
beef brisket, pulled pork, kangaroo tail.
What else have I got?
Some amazing sauces.
So burgers, barbecue
boxes, and I don't know,
nibbles on the side.
I don't know.
And kangaroo sausages as well.
So I got kangaroo venison sausages.
Mate, lots of game
meat here this weekend.
(01:07:20):
How do you find the game meat tastes
different to the regular low and slow?
What's the difference?
Game's good, so you can get away with it.
It's a different flavor.
It's very rich, iron-wise,
I reckon, with a kangaroo.
Kangaroo is very red compared
to what you get with a deer.
The deer is a bit more subtle on the
(01:07:40):
whole game side of stuff.
If you look at the color, the color,
kangaroo is very red.
The deer, you get your
pigment the more you cook it.
So normally you get this to 52.
52 is medium rare.
56 with the kangaroo.
So that's it.
I like my meat cooked.
So I don't know.
(01:08:00):
It depends on how these people like it.
So later on, we mess around with that
once we got these all organized.
And then we can go and suss
out different types of nibbles
and how people like it.
Well, mate, I'm looking forward to seeing
how all that turns out.
I'm going to let you go.
I can see you've got a
crowd of people lining up here
waiting for your attention.
So thank you for your time.
And enjoy the rest of the Kangaroo Valley
Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
(01:08:20):
Thank you.
Good to see you again.
Thank you.
Everyone enjoy your day.
Come see me.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
And what a wonderful
afternoon it is here.
It is absolutely cracking at the Kangaroo
Valley Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
And with me, I've got Benji from Bent
Spoke, one of our craft beer specialists.
Mate, how are you enjoying it?
Yeah, good, mate.
It's a bloody good day.
The weather's out and
we're all having fun.
So having a good time.
(01:08:42):
It is a cracking day.
Have you tried any of the barbecue yet?
100%, yeah, King Palker down here.
I've been able to nab a few
bits and pieces from them.
Delicious.
Loving it.
And I think we're in the prime spot for
all the smoke of the barbecues
to come up this way too.
So we're pretty stoked with that.
It's all wafting uphill for you.
Lovely.
It is.
It is.
100%.
So, mate, that bit of
barbecue that you ate there earlier,
(01:09:03):
what of your beers
here that you got today,
would you recommend to
go with some barbecue?
Mate, we've got some bloody good ones.
So Dick Tracy is our American Brown Ale.
I think anything kind of dark or anything
kind of that has that
dark fruit kind of flavor
goes very well with the meats.
But Crankshaft is obviously our mainstay.
It's our big IPA.
It's the number one
selling IPA in Australia.
(01:09:24):
And I think IPA cuts
through the meat pretty well.
So should go for a cranky.
It does, doesn't it?
Because some of that barbecue gets a bit
heavy in the flavors.
And I've got the straightforward beer
here, this blue one.
Tell me about this one.
It's a bit of an elbow bend to that one.
So it's exactly what it's meant to be.
It's just a straightforward beer.
Low carb, low gluten.
(01:09:44):
Pretty good for everyone to drink.
So I hope you're enjoying it.
Mate, it sounds fantastic.
I'm going to have a quick sip here.
Oh, man, that hits the spot.
Cheers, mate.
Cheers.
That is seriously so good.
Yeah.
Now, I couldn't help but notice you got a
barrel aged sour up here on the menu.
(01:10:05):
Tell me a bit about that
because I love a good sour beer.
Yeah, good.
So we have a couple
of-- they're called Fudas.
They're big barrels that
we have in the brewery.
So they're Chardonnay barrels that we
used to age for 12 months.
And yeah, we do a bit of blending with a
few different varieties
and got the end product
here, which is pretty tasty.
Mate, that sounds absolutely delicious.
So how many years have
(01:10:26):
you been at Kangaroo now?
Because I think I've chatted
to you guys a couple of times.
Yeah, Bentz.
Oh, God, Bentz.
I've been here for three.
Bentz has been here for a lot
longer than that, I believe.
So yeah, we are
definitely a mainstay here.
And we will be whenever
this festival comes up.
So absolutely love it.
Sounds good, mate.
Look, enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
And thank you for taking
the time out to chat with me.
(01:10:46):
All good, mate.
Cheers.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's Ben again here.
And I'm now chatting with
George from Down Under Smoke
as one of our regulars
here at Kangaroo Valley.
And he's selling these
beautiful drum smokers.
Mate, how are you enjoying the weekend?
Loving it.
Weather's beautiful.
People are great.
Big crowd.
Loving it, mate.
Now, you've been a regular
here for a couple of years.
(01:11:07):
How long have you been coming here now?
Well, this is my third consecutive year.
Three years coming.
It's a great show.
I love coming out here, Kangaroo Valley.
Couldn't ask for anything else.
Yeah, beautiful.
Mate, tell me about
these wonderful drum smokers
that you got for sale here.
So we make our drum smokers
ourselves in our own factory.
(01:11:29):
They come in a range of colors.
They come with ceramic
coat paint, stainless steel
accessories.
All the welding is
done with quality in mind.
The whole thing is
done with quality in mind.
Anyone can use it from
your barbecue competitor
to the backyard barbecue.
Anyone can use it.
Super easy to use.
Mate, it's funny you say that.
(01:11:50):
I was just having a bit of a walk through
the competitors area.
I noticed a lot of them
have this style of barbecue.
What do you think that is?
They're very easy to use.
And once you cook a type of meat,
you're not cross-contaminating it with
another type of meat.
If you're going to cook
brisket, cook brisket.
If you're going to cook pork, cook pork.
(01:12:12):
They're very easy to use.
They have low maintenance.
You don't have to keep
topping up the firebox with wood.
You fill up the basket
once, set your temperatures,
and off you go.
Mate, that sounds
almost too easy, doesn't it?
Now, I know that they
can do low and slow,
but how hot can they get?
They can get up to
approximately 570 Fahrenheit,
(01:12:35):
which is close to 300 degrees Celsius.
That's your hot and fast.
A lot of guys do low and slow.
That's what they're made for.
But having stainless steel
accessories and ceramic coat
paint, you can take
it as hot as you want.
Nice.
That actually sounds like
you could actually maybe even
do some wood-fired pizza in there as well
(01:12:55):
if you're feeling brave.
You can if you buy the wood-fired stone.
You can place it on the
top grill, light it up,
crank it up, and you
can do a pizza as well.
You can do anything you want.
Fantastic, mate.
And I love that you've
got the Aussie staples here.
We're standing in front of the Ford drum.
We've got the brocky
blue Commodore over there.
(01:13:15):
Which one of them sells
better between the two?
Which one do you sell most
of, the Ford or the Holden?
Well, they both sell equally the same,
but the Ford cooks faster.
I don't know about that.
Look, mate, thank you
very much for your time
and enjoy the rest of the festival.
Pleasure.
Thank you.
Have a nice weekend.
That was nice.
Hey, folks.
Welcome to Sunday at Kangaroo Valley
(01:13:36):
Craft Beer and Barbecue
Festival.
With me right now, I've got Scott
from the Knights of Albion, who's
got some very
interesting things to tell us
about what he's doing today.
Mate, what are you up to?
Today, we're just doing a demo.
And we're going to be
demonstrating our guys in armour.
We're going to be fighting mostly duels.
And we're going to be
showing off some longsword
like this, some sword and
(01:13:57):
shield, some sword and buckler.
And we're also going to
be doing some team fights
and some soft armour as
well to show some people how
to get into the sport as well.
Righty-oh.
Now, you've obviously got
this whopping great sword here.
What other weapons are you
guys bringing to play with today?
Today, we brought some
swords, like some fashions.
They're kind of like a
machete kind of style.
We've got axes.
Single-handed axes are
about 80 centimeters long.
(01:14:20):
We've got long swords.
And I think, yeah, we
just got them for today.
We're just doing a lot of duels today.
So we're going to keep
away from the big boy toys.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, yeah.
Now, these are not sharp, obviously.
But they are period accurate
in terms of weight and length
and all the rest of it, aren't they?
Yeah, so we have a lot
of rules and regulations
when it comes to our
weapons, our weight restrictions,
(01:14:40):
length restrictions,
obviously dull points.
And we get checked by marshals
before we go into every event
to make sure that
there's nothing dangerous that
could occur to any of the fighters.
Because, yeah, we're not
here to kill each other.
We're just here to hurt
each other, as it were.
Right, so how much
does, say, that sword weigh?
Probably about a kilo, 0.2, maybe.
(01:15:01):
So they're not
designed to be super heavy.
You need to be able to
fight and defend yourself
for at least a minute and a half, that's
how long our rounds are.
And if you have a really heavy weapon,
you actually can't lift
it or use it properly.
So a lot of people don't
realize that original weapons
like this, they weren't that light.
Sorry, they weren't that heavy.
But they were just
heavy enough to do damage,
but light enough to be
able to use all day, really.
(01:15:23):
Right, OK.
Now, does that extend to the armor?
I can see a couple of gentlemen here
behind us getting warmed up.
Tell me about the armor.
So the armor varies
from fighter to fighter.
But we have-- most people
wear about 30 kilograms of armor,
distributed all over their body,
protecting their head
all the way through their toes.
So again, it's heavily regulated.
We make sure everyone's safe.
And we have a few areas that we
(01:15:43):
definitely never strike,
regardless of what type
of fighting we're doing.
So yeah, it looks
dangerous, but it's actually
quite restricted.
We've got marshals.
We've got-- we're going to have a few
people on the line today
making sure everyone's safe.
It's going to be a good day.
Now, if you're swinging a
sword that weighs that much,
that arm has got to be sort of thick,
heavy armor, doesn't it?
No, actually, it's only
about a millimeter thick.
It's tempered steel.
(01:16:04):
So it can take a serious beating.
It's not like your mild steel.
It can-- it'll-- I mean,
as you'll see later today,
it'll take blow after blow
after blow, and it'll be fine.
But yeah, so it's one
millimeter thick, tempered steel.
So it's usually made overseas.
There's a big following overseas
as we get our armor from.
But yeah, we've imported over
here, and we love it so much.
We just can't get enough.
(01:16:24):
Beautiful.
Now, I understand that you have a
national championship event
coming up next month,
and that this sport is
part of a wider international scene.
It's somewhat unknown here in Australia.
Fill us in on the reality
of just how big this is.
So yeah, it's an international sport.
It's called Boo-Hurt, and B-U-H-U-I-T.
(01:16:45):
Hang on, sorry.
Boo-Hurt, as in it rhymes with you hurt.
Exactly.
Boo-Hurt.
Yeah, it's based off a
French word, boo-hurt,
which means to smack
or something like that.
But yeah, so we have an
international organization
called Boo-Hurt International.
Our nationals is on the
5th and the 6th of October.
And all the teams from around Australia
are all going to be
coming and producing teams
(01:17:05):
to come fight together.
And it's going to be held
in Leppington next month.
Right.
Oh, and I noticed
yesterday with the wrestling,
they had lady wrestlers,
and they had male wrestlers.
Do you have lady
knights fighting here as well?
Not today, but we do have
lady knights in our team.
They just haven't got armor yet.
A lot of our clubs around Australia
do have female fighters.
(01:17:26):
It's not as popular as the
men, but they definitely exist.
And we're growing as quickly as we can.
So we always encourage
females to come and fight with us.
It's just, yeah, we understand.
It's a small
community, but we're growing it.
Fantastic.
And where can people find out more?
Yeah, we've got Facebook and Instagram.
So we're the Knights of Albion.
You can find us on Facebook.
(01:17:46):
That'll be our tag on Instagram as well.
Yeah, you'll find us online.
Beautiful, mate.
Well, best of luck with it today.
I hope you keep all your limbs.
Thank you very much.
Hey, folks, we're
enjoying a beautiful morning here
at the Kangaroo Valley Craft
Beer and Barbecue Festival.
And right now, I'm having a chat with one
of our vendors here.
We've got Adam from Chef Supply Co.
Mate, how's the weekend treating you?
Very well, mate.
(01:18:06):
I'm really happy that the sun's out.
It's not too windy.
The pigs are about to race.
We've just seen the lawmowers go.
Yeah, it's been a great weekend, mate.
Can't complain at all.
Beautiful.
And give me the rundown on what you've
brought to Kangaroo Valley this weekend.
All right, yeah, we do knives.
So kitchen knives, here's one of them.
(01:18:28):
Whip it out of the old leather sheath.
Try not to cut myself.
That's one we did for meat
stock this year and last year.
And yeah, I've brought
probably a quarter of my range down.
We've got steak knives.
I've got sharpeners.
Yeah, and that's about it.
Mate, they are beautiful looking knives.
Are they Damascus steel?
(01:18:48):
Have I got that right with that wavy
pattern in the blade?
Yeah, yep, they certainly are.
So this one's a 45 layer.
If we can get the angle right, you'll
probably see the wavy steel.
But yeah, 45 layer,
bespoke handle for our brand.
You can see our logo in there.
And yeah, we've got a whole bunch of
other ones, different designs.
(01:19:11):
But most of ours are quite blingy.
So what sort of work goes into designing
and creating all these knives?
Do you do all this yourself?
I do the design, but I don't make them.
I get them made overseas because it's too
much for me to manage doing all that.
But yeah, I do a lot of the graphic
design and just sort of the whole look
(01:19:32):
and feel of the brand, you know?
Yeah.
Beautiful.
So when did you all
get started with this?
This brand, I had another brand before,
but started in September 21.
Right.
Oh, so a bit of a COVID business.
Yeah, yeah, started at COVID.
Beautiful, mate, beautiful.
We've got some other fantastic products
(01:19:52):
here as well, some beautiful cutting
boards, sharpeners,
all that sort of stuff.
So what sort of special
deals have you got running?
I can see you've got some different
prices on things there.
What should the
punters be looking at today?
Yeah, we've got a few steak knife deals,
the knives that have been opened, open
boxes, and they get a bit dusty in places
(01:20:13):
like this, you know?
So we've got some deals with those.
We do have the knives a little bit
cheaper than what
they are on the website.
So, you know, if you come over and talk
to me, I could definitely
sort you out with a deal.
Beautiful.
There you are, folks.
You heard it here first.
Come on over, talk to Adam and grab a
beautiful set of knives.
Mate, thank you very much for your time
and I hope the rest of
the weekend treats you well.
(01:20:34):
Thank you, sir. Thanks for having me.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
We are having a cracking time down here
at the Kangaroo Valley Craft
Beer and Barbecue Festival.
And with me right now,
I've got Carlos from...
Oh, people are standing
in front of the sign here.
From...
Sue Direct.
From Sue Direct.
There we go.
And tell us what products have you
brought to Kangaroo Valley this weekend?
So we've got authentic
(01:20:55):
South American flavors.
We've got your traditional mao
chimichurri, your hot chimichurri, and a
limited edition of the smoky chimichurri.
Right. That sounds delicious.
So can you explain a bit about the
relationship between
chimichurri and barbecue?
Yeah, for sure.
So look, I was born in South American
Argentina and that's all I knew and know,
eating meat or part of
(01:21:15):
the cows and beef and pork.
So chimichurri is a bit like tomato sauce
for kids in South America.
Lovely.
So it sort of goes hand in
glove then with barbecue.
I saw that you got three different
variations here and I got to try the
green one yesterday.
Give us a bit of a rundown of the
different types of
chimichurri you've got.
Yeah, for sure.
So we've got the mao chimichurri, which
(01:21:36):
is your traditional
ready to eat chimichurri.
It's got your extra virgin olive oil,
fresh parsley and garlic.
Amazing on your steaks and you got your
hot, which is very similar to the mao,
but it's got a nice kick at the back
without overpowering your cook.
And then the smoky, which is a limited
release chimichurri.
Beautiful again for your
barbecue meats, veggies and more.
(01:21:57):
We actually did that with a collaboration
from a MasterChef contest in Dishi.
As in the TV show MasterChef?
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, Dishi's MasterChef.
Wow, congratulations.
That's absolutely fantastic.
And I also saw that you've got a whole
bunch of different
spice rubs and thing here,
which as we've learned here at the
Kangaroo Valley Craft Beer and Barbecue
(01:22:18):
Festival is really
important to season the meat.
Give us a bit of an idea about how your
spice rubs vary from say the traditional
American style spice rubs.
Yeah, for sure.
Look, first of all, we don't put any
additives in our rubs or any sugars or
any other salts either.
So it's all natural.
We've got three young kids, so we're
teaching them about
eating healthy and clean,
(01:22:38):
but you can still have
good flavors in your cooks.
So we basically use it
like most of the guys do.
But again, we don't we stay away from
that other sugar and other salts.
Beautiful.
Yeah, it's really important for our
families to do the best we
can to take care of them.
And speaking about families, that's
something that's really
important to your business, isn't it?
It is.
Yeah, the business was
(01:22:58):
basically built on family.
We've got three young kids, so we started
just before COVID and then through COVID
we grew and expended.
But again, we're all about teaching our
kids where money comes from and what it
means to go to work,
wake up and your money.
Beautiful, mate.
Sounds like you're doing a great job.
Now, you did mention before that they are
your traditional family recipes as well.
(01:23:21):
So then there's that
added layer to it as well.
How old are these recipes?
Mate, I'll be lying to you.
I mean, I grew up eating especially the
Maochumi Churri, the way
that we make it now since young.
So I think it's just been passed on from
generations, I'll probably say.
Yeah, I mean, I remember my auntie and
uncle in Argentina making it and my mom
and uncles and cousins.
(01:23:42):
So, yeah, it's gone a long way and it's
nice to have it here
in Ajarnao for you guys.
Fantastic, mate.
There you go.
Generations of family love have gone into
these traditional South
American barbecue products.
Come on down, check them out, say hello
to Carlos and, mate, enjoy
the rest of the festival.
Thank you so much, guys.
I appreciate it.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm over here at the competitors corner,
(01:24:04):
the competitors arena,
the blood sport mats.
I don't know what you want to call it.
And I've got AJ here
from Smoke and Swine.
Mate, how are you enjoying the festival?
This is an awesome festival.
I come in here every year.
Probably one of my more favorite comps on
the circuit, actually.
So came here last year, got an RGC.
So we'll see how we go this year as well.
Reserve Grand Champion, very nice.
So what are the
(01:24:24):
implications of that for you?
Like what does coming in Reserve Grand
Champion or Grand Champion mean for you?
Yeah, I mean, it just sort of shows that
what we do and sort of the effort we've
been putting into our
processes and flavours
is actually hitting the mark with a lot
of our judges at the moment.
So we are really happy with how we've
been working and getting the results that
we've been aiming for.
So beautiful.
Now, I just saw them doing the I believe
(01:24:45):
it was pork rib hand in.
How did your pork ribs go today?
Mate, super happy with the pork ribs.
Made a few changes in the way that we
sort of worked some
processes and that sort of stuff.
They came out juicy, tender.
Presentation was a mark as well.
So you're really stoked
with how they came out today.
Mate, they look absolutely sensational.
Now, I believe brisket's coming in last.
Can you give us an idea of the amount of
preparation and cook time that goes into
(01:25:07):
barbecuing a perfect brisket?
Yeah, so we started with the pits going
at four o'clock this morning.
Brisket went on just after that as well.
They trimmed last night, injections, all
the rubs, all the seasonings,
those sort of things as well.
So it came off probably
about two and a half hours ago.
So it's about six hours
cooked for that bad boy.
But I was super happy with how I was
looking at the moment.
So yeah, six and a half hours.
(01:25:29):
Wow. Now, that sounds like a long time,
but I know that for a brisket, that's
actually a quick time.
How do you go about
doing that in six hours?
Yeah, so with the brisket,
we now do it hot and fast.
So we actually go on the hotter side.
So we cook them all
300 to 350 Fahrenheit.
Just we're seeing better result instead
of cooking something for that tall 14
hours, especially with competition.
So yeah, just makes
it a lot easier for us.
We don't have to say it all
night cooking that brisket.
(01:25:50):
So yeah.
Beautiful. Now, I happen to know that
there's an Australasian barbecue
alliance, sort of national leaderboard.
Where are you guys
sitting on the leaderboard?
Yeah, I think last check was sitting
about 12 on the leaderboard nationally.
Yeah, so super happy with that.
We finished up 18th last year.
We're currently sitting 12th on the
leaderboard at the moment.
So yeah, super stoked with those results.
Mate, that is awesome.
I'm so happy to hear that for you.
(01:26:12):
Now, give us a quick idea of the smoker
that you got here behind us.
Yes, this bad boy.
We got this made by BOSOC
Smokers up in Toowoomba.
We've had it for just
over 12, 18 months now.
So me and my business partner, Dan, we've
gone into the catering side of stuff and
doing weddings and functions.
Starting the competition.
And now we use this thing for catering
for 500 plus people.
(01:26:32):
Wedding is all up through the Hund and
Valley, down the south coast
of the north coast as well.
So we love cooking.
I think it's so easy to cook with.
Brenda makes an
awesome smoker and trailer.
It's just if you're looking for a smoker,
you've got to be
looking at BOSOCs for sure.
Beautiful, mate. That sounds amazing.
So if somebody was wanting to book you
for catering gig, how
would they track you down?
Yeah, we are on Facebook and Instagram.
(01:26:53):
We do have a website as well,
smokeandswinebarbecue.com.au.
So if anyone wants to reach out or come
and see us here today, more of the
welcome to have a chat with you.
Beautiful, mate. I appreciate your time
and best of luck with the competition.
Thanks so much. Cheers.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm over here in
the competition circle
with the Barbecue competitors.
If you haven't been over here yet, make
sure you come check it out.
We've got some of Australia's best
championship barbecuers here
(01:27:13):
this weekend at Kangaroo Valley.
And one of them happens to be...
My God, that's a fantastic helmet.
Thanks, Dave.
That's what happened to people from
taking me recipes and just watching out
for the 5G signals at the moment.
So that's your anti-shicking helmet?
Correct.
Right. OK. And how's it
working out for you this weekend?
(01:27:34):
Well, apparently it's about a thousand
bucks worth of oil foil in this hat.
And we're going all right. We lost our
roof last night, but overall
the cook's going quite well.
So the wind came up and blew the roof off
but didn't manage to take the hat away?
No, I ran like a girl and put it in my
car, so I stayed safe.
Nice. Nice.
So cook wise then, mate, how's the
competition going for you cook wise?
(01:27:56):
Really good. Chicken, very happy with
ribs. Absolutely delicious.
We're about to start
the short ribs going soon.
And brisket sitting in the Canberra, just
resting, waiting to be
chopped up, ready to go.
Nice. Now, I was talking to another team
earlier who told me they got their
brisket done in six hours.
How did you go?
We did it in five hours and 55 minutes.
Ah, there you go.
(01:28:16):
So I guess that's a win then if you're
doing it five minutes
faster than somebody else?
I wouldn't say a win. We just like to get
our brisket out of the way.
So when we're doing our chicken pork
ribs, we don't have to worry about it.
It's getting a nice long rest. So no
stress on us and puts it out of the way.
And just means I have to
wake up a little bit earlier.
Fair enough, mate. So do you do the
(01:28:37):
brisket in the undertaker here behind us?
Yeah, correct. The brisket and
short ribs done in the offset
and the chicken and
ribs were done in the jack.
But the ribs we ended up
finishing up in the offset.
Just the smoke and jack just didn't quite
get to the right temperature we wanted.
So I finished it off in here and yeah,
(01:28:59):
they came out delicious.
Right. Oh, so was that due to the wind?
Like was the wind affecting
the jack more than the offset?
No, it was just because we tried to use
one fire lighter to light the thing
rather than a proper chimney.
You know, apparently
the hack got in the way.
And distract the grant and he just threw
a fire lighter in and
thought that would be enough.
So he went cheap on the firelighters and
(01:29:19):
then it cost you later.
Correct. Yeah. Nice. Nice.
So you've been here just about every year
that I've been here.
What is it about Kangaroo Valley that
just keeps you coming back?
Oh, the weather. The winds just
absolutely beautiful.
But generally it's just it's
got a real nice vibe to it.
People come here, we relax.
(01:29:39):
It's almost like a Christmas party for
the Sydney sort of comp scene.
Everyone's just chilled. It's
not about being too serious.
It's just getting in, having fun, doing
the best barbecue you can.
And just hopefully at the end of the day,
you get a trophy or not.
But that's more the atmosphere and the
actual people here than over
winning or anything like that.
(01:30:00):
Absolutely. It is one of the competitions
that for me is is a
highlight of the year.
Now you were mentioning
wanting to pick up a trophy.
Is there a particular category that you
reckon you've got dialed in that you are
probably going to get a call up in?
Well, if it's anything like meat stock,
hopefully you've got the beard
competition where I
took out second place.
So I'm hoping to go for
first if they've got it here.
(01:30:21):
If not, we always like to get a call out
and brisket and chicken.
There are there are two
strong strongest categories.
Brisket and chicken. Yeah, that's that's
quite opposite sides of the of the
barbecue scale there.
Is there a particular
chicken cut that you like to use?
Are you a rib man or thigh man? Where do
you go with your chicken?
I think thick thighs have saved lives. So
(01:30:42):
definitely the chicken thighs.
Thick thighs saves lives. There you go.
You heard it first here, Dave from
Cracking Pepper Barbecue, mate.
Thanks for having a chat with us and
enjoy the rest of the weekend.
No worries. All right. Thanks, Benny.
Love having you around.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're here in the
competitors corner in the the
field of dreams, as it were.
(01:31:03):
And we got the big man
himself. We got the Bosca Hoonah.
We got Jason from the
Australasian Barbecue Alliance.
Mate, tell us what your
role is here this weekend.
Today, I'm the head judge.
So I'll be making sure that the
competition runs smoothly and work out
who the winner is for the day.
Beautiful. Now, speaking of the
competition for the punters here who are
not familiar with competition barbecue,
(01:31:23):
are we just like having a car
park cook off, bunning style?
Or what's it all about?
Not quite like that.
It's a low and slow comp.
So cooking started
about 5 p.m. yesterday.
Teams are turning in four turn ins.
So they're doing chicken, pork ribs, beef
ribs and brisket for today.
They can spend a number of
(01:31:44):
hours cooking all of those.
So again, they've only got 10 minute
windows to turn in as well.
So they've got to be they've got to make
sure that it's ready
and they're on point.
So it's it's quite a science to it, but
it's yeah, it's a lot
of fun at the same time.
And now you said it
started at 5 p.m. yesterday.
So that's more we're up to about what, 17
hours by this stage.
Is that right?
That's right. Some teams like to cook
(01:32:05):
their briskets longer, some a
bit more, a bit more quicker.
But we open up that window of 5 p.m.
so that they can start injecting and
getting all their meat
ready for today's turn ins.
Beautiful. And how is it judged?
So we have the tables of six and each
table will have one
portion each of each turn in box.
(01:32:26):
So today we've got about 27 teams here.
So we've got 24 judges.
So we'll evenly distribute
the boxes amongst each table.
And judges get to take about six or seven
portions per turn in.
So then they'll score it on taste,
texture and appearance.
And then we get a score at the end that
determines the winner.
Oh, beautiful. Now, speaking of the
(01:32:46):
winner, what's the
significance of this weekend's event?
Is there a national leaderboard?
Is it is it just for the
glory of this competition?
Where does this competition fit in?
So some are here for the competition that
are locals, but most most people are
competing for the
leaderboard championship.
So Barbecue's Galore sponsor that, which
is greatly appreciated.
And they are they will go towards the
(01:33:09):
2024, 2025 championship this year.
So they will be competing
through all over Australia.
In some cases, teams even go to New
Zealand to score
points in the championship.
So yeah, it's a lot of teams here have
come from like, you
know, Adelaide or Brisbane.
Just to be here today for the to do their
(01:33:30):
best in the championship series.
So it's it's pretty serious stuff.
Very nice. Now, speaking of serious
stuff, I've noticed that there are some
folks with some really flash looking
smokers like this big trailer behind us.
And then there's people with some things
that look like rescued
webbers off the side of the road.
So can you cook on anything?
Like, do you have to have a giant trailer
like like behind us here?
(01:33:52):
Anything works. And so long as you know,
your smoker, that's what it's all about.
I've seen people taking home trophies
with webbers as well as everything right
up to your offset smokers.
So as long as it's a wood fired source or
like wood, charcoal or pellet, that's
then anything can go.
So yeah, it depends on how well you know,
(01:34:13):
your rig is how it is, how well you do.
So it's pretty much a run
what you brung situation.
Basically, yeah. And if you know those,
if you know that grill
well, that'll work for you.
Beautiful, mate. Look, I can see your
judges are starting to line up.
So you're going to
have to go back inside.
Thank you very much for your time and
I'll see you at awards ceremony time.
That's a pleasure, mate. Take care.
(01:34:43):
That brings us to the end of another
sizzling episode of the Smoking Hot
Confessions Barbecue Podcast.
We hope you've enjoyed this flavorful
journey through the world of barbecue,
grilling and all things smoked and
sizzling at the beautiful Kangaroo Valley
Craft Beer and Barbecue Festival.
Before we wrap up, don't forget to
(01:35:04):
subscribe, rate and leave
us a smoking hot review.
Your feedback helps keep the fire burning
and helps us bring you
more mouthwatering content.
Stay connected with us on social media to
catch behind the scenes sneak pics and
updates on upcoming episodes.
You can join us at the Smoking Hot
Confessions Barbecue
Community Group on Facebook.
(01:35:24):
And remember, whether you're a seasoned
pit master or just getting started,
keep those fires stoked, those grills hot
and those flavours unforgettable.
Until next time, here's to
the magic of smoke and fire.
Keep those confessions smoking.
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