BBQ & Smokehouse
A restaurant with fresh produce and service
Wood & Bone runs a wood smokehouse alongside the grill at 4 Tabbita Street, Moorabbin — brisket, ribs, smoked lamb and duck, cooked low and slow. It is American BBQ in Melbourne's south-east served in a sit-down restaurant rather than from a truck.
The brisket goes on before you have thought about dinner
Barbecue in the American sense is a patience exercise. Brisket goes into the smoker the night before and comes out when the collagen has finally given up, somewhere around twelve hours later, and it cannot be hurried by turning anything up.
We use timber, we hold the temperature low, and we accept that some nights the brisket is ready at four and some nights it is ready at six. Cooking to a clock rather than to the meat is how you end up with something tough and expensive.
There is a point in the middle of a long smoke where the internal temperature simply stops climbing for several hours — the stall, caused by moisture evaporating off the surface faster than the heat can push through. Every impatient cook in history has turned the heat up at exactly this moment and ruined the result. The only correct response is to wait.
What comes off the smoker
Beef brisket, sliced across the grain with the bark intact and a visible smoke ring underneath. The bark is the point — that dark crust is hours of rub, smoke and rendered fat, and anyone who trims it off should be gently stopped.
Pork ribs that hold together until you pick one up and then do not. Fall-off-the-bone is, contrary to popular belief, a sign of overcooking; a properly cooked rib gives you a clean bite and leaves the rest on the bone.
Smoked lamb, which is not traditional anywhere in Texas and is very good regardless. Duck for the same reason. Australia has better lamb than the American BBQ tradition ever had access to, so not using it seems perverse.
Sides that do a job
Slaw with real acid in it, pickles sharp enough to reset your palate, and bread that exists to carry meat rather than to be admired.
Rich smoked meat needs something cutting against it. Sides that are themselves rich — creamed corn, heavy mac — turn a plate into a slog by the halfway point.
Melbourne's BBQ scene, and where we sit in it
Most American BBQ in Melbourne comes from trucks, pop-ups and markets. That is a good format for a brisket roll eaten standing up and a poor one for a table of six on a Saturday night with a wine list.
Wood & Bone is a restaurant that also runs a smoker. You get the low-and-slow menu with proper service, a room, and the option of ordering a wood-fired steak instead if the brisket has gone. There is very little BBQ in Moorabbin operating on that model, and not much across the south-east either.
It sells out, and that is not a gimmick
The smoker holds a finite amount. When a cut is gone for the night, it is gone — we are not putting a second brisket on at eight o'clock, because it would not be ready until eight the following morning.
Saturdays go fastest. If smoked meat is what you came for, order it early rather than treating it as a second course you will decide on later.
For groups
Shared boards work better than individual plates for anything above four people. Brisket, ribs and a smoked lamb across the middle of the table, sides around them, everyone picking.
It is also the format we recommend most often for private functions, where a room that is moving and talking beats a room sitting through three plated courses.
Rough guide for ordering: about 300g of smoked meat per person if it is the main event, less if there are steaks going to the table as well. People consistently over-order brisket and under-order sides.
When to come
The smokehouse menu runs at both lunch and dinner, Wednesday to Saturday. At lunch it appears mostly in rolls; at dinner it is plates and boards.
4 Tabbita Street, Moorabbin, free parking outside. Call 0477 099 177 or book online.
For everything else, see the full dinner menu or smokehouse rolls at lunch, and what to drink with smoked meat. Planning a group? Shared boards for functions are the format we recommend most. If you want to know why it takes twelve hours, read how we smoke a brisket.
FAQ
Where can I get American BBQ in Melbourne's south-east?
Wood & Bone in Moorabbin runs a wood smokehouse serving brisket, ribs, smoked lamb and duck in a sit-down restaurant setting, open Wednesday to Saturday.
Do you smoke your own brisket?
Yes. Brisket is smoked in-house over timber for around twelve hours, starting the night before service.
What is a smoke ring?
The pink layer just under the bark on smoked meat, caused by a reaction between smoke gases and the meat surface. It is a sign of a long, low smoke.
Should ribs fall off the bone?
No. Falling off the bone indicates overcooking. A properly smoked rib gives a clean bite and holds its shape.
Does the BBQ ever sell out?
Yes. Smoked cuts are made in finite batches and popular items can run out later in the evening, particularly on Saturdays.
Can you do BBQ for a function?
Yes. Shared smokehouse boards work particularly well for private functions, which run Sunday to Tuesday.
Is the smokehouse menu available at lunch?
Yes, mostly as rolls at lunch and as plates and shared boards at dinner.
How much smoked meat should I order per person?
Around 300g per person if smoked meat is the main event, and less if steaks are also going to the table.
