Meat and greet

Barbecue is the flavour of the moment at Meatstock, writes Megan Masters

When Jay Beaumont travelled to the US about 15 years ago and tried “low and slow” barbecue for the first time, it was love at first bite.

Cooking on “pits” is something of an art form in America, particularly in the south, where you can travel around trying barbecue in all its forms and enjoy flavours as rich as the history of this unique style of cooking.

He returned home, eyed off his four-burner Australian barbecue and figured there had to be a better way to recreate that smoky, tender, full-flavoured meat. But at that point smokers and charcoal pits were all-but unheard of for the average Aussie.

Thanks to a fairly amazing exchange rate at the time, however, more and more Australians were travelling to America and returning just as enamoured with the food scene as Mr Beaumont.

Within five years he saw all signs pointing towards a boom in the Australian low and slow market.

He took a gamble and set to work organising a festival that showcased this delicious food and the tools required to make it, as well as providing entertainment so people could tap their feet while tucking into mouth-watering brisket, ribs and pork shoulder.

He saw huge potential in the first event, held in Port Macquarie, and soon set to work on the inaugural Meatstock festival, held in Sydney in 2015.

It didn’t come without its difficulties in a country where just finding cuts like beef brisket or baby back ribs could prove challenging.

“When we first got into it you couldn’t just go to the butcher and buy a brisket, and if you tried they would sell you a rolled roast,” Mr Beaumont said.

“That whole culture didn’t exist, so we had to create our own and there was a passion for it,” he said.

The passion largely drew from how addictive low and slow cooking could be, with debate all across the American south –and now Australia – about how it should best be done.

Communities of enthusiasts began to pop up across Australia ready to debate all the burning barbecue questions: Should the meat be wrapped or unwrapped for cooking? Should it be wrapped in foil or paper? What is the best rub for each cut? Should it be served with sauce? What wood brings the best flavour to the smoke?

“When you get into it, it can be quite addicting,” Mr Beaumont said.

“For me, the big difference is that the smoke imparts so much flavour into the meat.

“A lamb shoulder roasted in the oven can be quite tender and delicious, but barbecue just has a different dimension.”

He said barbecue could be a slippery slope for some enthusiasts, starting out with a little smoker from the hardware store and a beef brisket, but ending with a $25,000 barbecue trailer and a new career as a pitmaster.

As the popularity of pit cooking surged across the country, Mr Beaumont was soon fielding plenty of demand from Queenslanders keen to get their own bite of the brisket. But finding the right location proved more difficult than expected.

“For the longest time we looked at Brisbane but we could never make it work,” he said.

“Then we found Toowoomba and the showgrounds and thought, ‘This is the right venue, and we could make it big’, and we got 13,000 people at the first Toowoomba festival last year.”

Some of the country’s most dedicated barbecue addicts are now integral to the Meatstock festival, with a neat dozen of the country’s best pitmasters bound for Toowoomba for the second annual instalment of the event on April 14-15.

Mr Beaumont said the event would run over Friday and Saturday, with Saturday’s event already sold out thanks to the booming popularity of barbecue, coupled with a musical line-up that includes a host of Australia’s most lauded country musicians including Brad Cox, Kasey Chambers, Casey Barnes and The McClymonts.

Tickets are still available for the Friday event, but Mr Beaumont warned barbecue lovers to get in quick.

More than 50 vendors will be displaying their wares and chatting with festival-goers about the best set-up for their needs, including everything from the charcoal pit to the spice rub that will boost the flavour of your future creations.

“If you’re just getting into it and want to talk to the vendors or the competitors, they’re always happy to chat,” he said.

“If you’re there to learn barbecue, you could really cut your learning curve and this is the way to do it.”

Along with the tunes and the delicious food, patrons can also enjoy a huge range of other entertainment.

Competitive Eating Australia has officially sanctioned Meatstock to run a burger eating contest, with professional eaters flying in from around the country.

There will also be officially sanctioned heats for Australia’s Strongest Man and Woman in addition to AMIST Butcher Wars, sanctioned by the World Butchers Alliance, and Steak Wars, sanctioned by the Australasian Barbecue Alliance.

Finally, Professional Bullriders Australia (PBR) will be bringing the PBR Monster Energy Tour to the event.

Tickets for the Friday event are $58 and must be pre-purchased as none will be available at the gate if it’s sold out. For more information visit meatstock.com.au.