Tamworth BBQ Man Peter Bukowski will host a charcoal cooking school at Welder's Dog

Pete Bukowski’s evolution into the Tamworth BBQ man was a slow roast, but now, he’s got at least 13 barbecues more than the average bloke.

“When you start collecting you can’t stop, I’m a borderline hoarder, it’s just the nature of the beast,” he said.

“I just love that flavour, it’s like the old days when people would cook over wood – it’s definitely not a new thing but it’s all about the flavour and what you can do with it.”

The BBQ man cooks outdoors four nights a week on one of his fourteen grills – it’s no joke.

Smoke from the Weber billows across his backyard, barely masking his wife’s exasperated sighs.

“Once we were on the way to a barbecue competition in Port Macquarie but we had to fly via Nambucca Heads first to pick up a new grill on the way,” he said.

“It’s just gone crazy, I’ve been charcoal cooking for six or seven years.

“Cooking over the wood and charcoal to start with gives the food flavour and you can add different flavours to the smoke – cherry, pecan, hickory, it just depends on what meat you’re cooking.”

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Lift up the grill hood and what Mr Bukowski does is closer to science than intuition, he knows which parts of the meat are best, how to cook them, at what temperature and the perfect flipping ratio.

And, he’ll be sharing all of his secrets at an introductory charcoal barbecue school and craft beer afternoon at The Welder’s Dog in Tamworth on December 1 .

“I don’t make a lot of money at the dog but they give me beer so it’s a match made in heaven,” he said.

“It’s more about understanding that the myths about it aren’t real, anybody can do it.

“Kids can be cooking, grandma’s can barbecue – it doesn’t matter.”

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