Barbie hotshots to show how it’s done
TANYA and Trav Baker are regarded as being among Australia’s best barbecue cooks.
The former Townsville residents will return this weekend to share some of their knowledge, which they have picked up over the past year, which has earned Trav massive boasting rights.
The mean griller cooks with the Double Barrel BBQ team, which currently sits sixth on the Australian Barbecue Alliance leaderboard.
Tanya said there was a whole lot more to competitive barbecuing than slapping a bit of meat on the grill.
“Most of the meats are done low and slow, taking up to 18 hours depending on the protein,” the former Kelso resident said.
She said there was a real science to it, ensuring meat is correctly marinated and cooked to ensure a mouth- watering result for meat lovers.
Tanya, who now lives on the Tablelands, said the secret to barbecuing was simply having a go.
“A lot of people are frightened to have a go but all the other teams are usually happy to help,” she said. “Make sure you have alcoholic beverages and be prepared for a good time.”
They will next compete in Port Macquarie in the biggest barbecue competition outside of America, where 100 teams will compete for $ 20,000.
For Trav, a boilermaker by trade, barbecuing is in his blood. He invented a gizmo for kettle barbecues called the Kettle Kone.
Tanya said it was a pyramidshaped device which gets loaded with charcoal, allowing the heat to be centralised and directed for more controlled cooking. This device and other tricks of the trade will be on show at the Introduction to BBQ Masterclass in Townsville tomorrow.
“We’ll show you the basics of smoking, all the of fuel you can use, and rubs you can use for different kinds of protein,” Tanya said.
For more on the masterclass, visit the TB2 BBQ Smokers FNQ Facebook page.