Charcoal smokers can make dam good BBQ — but they can also be super frustrating.

Today, I have a yarn about why some backyard cooks are moving from charcoal smokers to pellet smokers. Temperature swings, fuel management, changing weather and those overnight cooks can make charcoal a lot of work.

But is convenience actually the point of low & slow BBQ? We look at what pellet smokers make easier, what you might lose by stepping away from the fire, and why there's something satisfying about learning to manage charcoal, wood and your smoker.

This isn't charcoal vs pellets. It's about finding the smoker that makes you actually want to cook.

Because whether you're managing a fire all day or pressing a button, we're all here for the same thing.

Delicious Low and Slow BBQ.

This episode, we're going out.

I head out to pick up a hāngī from a workmate, bringing you along for the journey before taking it home and sitting down to actually taste it.

We talk about what hāngī and low & slow BBQ have in common — patience, time, slow cooking and feeding people, while also looking at what makes hāngī its own unique Māori cooking tradition.

From the smell on the drive home to opening it up and taking that first bite, this one is about experiencing the food rather than just talking about it.

I've spent a lot of time talking about low & slow BBQ, but this episode reminded me that slow cooking has been part of Aotearoa for a bloody long time, and its an amazing example of our unique style.

You know that feeling when you smell BBQ before you can even see it?

The smoke drifting down the street, charcoal firing up, meat hitting the heat, or opening the smoker after a few hours and getting that first hit of smoke.

In this Side Dish, we talk about the smells that make BBQ what it is — wood smoke, charcoal, rubs, meat, fat hitting the fire, and that unmistakable Kiwi BBQ smell.

Because sometimes the best part of a cook starts long before the first bite, and can take you back to great moments.

Low & slow, one smell at a time.