The Smell of Smoke and Success: Hatz Off BBQ Ignites the Shire
The initial encounter might be visual – a tantalising video showcasing a slab of brisket, so deeply smoked and tender it practically dissolves at the mere touch of a flimsy cardboard fork. While American barbecue might not always be the first culinary inclination, this particular footage, captured at Hatz Off BBQ in Taren Point, stirred something primal. It awakened a deep-seated instinct, a yearning to head south to Sydney’s Sutherland Shire and indulge in a feast fit for a king.
The sensory experience begins even before you lay eyes on Hatz Off BBQ. The air itself is a potent perfume of charred fat, smouldering ironbark, and the sweet caramelisation of onions. This carnivorous aroma billows out from a colossal, six-metre-long solid steel barbecue pit, strategically positioned in the car park of a Star Car Wash.
At the helm of this smoky operation is George Hatzigeorgiou, a local man who has dedicated over a decade to mastering the art of Texan-style barbecue. What began as a passionate hobby evolved into a full-blown pursuit of pitmastery, leading him to leave behind a corporate career in 2023 to chase his barbecue dreams.
Hatzigeorgiou speaks of the inherent “caveman appeal” in Texan barbecue. “Cooking with firewood, no electronics, manually controlling the airflow through your chimneys and the temperature over many hours,” he explains. “The longer you do it, the more you appreciate the skill and the art in it.”
This dedication to craft is palpable in his signature brisket. Served unadorned, it’s accompanied by a vibrant slaw – a recipe perfected by his mother, Xan – alongside cheesy corn kernels and a soft bread roll. Brisket, a cut known for its toughness due to its high collagen content, is here transformed. It’s treated to a secret rub of salt, spice, and sweetness, then subjected to up to 12 hours of smoking over Queensland ironbark. A further 10-hour rest allows the magic to fully develop. The result is a deeply coloured crust giving way to an impossibly tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture with just the right amount of satisfying chew.
The quality of the meat itself plays a crucial role, with Hatzigeorgiou sourcing Australian-bred wagyu boasting exceptional marbling for that coveted intramuscular fat.
“From the beginning, we said, ‘Look, if we’re going to do this, we’re jumping in with both feet. We’re not taking any shortcuts, we’re not pre-cooking anything the week before, and we’re doing everything from scratch’,” he asserts. “And if it works, fantastic. If it doesn’t, then we sleep well knowing we didn’t cut any corners.”
This unwavering commitment to quality permeates every aspect of the menu. Hatzigeorgiou personally crafts all his sauces in his home kitchen. This includes slow-cooking batches of his barbecue sauce – a delightful balance of sweetness with a gentle warmth, always served on the side. He also blends a unique house sauce, a creamy concoction sitting somewhere between a classic ranch and a garlicky aioli. And for a touch of heritage, he utilises his Greek great-grandmother’s recipe for a creamy tzatziki.
“We wanted to make sure there was a Greek twist on things,” he elaborates. This influence shines through in the gyros, a star on the concise eight-item menu. These are served with your choice of brisket, chicken, or the highly recommended smoked lamb shoulder. Generous portions of succulent meat are piled into thick, grilled pita bread, then lovingly wrapped with tzatziki, thinly sliced red onion, and a generous scattering of fries. The resulting creation is substantial, often as thick as a forearm, and it disappears remarkably quickly.
Beyond the gyros, the menu offers a tempting array of other delights. There are hearty snack packs, flavourful smoked chicken wings, rich beef short ribs, and the ever-popular brisket cheese toastie, a lunchtime exclusive. However, the $22 Philly cheesesteak truly commands attention. It features a generous mound of tender brisket atop soft white bread, enhanced by the sweetness of grilled green peppers and deeply caramelised brown onions. A molten blend of cheddar, asadero, and Monterey Jack cheese crowns this magnificent creation.
“It looks like a heart attack,” quipped a reformed vegan, referring to my husband, who, despite his past convictions, still found himself battling for the final bite.
Hatzigeorgiou readily admits that this is a “sometimes-food.” The opportunity to savour this barbecue indulgence is limited to just two days a week: Fridays and Saturdays. On these days, he’s joined by his sister Anna on the grill, while his wife Kali manages orders from a simple fold-out table. While a sit-down experience is possible in the air-conditioned dining room (available in the evenings after the car wash closes), many patrons opt for takeaway. During a recent visit, the dining area was quiet, chairs were stacked, suggesting the takeaway trend was in full swing.
Hatzigeorgiou harbours ambitions for the business to expand into a larger warehouse space in the future, with the smoker proudly displayed out front and a more defined atmosphere within. In the meantime, a delightful alternative exists. The feast was thoroughly enjoyed with a picturesque waterfront view along the Woolooware Bay boardwalk, a mere three-minute drive from the Taren Point premises.
