This combines some of the best ingredients from Queensland. Although the rum doesn't have to come from Bundaberg, the ginger from Buderim or the juice from Golden Circle it really does make a difference – trust me.

You will need a pork shoulder roast with the skin removed (get the butcher to do this for you if you’re knife challenged). I try to get one around the three kilogram mark.

Get hold of the largest ziplock  plastic bag you can find, put in the chunk of pork shoulder and add about half of the rub (step 1). Carefully close the bag and shake it so the spices are evenly distributed all over the meat. Allow to stand until the meat comes to room temperature (no more than an hour in a Queensland summer).

Place the meat (yes Virginia, take it out of the bag) in the smoker-barbecue when the temperature is a steady 120 degrees C (250 F). Baste (step 2) every hour or so for about six hours - I use a big pastry brush for this. It’s also a good idea to add some more wood chips or chunks while basting if they are needed.

Continue cooking until a meat thermometer placed as close to the centre of the roast as possible (but not touching the bone) registers 85 degrees C (180 F ). This is a really important thing to do as under cooked pork can easily become lethal.

The actual cooking time will depend a lot on the type of smoker or barbeque you are using and its ability to maintain a steady temperature around 120 C (250 F).  It takes around eight hours for my smoker to cook the pork.

During the last hour or so, baste the meat with the sauce. The sauce (step 3) needs at least an hour on a slow simmer so that it reduces to a gloopy consistency. Keep testing the flavour and adding sugar/tomato/vinegar to achieve the balance you want.

After around eight hours of cooking, the pork will almost fall to pieces. Place chunks on soft hamburger buns and spoon over some of the sauce. Serve with steamed corn cobs, potatoes baked in their jackets and coleslaw.

STEP 1 - The Rub

Two tablespoons of paprika (sweet not hot)

Two teaspoons of dried, ground garlic

Two teaspoons of mustard powder

Two teaspoons of freshly cracked black pepper

One teaspoon of dried thyme leaves 

One teaspoon of chilli powder

STEP 2 - The Baste

Add the remains of the rub to:

Three cups of Golden Circle apple juice

Two cups of apple cider vinegar

A splash or two of Bundaberg (dark) rum.

A little melted butter

STEP 3 - The Sauce

To the remains of the baste, add:

About a cup of freeze-dried tomato flakes or paste

A few glugs of  Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce 

Enough brown sugar to give a balance between sweet and sour

More rum (the actual quantity will depend on whether you drink to be sociable or drink to forget)

More chilli if you like it hot

More vinegar to balance the sugar and rum.

USING A KETTLE FOR SLOW SMOKING

Not many gas barbys can be used for slow smoking  because they cannot consistently maintain low temperatures for long periods while still creating enough heat to ignite wood chips. But give it a try first and see if yours can keep the temperature steady at 120 C and the smoke flowing.

While nothing beats a purpose built slow smoker, you can turn out some genuine slow smoked barbeque on a kettle – if you have plenty of patience and are prepared to make a lot of adjustments to keep the heat steady.

The illustration shows you how to set up a standard kettle for slow smoking. It’s from an article in The Portland Times Record  in which the Moose and Lobster Preservation Society, winners of  ‘Best Ribs in New England’ at the Pig and Pepper Competition in Carlisle MA, describe their technique for cooking ribs on a Weber kettle.

While it shows an early kettle with separate air vents in the base, it is possible to use the ones with the lever operated vent blades – just crack them open a tiny bit. You will need to pop a temperature gauge in the vent on the lid – the ‘candy’ ones sold in kitchen shops work fine.

You can pick up excellent second hand kettles for less than $100 which is a great low cost introduction to the world of real barbeque.

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