Smokehouse BBQ Sundays a hit for local families

FROM what began with a childhood memory of cooking outdoors and later a love of authentic barbecue techniques from Tyalgum to Texas, a local couple has created a family institution at the Murwillumbah Leagues Club every Sunday.

The Twenty20 Smokehouse BBQ was established in 2021 by former carpenter Karl Will Magnusson, known to the community as Will, and wife Christina.

Offering a lovingly slow-cooked spread of smoked barbecue with traditional sides, the weekend events are family friendly with live music and kids’ activities, including a jumping castle, and fields to play in a safe, easily watched area by parents.

“It was a key thing from the very start to make it ultra-family friendly because to me, barbecue is a family thing, just enjoying the food and taking the time,” Magnusson said.

 

“This is slow food and takes hours to cook so it should take hours to enjoy.

“When I started and my kids were little, we were always looking for a place where we could sit down and enjoy our food and a drink while the kids are entertained too.

“They’re 11 and 13 now, but it’s always been in our mind because we remember that time.

“It makes everything a lot more relaxed and people stay longer and enjoy their meals and the music, rather than rushing because the kids want to go because there’s nothing for them to do.”

 

Of Tongan heritage, Magnusson grew up on the outskirts of Tyalgum.

“We had a banana shed, no electricity, and minimal running water, so we did a lot of outdoor cooking as I was growing up and it was a thing that I was used to,” he said.

“But when I got older and moved to town, I didn’t really think about that style of cooking and the way I grew up until I went to America backpacking with Christina in my early 20s.

“We spent over four months in Central and South America and I saw American barbecue, and Argentinean barbecue, Brazilian barbecue, and it really ignited my love of cooking with fire, that primal thing, and that’s how it all started.”

 

In the years since, Magnusson has returned to the US five times touring restaurants and food outlets to get a deeper first-hand knowledge of the cuisine. The sophistication, technique and diversity can sometimes be lost on the layperson, but for the aficionado, the subtleties are everything.

“I realised how nuanced it was and how perfectionist it can be to get to the very, very high quality and standards that they have in America, particularly in Texas,” Magnusson said.

“That gave me a good grounding to come back and try and reach those heights, and even if I don’t reach that level, I’m hoping to be one of the better ones in Australia.

 

“There’s a rabbit hole that just never ends trying to get to that perfection. You try to and you always miss the mark, but you just keep trying and keep pushing yourself.

“One of the great things about having a restaurant is that I can experiment weekly to slowly, incrementally get better in steps and I hope that’s what I’ve done over the years, just slowly get better.”

Twenty20 Smokehouse BBQ is open every Sunday from the Australia Day long weekend onwards from 12 pm.

For information, follow facebook.com/2020smokehousebbq