Sizzling, searing secrets on the grill

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Secrets sauces and rubs are being guarded closely as people cook their award winning dish at Phoenix car park in Mount Maunganui.

Pork, ribs and brisket, right through to trout are being cooked with the utmost passion as teams vie to be named the best barbecue chef at the inaugural NZ Gourmet BBQ Championships.


Nigel Beech with his lamb dish. Photos: Tracy Hardy.


A closer look at Nigel's lamb shoulder.

Rosalie Crawford says the competition really is a treat, with a lot more to barbecuing than she thought.

'I thought a barbecue was turn on the gas and 20 minutes later voila! Cooked steak sausages etc.

'But no. This morning I learned it's a great art stretching back through centuries of primal hunting and gathering. Charcoal, hickory wood, subtle blends of sauces. All placed inside what appear to be reconverted large metal drums painted black, with smoke and steam permeating the meat, and left to cook for hours.”

At about 3pm, the dish should be ready to eat.

Rosalie says the competition has attracted mostly men to the grill, but there are a few women standing around the barbies.

'It's very kiwi. Lots of discussion around whether avocado wood is better than hickory.”

Nigel Beach, from Hot Beef Injectors, is preparing a lamb shoulder with a secret recipe passed down from generations.

"I'm cooking lamb shoulder. I have that on slow and low, so about 220 degrees. We are looking to get the internal temperature up to about 190 degrees, so it should just pull off the bone.

"There is a special rub but I can't tell you about that. It has about six ingredients."

Mainstreet manager and event organiser Peter Melgren is blown away at the response to the event.

'Who would think in the middle of winter you could come up with something like this.

'People think we're crazy. A barbecue event in the middle of winter? If you go around and talk with some of the teams here, they are absolutely passionate about what they are doing.”

Peter says someone told him seven hours cooking time is like watching paint dry.

But he can assure people that it doesn't smell like that.

Thirteen teams of three are at the event today with 10 teams using charcoal and the other three are on gas.

Charcoal takes up to seven hours of cooking time.

Peter says gas takes up to about 2.5 hours of cooking time.

Three judges will get the honour of tasting the teams' dishes this afternoon, before choosing the winning item.


John Bedford and Peter Blakeway.

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1 comment

Barbeque, barbecue, bar-b-q, BBQ

Posted on 27-06-2015 16:57 | By TCLANG

No matter how you spell it, it is an art and nowhere taken more seriously than in Texas, USA where both cooking and sauces compete. It must be a treat to be one of the judges. The trout sounds fabulous. A cowboy hat tip to all the participants, y'all.


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