Luke Nagel is a man who knows meat. Luke is a career butcher and the manager of Kelly’s Meats. One of the most well known low and slow butcheries in Melbourne, Kelly’s Meats is responsible for sponsoring many of the best competition BBQ teams in the country, supplying them with only the best steak, beef, lamb, pork, brisket, chicken, and whatever else the promoters might throw at them. 

However, not only is Luke one of the best butchers in the country, his love of food has taken him much further into the meat industry. He is a competition BBQ pitmaster, having represented Australia at The American Royal BBQ Competition in Kansas City, after competing locally. He’s also been on the other side of a BBQ competition, having hosted his own series competitions here in Australia, with both the Australasian Barbecue Alliance and the Kansas City Barbeque Society. 

In this full episode of the Smoking Hot Confessions BBQ Podcast, Luke & I get into:

• How Luke likes to do a hot and fast lamb shoulder (5:00)
• What drew Luke to butchery all those years ago (10:43)
• How he got into competition BBQ (17:03)
• The history of Kelly’s Meats (21:08)
• The differences between competing in Australia and the US (28:13)
• How his experiences shaped his own competitions here in Australia (32:31)
• His best tips and tricks for getting into competition BBQ (40:12)

If you would like to become a Podcast Partner we’d love to hear from you. Send Ben an email at [email protected] and let’s get that conversation started!

To get your free copy of 'The Beginners Guide to Real BBQ', including some smoked meat recipes, head to:

https://smokinghotconfessions.com