When Queenslander Ben Arnot fired up his four-gas burner for his American mother-in-law, she laughed and said: "Honey, that's not barbecue."

Key points: Podcaster and competitive chef Ben Arnot is at the forefront of the boom in popularity of America-style barbecuing

Podcaster and competitive chef Ben Arnot is at the forefront of the boom in popularity of America-style barbecuing Arnot is among many Australians who have taken up the "low and slow" technique, turning away from the style many of them grew up with

Arnot is among many Australians who have taken up the "low and slow" technique, turning away from the style many of them grew up with The style has taken off not only among consumers, but is also proving to be of major benefit to butchers

Within a week Mr Arnot had purchased a smoker. By the third and final week of his mother-in-law's stay, the Arkansas local was showing him how to rub a brisket.

In the eight years since, American barbecue has made its mark on the Australian scene and brought with it new hope for foodies and butchers alike.

Mr Arnot, who has made a career out of the boom, didn't know slow-cooked meat would be the cure for his American wife's home sickness. Looking back, he said, it made sense.

"Barbecue's all about family," Mr Arnot said.

"There's just something about that particular flavour that brings people together and taps into their psyche like no other."

American barbecue involves cooking at a low heat over a long period of time. ( Supplied: Jay Beaumont )

Sizzling away

Mr Arnot bought his smoker in 2012, and by 2014 he was competing in competitions.

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In 2016 he started his podcast, Smoking Hot Confessions. He now spends 15-20 weekends a year working at Australian barbecue festivals.

Soon he will embark on his third podcast tour in the United States.

Mr Arnot said "grilling", as the Americans referred to it, was a marked change from the style of barbecue he grew up on.

"My dad, as much as I love the guy, he burnt everything he touched," he said.

"We'd have sausages that were black on the outside, red in the middle.

"Low and slow barbecue has absolutely become mainstream (in Australia)."

Taking backyard barbecue to the streets

Stuart 'Grumpy' Thomson started watching a lot of American cooking shows when ongoing knee injuries forced him to quit truck driving.

The Nangwarry local was so inspired by the low and slow he saw that in 2016 he purchased a small, $600 pellet smoker.

But when he was called upon to cater for 15 at a family gathering, the 50-year-old decided to upgrade.

Stuart Thomson has tried it all on the smoker … bacon, prawns, deer jerky, pepperoni sticks, chicken treats for the dog, and "beer can burgers". ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

Fellow Nangwarry resident Kallen Westbrook assembled the industrial-sized steel smoker over the course of six months.

Deeming the 440 kilogram smoker too heavy to move by hand, he decided to chuck it on an axle instead.

And so a mobile catering business was born.

Mr Thomson now spends his weekends offloading brisket, kranskys, and pulled pork at community events and private functions, alongside partner Carla Mashado.

The smoker business got Mr Thomson out of the house. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

"It's not about the money," Mr Thomson said.

"It's about showing people good barbecue.

"Nine times out of 10 if you break even, make $50, you're happy."

Barbecue's redemptive power

Mr Thomson, a tearaway in his childhood in Nangwarry, said his catering venture had surprised his community as much as it had surprised him.

"I tore this place completely apart growing up as a teenager," he said.

"I was a horrible child here."

He said locals were wary when he started serving up meals decades later.

"They're shaking their heads, you can see it, they don't want to eat anything I've cooked," he said.

"Then once they've tried it they say, 'oh my gosh, where did you learn to cook?'"

Mr Thomson said he was a "horrible child" in his neighbourhood, but won the locals over with his cooking. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

Ms Mashado said watching her partner immerse himself in a hobby had given her peace of mind when she worked away from home.

"You can get depressed sitting at home, feeling useless," she said.

"So giving him this little project has got him out."

Shows and demos: barbecue's competitive edge

Fortunately, you do not have to travel far to taste some of the world's best 'barbecue'.

Take Meatstock: 50 teams from across Melbourne and beyond battling it out for the Barbecue Wars title and $15,000 in prize money.

Online group Australasian Barbecue Alliance has 81,000 followers. ( Supplied: Jay Beaumont )

Across the Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland editions of the festival in 2019, 50,000 people attended.

"It's basically 300 of your mates, you set up your tents in whatever area you're in, and you basically spend the weekend cooking and hanging out," Mr Arnot said.

While some have shopfronts, many are there purely for the thrill of the grill (well, smoker).

"They're not selling on the side, they're not doing shows, they are doing it for the pure competition side of it," Mr Thomson said.

Australian special relationship with the butcher

With Australian 'pit masters' popping up in yards, shops and shows, Meat and Livestock Australia's Doug Piper said the meat industry was changing.

"People (used to) just accept what was on the butcher shop shelf; they're now looking for these different cuts," Mr Piper said.

The new demand for once-unpopular cuts has come back to the butcher.

"It's a real artisan trade (now), the guys have gone out and they've learnt a bit more to keep updated with all the cuts of meat out there."

The brisket — the king of American barbecue — is popular with smoker users. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

Being able to sell individual cuts at a premium price rather than putting them into sausages and dog food can have serious financial benefit.

Mount Gambier butcher Daniel Aldersey said learning to market meat and offer advice on how to cook it was just part of keeping up with the times.

"You have to be that point of difference between the supermarkets (and other butchers)," Mr Aldersey said.

The versatility of low and slow surprises many. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

He connected the butcher's success to a historical relationship with customers.

Unlike in other industries, Mr Piper said, butchers had not lost contact with their customers.

He said that as a butcher he strived to have a relationship with his customers like the one his grandmother had with her local butcher, Mr Doors.

"You know what the families want to eat, and we make sure we look after them," Mr Piper said.