Texas BBQ
Ash Peters is a bit scared to start another hobby. The Taranaki oil and gas worker decided – after
several working trips to Houston, Texas – that he’d try making his own favourite BBQ smoked meat
the way the Southern Americans do it…slowly and with great care.
He loved the tangy flavour of smoked
brisket, beef and pork that literally melted
in the mouth after hours of cooking.
So he cleaned out his ‘man cave’ on his
Egmont Village property in 2009 and
threw a cheap smoker oven in there
to have a go. The first batch wasn’t
too good – the neighbour’s dog dined
royally on those disappointments for
some time. But Peters has a passion for
perfection and, with the encouragement
of his friends and family, kept on trying.
Once results were impressive, he got
32 people “from 3ft high to retirees” to
undertake proof of concept trials (which
ironically ended back with his favourite
cut), played around with ingredients and
meat rubs, scoured traditional recipes and
tentatively began producing regularly as
Texas BBQ Foods.
With a regular job to also fit into the
week, Peters wanted to produce
sliced meat that could be reheated in
the microwave for 30-40 seconds, so
consumers could come home from work
and have warm melt-in-the-mouth smoky
meat in the blink of an eye. “We had to
make changes to the recipe, but didn’t
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want all the rubbish ingredients that are
often in products of this kind,” he says.
“We do a lot of stuff by hand, such as
seasoning, and that’s time-consuming.
But we also have an up to six-month ‘use
by’ date, and that’s phenomenal.
“Everything is computer-controlled,
from the paddock to the consumer’s
hands. We are now about to go into all
New World supermarkets around New
Zealand. We are intending to export to
Asia and the US soon, and Americans
are saying our smoked brisket is better
than what they get there. That’s amazing
validation, but it means I’m a bit scared to
start another hobby!”
When NZ FoodTechnology visits the
smart processing plant near the fringe of
Mt Taranaki’s bush base Egmont National
Park, Peters is talking to a packaging
supplier in Australia. He stabs at an
ipad, sips a cuppa and tells me he won’t
be long but the call is vital. He’s after
packaging that can hang from hooks – a
prerequisite for Foodstuffs – but can
only get it from the Aussies. “This is my
life these days,” he says, sweeping his
arm around the office attached to the
processing areas. “This space used to
have boy toys in it, but I had to sell them
for space. One hobby had to move aside
for another hobby.”
Alongside him is his wife Jerynn, as well
as sister-in-law Cielo Cuaresma and her
husband Al, who assist in running the
business day-to-day. The company will
soon outgrow the facility it’s in, however,
and plans are afoot to move everything to
nearby New Plymouth around Christmas
time. There will eventually be work for
around 30 staff, and Peters is keen to
hire mums returning to the workforce
who want to work inside school hours.
“They’re good workers, and it’s nice to
have employees who like coming to work
and who like mixing together socially,” he
says. “We are a proud Kiwi family-owned
business, and we intend to stay that
way...with a family feel.”
It’s clear that hygiene and cleanliness
are top priorities as you start a factory
tour. Hairnets, gumboots and overalls are
donned, and hanging jewellery taken off.
Peters says he’d never forgive himself
if any customer got anything other than
complete pleasure out of his products,
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