The Contraband Chronicles — Issue 02
The Contraband Chronicles
Dusty Que Take the Crown
Jeff and Amanda of Dusty Que are the 2025/26 Heat Beads® Pitmaster Championship Series champions. That makes them only the ninth Australian Champions in ABA history.
Here's the season, per the ABA's Q11 newsletter: thirteen competitions, never once outside the top five. Five Grand Championships, four Reserves, and perfect 360s in Lamb, Pork and Pork Ribs. They also took second in Dessert at the Houston World Barbecue Championship, flying the flag for Australia and the ABA.
After coming close in seasons past, they've finally got it done. Take a bow, you two.
Awards Night, a New Season, and a Founder's Book
The ABA's quarterly newsletter just landed on the deck, and it's a big one. A season's worth of crowns, a Hall of Fame, a new face on the Board, and one of the Alliance's own founders back on the bookshelves.
So this issue does one job: it gives the people who made the 2025/26 season the full treatment. Every name below is checked against the ABA's own pages, and every link goes straight to the source. The October news, the Forbes photo finish and our day out at Numurkah are all in Issue 03, out today alongside this one.
The Top Ten Who Ran the Whole Race
A championship ladder doesn't care about one good weekend. It rewards whoever turns up and delivers, comp after comp, across the country. These ten did that better than anyone in 2025/26.
Honourable mentions, 11 to 20: Undisputed BBQ, La Familia Barbecue, Beefy Brothers BBQ, GRILL-ty Pleasures, Throw Together BBQ, Firehouse BBQ, Aussie Pit Boys, Wildfire BBQ NQ, 2 Shorty's BBQ and Tonner Smoke BBQ.
A proud one for us: Butcher's Axe finished ninth. Their Bullseye Beef Rub and Big Bark Rub are the same blends they compete with.
Points from the ABA 2025/26 final standings, checked 22 October 2026.
Honouring the Heart of BBQ
Announced at the Australian Barbecue Awards.
Fat Apple Events is Simon Luke and Jay Beaumont, the people who put the show on. The Peer and Popular vote awards land in the ABA's next newsletter, and we'll cover them when they do.
Source: ABA Newsletter No. 11.
The Category Kings
Overall is one ladder. These are the five that crown the best at a single meat across the whole season.
That's three categories and the overall title for Dusty Que. And Grillas In The Mist wear the brisket crown, which is never an easy one to win.
The New Blood
- 1. 2 Ty's BBQ
- 2. Winmarra Bros BBQ (now 1000 Degrees Low n Slow)
- 3. BJ's and BBQ
- 4. FIFO BBQ Brotherhood
- 5. Low-Co BBQ
Every champion on the page above started exactly here. Keep cooking, crews. The ladder notices.
Six Comps In, and Dusty Que Haven't Slowed Down
The new 2027 Heat Beads® Series started exactly where the last one finished. Dusty Que won Beechmont, took Reserve at the Vegas Showdown and Grampians, and haven't let up.
Grand Champions · Reserve
Tickets to Las Vegas
The Vegas Showdown filled Australia's last two places at the Barbecue World Cup. Big GC's BBQ won Grand Champion and the fourth ticket, and Big Smoke BBQ finished third for the fifth. The BBQ World Cup runs 8–11 April 2027 on the Las Vegas Strip, with a US$1,000,000 Pitmaster Championship purse.
Also worth a cheer
- Grillas In The Mist won Gladstone, then the Queensland Open at Meat Noosa. That's back-to-back Queensland Champions.
- Jacks Creek put on a clinic at Kangaroo Valley: three first places, two perfect 360s, and a 15-point winning margin.
- Jimmy Brisket won Brisket at the Grampians and finished third overall.
- BEERS crossed the Tasman and took Reserve at Meat Noosa.
The Perfect 360 Club
Butterbeard BBQ (Pork) · Dusty Que (Pork 2) · Charcoal Project BBQ (Pork Ribs) · Grillas In The Mist (Pork Ribs) · Bar Beard Que (Brisket) · The Jacks Creek BBQ Team (Chicken and Lamb).
Welcome aboard
New teams this quarter: Grillty as Charred, Flame Brothers, El Guapo and Sons, Average Joe's and Dad's BBQ.
Jimmy Cameron Steps Up
The ABA has a new Sponsorship and Team Relations Officer: James "Jimmy" Cameron. You'll know him from the pits. He owns Jimmy Brisket BBQ and Catering, he's been on the circuit since 2018, and his team finished tenth on the national ladder this season.
Off the smoker he brings more than 25 years in banking, finance and mortgage broking, and runs Cameron Finance Group. In the new role he's the direct link between the competitor community and the Board, and he'll be building the sponsorships that keep the sport growing. Business and BBQ in one job. Good luck, Jimmy.
A big thanks, too, to Selena Mulhearn, who has stepped back from the Board to spend more time with family. She isn't going far: look for her and Sweet Lil Meats out on the trail.
She Helped Build the Scene. Now She's Written the Meat Bible.
Before low and slow was a movement in this country, Jess Pryles was banging the drum for Texas-style barbecue here. She's a founding member of the Australasian Barbecue Alliance itself. Since then, the Melbourne-born cook has built Hardcore Carnivore, become a Certified Meat Scientist, and judged and hosted barbecue television in the States.
Her second book, PRIME CUTS, is out now through Murdoch Books. It's 288 pages, organised cut by cut, with over 100 recipes. It covers shopping smarter at the butcher, getting more from every cut, and grilling, smoking, searing, roasting and braising, plus an entire section on steak.
More flavour, less waste, better value from every cut. That's a philosophy every pitmaster can get behind.
Get it signed: Jess is touring Australia in November, and she's at the Que Club in Brunswick on Saturday 21 November, the ABA's 2026 BBQ Business of the Year, no less. All the dates are in Issue 03's Smoke on the Horizon, or on Jess's tour page.
Bring it home: the rub that built her brand is on our shelf. Keep reading.
Hardcore Carnivore Black
Jess's best seller, and the one that put Hardcore Carnivore on the map. Activated charcoal turns it jet black and sets into a deep, dramatic bark. The seasoning stays deliberately subtle (coarse black pepper, garlic and a whisper of chilli and cumin) so the beef does the talking. Heat is about 1/10. Built for brisket, steak, beef ribs and burgers.
Listed as gluten free with no MSG. Always check the physical label for allergens.
Smuggle it home → the Rub Hub · also try Red and Camo
Heavenly Hell Draculas Dreams Smoky Chipotle Ketchup
Heavenly Hell is a family-owned Aussie outfit and one of the ABA's own supporting partners. Draculas Dreams is a tomato, chipotle and maple ketchup: proper sweet-tangy tomato up front, then a mellow smoky chipotle warmth. It's mild, and it's the first thing to disappear at a burger night.
Full dietary statement to be confirmed from the physical label. Check the bottle if it matters at your table.
Champion's Black-Bark Burnt Ends
Serves 6–8 · Prep 20 min · Cook about 8 hrs · Reader level: Backyard
The manifest
- 1 brisket point, about 2.5kg
- 4 tbsp Hardcore Carnivore Black
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- ½ cup Heavenly Hell Draculas Dreams ketchup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 40g butter, cubed
The cook
- Trim the hard fat, smear thinly with mustard and coat heavily with Black. Rest uncovered in the fridge overnight if you can.
- Smoke at 120°C until the point reads about 75°C internal and the bark has set, roughly 5–6 hours.
- Cube into 3cm pieces and tip into a tray. Add the ketchup, sugar and butter and toss to coat.
- Back on, uncovered, for 60–90 minutes, stirring once, until sticky and probe-tender (around 93°C).
- Rest 10 minutes and serve straight from the tray.
The Esky Is a Comp Team's Best Friend
Every comp crew knows this one. Once your brisket or pork is off the smoker, wrap it in paper or foil, then towels, and stash it in a clean, dry esky. It'll hold hot for hours and keep tenderising as it rests, so your turn-in (or your dinner) is never a panic. Just don't let your mate fill it with ice first.
ABA Partners on Our Shelf
Three of the ABA's supporting partners named in this newsletter are stocked right here. Back the people who back the sport:
Issue 03 · Out Today
The Forbes photo finish, Butchers Axe at Gerogery, the Rub Hub and All Guns Glazing taking over Show Us Ya Wheels Numurkah, and a brand-new segment, Smoke on the Horizon, with Jess Pryles' signing day up first. Read Issue 03 →
Season figures checked live against ausbbq.com.au on 22 October 2026. Awards, board news and season highlights as published in the ABA's Newsletter No. 11. Book details from the publisher. Medallion this issue: 083_trophy-brisket-board-proud.png.
