SMOKIN’ CHANGE TO MENU
LIKE an aromatic phoenix rising from the coronavirus lockdown, a CBD tapas bar has found new life as a barbecue smokehouse.
Slap And Pickle began life as a gourmet sandwich and tapas bar, catering to CBD office traffic from its Shield Street address.
However, the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent restrictions forced a drastic rethink on how chef and owner Daithi Spalding did business.
“We were forced into complete shut down and when we could open, we could only have 10 and a half people in here, based on our square metreage,” Mr Spalding said.
“It just wasn’t enough.”
The enterprising Irishman reached out to his followers on social media and asked which cuisine they would most like to see in the city.
Their answer was Mexican or low and slow barbecue.
“We were going to turn this into a taquería, but the numbers didn’t add up,” Mr Spalding said.
So the quick-thinking chef turned to his backyard hobby and found a niche in the market that was ready to fill.
“I had been doing the low and slow thing backyard a bit. There was one operator in town at the time, but they suddenly kind of stopped doing it and focused on their cafe.
“Barbecue seemed like the smart thing to do and seems to have paid off. We started just doing events to get the feel of it. Now business is better than it has been.
“We are starting to gather momentum, it was almost a complete rebrand.
“A lot of people who used to walk past now come in. It is such an identifiable product and is buzzworthy.”
The magic happens in a gravity fed smoker that slowly infuses pork and whole briskets from Bryant’s Family Butchery with flavour for up to 10 hours at a time.
“Cherry wood is my favourite for brisket and pulled pork,” Mr Spalding said. “For smaller stuff, I like to mix it up, use a bit of jarrah and play with it.
“We are always learning. There was a bit of trial and error to begin with. At first it was like working in the engine room of the Titanic, covered in smoke and yelling ‘more coal, boys.’”
Always one to build community co-operation, he has begun supplying bar snacks to McGinty’s pub, sandwiches to the Office Coffee on Lake Street and has branched out into wholesale smoked brisket.
“This is the hardest time this town has seen, so it is good to have local businesses collaborating.” Mr Spalding said.
Slap And Pickle Low N Slow BBQ Smokehouse is open for lunches Friday to Sunday and dinners Thursday to Saturday, and can deliver from Cairns North to Earlville.
Inquire for deliveries and event catering is also available.