If Christmas at your place smells like smoke, sunscreen and the faint panic of someone realising they’ve overcooked the snags, then welcome, you’re among friends. An Aussie summer is basically one long cook-up, and if you’re hunting for a gift for the bloke who treats the barbecue like holy ground, Smokey Q has come to play.
Locally owned, proudly hands-on and obsessed with flavour, Smokey Q turns ordinary backyard sessions into full-tilt feasts. Whether he’s a tinkerer, a tray-staring perfectionist or a “she’ll be right, mate” charcoal warrior, these rubs, salts and sauces will make you look like the most thoughtful person at Christmas.
Below are the standouts from Smokey Q’s 2025 lineup, from budget stocking stuffers to full-blown pit-master packs.
For the experimental backyard chef
Smokey Q Bao Bun Bundle ($34)
For the bloke who once deep-fried a meat pie just to “see what happens”, this bundle is a winner. It’s built for the experimental foodie who loves tinkering with flavours and recreating the street-food hits he’s seen on YouTube.
Inside the pack are the Rib Rub, the Salt Pepper Garlic (SPG) Rub and the Bulls Head Sriracha Sauce, a trio that can handle everything from bao buns to barbecue chicken to whatever’s left in the fridge. Affordable, adventurous and guaranteed to earn bragging rights.
Salt Blend Trio Pack ($39)
Every household has that one guy who seasons food like he’s trying to create a weather event. This is his box of ammo.
The Smokey Q Salt Blend Trio includes the SPG blend (the king of versatility), the fiery Chilli Sea Salt and the bright, citrusy Zesty Sea Salt. Think of it as a pantry upgrade: Easy to reach for, impossible to misuse and the quickest way to turn “yeah, good feed” into “whoa, what did you put on this?”
For the fully fledged pit master
BBQ Family Pack ($100)
This is the five-piece arsenal for dads who wear an apron that says “Licence to Grill.” It’s got everything a serious barbecue obsessive could want: The Chicken Rub, Beef Rub, Zesty Sea Salt, SPG Salt Blend and the signature Bulls Head BBQ Sauce.
If your giftee is known to spend Christmas Day policing the lid of the Weber like it’s Fort Knox, this is the pack that’ll make their whole year.
For the weekend warrior
Summer BBQ Pack ($79)
This is the gift for the mate who hosts every second weekend and acts shocked when people actually show up. Loaded with six rubs plus the Bulls Head BBQ Sauce, it’s built for volume; steaks, ribs, chicken wings, whatever’s going.
Highlights include the smoky-sweet Original Rub, the bold Charcoal Rub, the spicy Chipotle, the caffeine-charged Coffee Rub and the crowd-pleasing Rib Rub. It’s the sort of box that feels bottomless in summer: you keep reaching in, and the flavour keeps appearing.
For stocking stuffers that don’t suck
Chipotle Spicy BBQ Rub ($12)
Smokin’ Guns Charcoal Rub ($12)
These are the two “don’t overthink it” gifts, cheap, cheerful and dangerously addictive.
The Chipotle Spicy Rub delivers smoky heat with a kick that lands somewhere between “ooh, yeah” and “get me a beer.”
The Smokin’ Guns Charcoal Rub is deep, dark and dramatic, perfect for the mate who wants his food to taste like it came straight out of a Texan smokehouse.
Both are ideal when you need something small that packs a punch.
The final sizzle
Christmas gifting for men is notoriously difficult. You’ve done socks. You’ve done soap-on-a-rope. You’ve done the Bunnings gift card shuffle more times than you’d admit.
So this year, give him something he’ll actually use (and brag about). Smokey Q’s range is Australian-made, hand-blended, gluten-free and built for blokes who believe cooking is a sport. Whether he’s fine-tuning brisket, experimenting with bao buns or just trying not to burn the onions, there’s a pack here that’ll lift his game.
If summer is his season and the barbecue is his throne, these gifts will crown him king.
