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so the factory is ultra-clean. Meat
smoking is considered an art, craft
and science combined, originating
from German and Czech immigrants
to Texas, and so tender it can be cut
with a fork.
In the first area, four massive
slow smokers are lined up in a
row. These Beelonia machines are
made in Germany and available in
New Zealand, although Peters had
to make some variations for local
requirements. They are fired up
around twice a week to cook up
to 250kg of meat - pork belly takes
14 to 18 hours, brisket around 20
hours, premium pork around 18 and
premium beef 26 hours. The meat is
sourced generally from local farms,
and needs to have certain levels of
fat and marbling for smoking. Pork
is generally Danish or Spanish to
ensure consistency.
The meat is seasoned with special
rubs developed by the company
and its ingredients suppliers such as
Profile Products, before it goes into
the smokers. Peters says traditional
recipes are nearly half salt and half
pepper, but the company’s range
is typically hot Texas, wound down
a notch or three for Kiwi palettes.
The rub is administered by hand by
Jerynn and Cielo, and is something
unique. “And secret, I’m afraid,”
Peters says wryly. What he will say
is that the company’s rub contains
less salt than you’d use to cook
potatoes.
end.” Requirements from retailers
means packaging is now of utmost
importance, and the company has
reluctantly ceased using its brown
paper packaging due to size, although
it would like to re-introduce it later.
From there, the 200g packs are
transported to New Plymouth’s New
World stores and online buyers, and
bulk orders through commercial
channels despatched. Peters – once
again with his health and safety
hat on – won’t send orders on a
Friday unless he knows they will
be delivered into customers’ hands
on Saturday. “I’m not prepared to
gamble with the shelf life of my
products over the weekend,” he
says. “I’m responsible for them until
they reach their destination.”
Sampling smoked beef, pork,
cheese and butter after the tour, I
ask Peters what’s in store for the
company in its future. He says it will
never be sold to faceless corporates.
“This might have been a hobby gone
wrong, but we are all passionate
about it, and about staying familyowned
and trusted,” Peters says
with humour. “It started as a hobby,
but we love it.”
www.texasbbqfoods.com
A fifth specialty smoker makes
smoked butter and cheese – a
popular addition to the company’s
range. Local cheese and butter
comes by road from Eltham 30km
away, and are revered as ideal
complements to meat, vegetables,
sour dough bread and even in fruit
cobblers. “People say they can’t
quite pick what the difference in
flavour is, but it works,” Peters says.
Smoked meat is then taken from
the smoker machines and cooled in
a Skope blast chiller from very high
temperature to three degrees in a
very short space of time, ensuring
the juices are locked in. Typical Texas
BBQ meat is usually eaten soon after
coming out of the cooker, and the
secret to tenderness comes from the
meat resting for two hours, to allow
muscle fibres to relax.
The company uses mesquite wood
to smoke with, which provides the
flavour but no tannins, creosotes or
carcinogens. However, supplies from
the US can be a bit hit-and-miss,
so the company has extended its
storage facilities to bring more than
enough wood into the country each
order.
From the smoke room, the meat
is put through a chop slicer. The
company has recently installed
a German Multivac packaging
system that forms the bottom
tray, places the correctly-weighed
product into it and, as Peters says,
“spits out a full pack at the other
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