Learn
Barbecue, with the science shown
Straight answers from my pit log, whether you're hosting or cooking.
Hosting an event?
How much meat, which sides travel well, what to ask a caterer.
Cooking it yourself?
The stall, the bark, the fire, and why each one happens.
Start here
Heat, time and the stall
Why your brisket stops climbing
The stall is your brisket sweating, and the sweat cools it. Why it happens, and how to choose between waiting, more heat and wrapping.
9 min read
Cuts and recipes
Brisket, start to finish (in Celsius, with Australian cuts)
The whole brisket cook from the butcher's counter to the board, in Celsius with AUS-MEAT cut names: buying, trimming, salting, the fire, the wrap, when it's done, holding and slicing.
12 min read
Feeding a crowd
How much meat per person for a BBQ party?
How much brisket to buy for a crowd, in kilograms: the measured cook loss (about 40%, not half), the fat you trim first, and what to look for at the butcher.
7 min readHosting an event?
Cooking it yourself?
The basics
The science, in plain words
- Running a thick-steel offset: what the steel does, and how to drive it12 min read
Sugar & spice: what sugar does in a rub, and when it burns9 min read 
Butcher paper vs foil vs naked: what wrapping actually does10 min read 
Clean smoke: thin blue vs thick white10 min read 
Resting and holding a brisket: what happens after it leaves the pit11 min read 
What bark actually is (and why it isn't burnt sugar)9 min read 
Why low and slow works10 min read
Myths, tested
Does injecting work?10 min read 
Dry brining: how salt really gets into meat10 min read 
Fat: rendering, trimming, and fat side up or down10 min read 
Food safety in low and slow11 min read 
The smoke ring: what it is, and why it isn't flavour10 min read 
To spritz or not: does mopping help bark?10 min read 
Why is my brisket dry? Read the slice10 min read
Recipes, start to finish
Beef short ribs: which cut to ask your butcher for8 min read 
Burnt ends from the brisket point8 min read 
A Carolina vinegar sauce for pulled pork7 min read 
Pork ribs: does 3-2-1 actually work?10 min read 
Pulled pork in Australia: which shoulder to buy, and how to keep it hot8 min read 
Smoked chicken without rubbery skin9 min read 
Smoked lamb shoulder9 min read