Goodwood Quality Meats in the US

Published on 10 January 2023

Luke Leyson is a smokin’ dude, in more ways than one. The cool-as manager of Goodwood Quality Meats (GQM) recently led a team of butchers from around Australia to a series of smokin’ hot results in the World Butchers’ Challenge in the United States.

The fresh-meat butchery competition in Sacramento, California, saw the Australian team, also including Paul Suleyman from GQM, win first-ever, top-two results in all categories. Their apprentices won first place, and their young butchers won second place, as did the senior team who were just pipped from top place by a German squad.

Our local team submitted about 100 value-added products - fresh meats prepped and ready for home cooks to finish, such as meat rolled in pastry or with fillings. They wowed the judges with the Australian points of difference, including use of native ingredients.

Luke says there was no cooking or smoking at the competition, just a focus on butchering, but the sheer array of meats saw many possibilities presented. Meats on show included the team’s twist on brisket, and their Aussie-style corned beef options were a huge hit as another meat perfect for smoking.

Luke is on a mission to help us put together smoking menus for summer, the smoker being such a popular substitute for the standard barbecue these days.

‘Instead of prime-cut steaks on the barbecue, slow-cooked smoked meats are beautiful, economical, and great with salads.’

Before deciding if you really want to invest in a dedicated smoker, Luke recommends trying a few things on your kettle barbecue first.

‘You can smoke meat in any standard barbecue that will let you cook low and slow. Use a couple of chunks of smoking wood, with half a bag of briquettes’ he says.

‘Or try the snake method, where you put smoking wood at each end of a ring of briquettes creating a domino effect for heat.’ (Search ‘snake method’ on YouTube for instructions).

Goodwood Quality Meats sell Aussie Oak, or Luke suggests Australian citrus woods, cherry, or peach. They also sell special rubs, sauces, and thermometers.

‘After spending up on the meat, it’s worth buying a thermometer for about $50.’

‘Most butchers will give you smoking tips’ says Luke. ‘I like to use a pork scotch (shoulder), or a Boston butt (neck and shoulder). A lamb shoulder also is nice and rich. Choose cuts that need slow cooking to break down and become tender.’

While some butchers refer to these cuts as ‘seconds’ the GQM team prefers to describe them as “curious” cuts, suggesting ‘the other term is a bit negative and can confuse customers because they aren’t seconds, they’re good quality.’

Start simple, says Luke. ‘Buy a 2kg pork scotch and smoke it in your barbecue with one or two chunks of oak and half a bag of briquettes. It will take four to six hours, depending on the heat and the meat, so keep checking its tenderness and temperature.

‘The meat basically needs to be “overcooked” so smoke it until the centre is about 90 degrees Celsius.’

‘Go the Aussie way with side dishes’ says Luke. ‘Americans tend to add heavy sides like mac’n’cheese and potatoes. I prefer lighter salads to go with smoked flesh which is really rich.”

Luke loves a traditional walnut and pear salad, either on the plate or in wraps or sandwiches. He also favours a good coleslaw or Asian-style slaw.

Goodwood Quality Meats is located at 121 Goodwood Road, Unley.