Paul Durston is proud to be part of what he calls one of the fastest growing sports in Australia — competitive barbecuing.

Mr Durston is the pit master for Bulldogs BBQ Australia, a competition team from Bundaberg in southern Queensland dedicated to 'low and slow' barbecue cooking.

In early April the team competed in one of the biggest barbecue competitions outside the United States, the 84-team Australian BBQ Wars at Port Macquarie.

Participants used their cooking skills to produce tender meat full of flavour, using broth, rubs and wood smoke.

Competition sections focused on chicken, pork, lamb, beef and pork ribs, with entries judged on taste, texture and presentation.

It was Mr Durston's second competition outing and the first for the rest of the team, and he was very happy with the results.

"We went very well; we came fifth in the chicken category out of 84 teams, and 10th in chef's choice where we did a nice salmon dish," he said.

Mr Durston said the Australian championships had grown from 20 teams at the first competition to 44 teams last year, and 84 at the 2016 event.

The competition attracted teams from around the nation, with tongue-in-cheek names like Lamb Shank Redemption, Limp Brisket and the Inglorious Basters.

"It's one of the fastest growing sports in Australia, and it's only going to get bigger and bigger," Mr Durston said.

"Everyone at the competition's extremely friendly, and everyone's willing to help out at any time.

"But when it's time for the hand-ins, getting the appearance right, the taste right, the tenderness right, that's when the teams get serious."

Lollipop chicken is one of the signature dishes of the Bulldogs BBQ Australia competitive barbecue team. ( ABC Wide Bay: Brad Marsellos )

Low and slow pit master

As pit master, Mr Durston is an instrumental part of the competitive barbecue team.

"My role is to get up in the morning, do all the preparation, get the fires going, and look after the entire cook," he said.

"I'm there from when the prep starts until the last morsel's been eaten."

Mr Durston said the 'low and slow' method, using a long cooking time over a low heat, was ideal for cheaper cuts of meat often used in barbecue, such as pork or lamb shoulder and beef brisket.

"Because there's so much collagen and fat in the meat, you have to cook it for a long time for it to break down properly and keep the meat moist," he said.

"If you cook it hot and fast it usually tends to shrink, and you lose a lot of the flavour out of the meat."

Competitive cooks add extra flavours by injecting broth or stock into the meat, adding rubs to the outside, and through the smoke itself.

"I try to use Australian natives and fruit woods wherever I can," Mr Durston said.

"Ironbark's very good wood, easily accessible around the Bundaberg area, great for constant heat and a nice heavy smoke.

"For chicken and pork I like to use cherry and apple wood, and for lamb and beef I like to use pecan and apple, maybe a bit of plum sometimes."

From competition to career

Mr Durston is planning to build on his competition cooking to open a catering business in a few months.

"I just love to see the expressions on people's faces when they eat my food," he said.

"My favourite word is 'awesome', when it comes out of people's mouths after eating my food, because then I know I've done a great job."

Mr Durston and the rest of the Bulldogs BBQ Australia team are now picking their dishes for their next competition, the Bundaberg BBQ Battle on May 6 and 7.

The event is Bundaberg's first barbecue competition, with 15 teams already registered from across Queensland and New South Wales.