Kimchi Smoke Cooks Competition at Pig Island NYC 2022
This is the web edition of the NYC BBQ Weekly newsletter. If you would like to receive this in your inbox for free each week, subscribe here!
This past weekend, hundreds of barbecue fans attended the annual Pig Island NYC barbecue event at Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island. The event featured all kinds of barbecue dishes, mostly pork-based, and lots of adult beverages, creating a picnic-like atmosphere with warm, sunny weather.
Pig Island NYC 2022 attracted hundreds of barbecue and food event lovers.
The biggest storyline going into the event was to see if Joe Musngi of NJ’s SmoKing of Meats could win and complete a “triple crown of meat” after he won the top prizes at both Brisket King NYC and Rib King NYC earlier this year. Relative newcomer Musngi has been wowing crowds the past year with his Texas- and Filipino-inspired barbecue.
Robert Austin Cho of Kimchi Smoke took home the top prize for his XXX Pork Belly.
However, Musngi’s thunder was stolen by veteran barbecue master Robert Austin Cho of NJ-based Kimchi Smoke, who brought some insanely tasty spicy pork belly bites that drew long lines the entire day. Cho, who almost always impresses at local food events, deservingly won Best In Show. In sports terms, it’s like when talented veteran Matt Stafford beat young hotshot Joe Burrow in Super Bowl LVI.
The full winner list from Pig Island 2022 is as follows:
Best in Show — Kimchi Smoke — XXX Pork Belly and Pulled Pork
Best Whole Hog — Rodrigo Duarte — Nose to Tail Hog
Prime 6 Charcoal Award / Best Charcoal Dish — Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue — Bacon-Cured Ribs
I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon Award — Pure Grit BBQ — Vegan BBQ Jackfruit
Rolling Thunder Award — Chef Jesse Jones — Pulled Pork Spring Roll
Best Bite Award — Jase BBQ — Pulled Pork with Tamarind Sauce on a Tostada
Abe Froman Award (Sausage King of Chicago) — Zabb Pu Tawn — Thai Sausage with Lemongrass
Almost Had it All Award — SmoKing of Meats — Pork Belly Burnt Ends
I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had a little man at home that needed attention. All in all, it was an excellent event, and the awards were all well-deserved.
To get a better look at the gathering, here are some of the barbecue mavens that made Pig Island NYC 2022 a success and whose food you should try if you can make it to their respective restaurants and pop-ups.
Chef Cenobio Canalizo of Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue served amazing bacon-cured ribs that are cured for 7 days before smoking. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Joe Musgni of SmoKing of Meats didn't win his "triple crown" but he did serve up some seriously tasty pork belly burnt ends. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Chef Jesse Jones won people over with his creative pulled pork spring roll. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
The crew at Pure Grit BBQ surprised the crowd with vegan jackfruit BBQ nachos. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Jase Franklyn of Jase BBQ served up great pulled pork with tamarind sauce on a tostada. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Bret Lunsford of Blue Smoke made a tasty pork loin dish served over grits. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Darlene Lawrence of Sands Jerk Hut makes some smoky ribs. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Matt Fisher, long-time NYC pitmaster, served up tasty pork loin. Read more about his new BBQ joint The Porch below. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT (NEWS)
The Porch, a new barbecue and jazz joint, has just opened in Harlem. (Photo via The Porch / Facebook)
Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:
Long-time NYC BBQ guru Matt Fisher (formerly of Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue and Dinosaur Barbecue) is now the executive chef at the new barbecue joint The Porch, which is both a jazz venue and barbecue restaurant. The menu will feature both barbecue staples and Cajun items. READ HERE.
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue, which temporarily closed its popular Brooklyn location following a massive fire, will soon reopen. The restaurant anticipates opening in the next two weeks. SEE HERE.
Pig Beach BBQ, a staple in Brooklyn and Queens, had its new location in Florida favorably reviewed by the Miami New Times. READ HERE.
IRL BBQ EVENTS
Bark Barbecue will be one of the guest pitmasters at Blue Smoke’s Pitmaster Series this month. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Here are the top BBQ and related food events coming soon to the New York metro area:
September 16-30, 2022: Blue Smoke is hosting a great Pitmaster Series where it will collaborate with three local pitmasters over three nights. Joe Musgni of SmoKing of Meats will be in the house on Sept. 16. Ruben Santana of Bark Barbecue will be cooking up a storm on Sept. 23. And Anthony Scerri of Smoke Sweats will be smoking and joking on Sept 30. MORE INFO HERE.
September 24, 2022: Jersey City is getting in on the barbecue action with the Hamilton Park 12th Annual BBQ Festival, which is in part put on by the fine folks at Hamilton Pork. MORE INFO HERE.
October 1, 2022: Acclaimed pitmaster Evan LeRoy of LeRoy and Lewis in Austin will work as the Guest Pitmaster at Hill Country BBQ for one night only. MAKE RESERVATIONS HERE.
October 8-16, 2022: Pig Beach NYC will host Octoberfest Festivities at its Brooklyn location on Oct. 8-9 and its Queens location on Oct. 15-16. MORE INFO HERE.
October 13-16, 2022: The New York City Wine & Food Festival will return this October. It will see the return of the huge Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray and the Backyard BBQ hosted by Andrew Zimmern. BBQ lovers will certainly enjoy both the Burger Bash and Backyard BBQ, but other fun events will be held too. This will be one of the last big food events happening in NYC in 2022, so don’t miss out. (USE THE CODE NYCBBQ15 TO GET 15% OFF THE BACKYARD BBQ.) BUY TICKETS HERE.
Please get in touch if you would like your food event listed here!
SAY HELLO
If you're not already subscribed to the newsletter, sign up here. You can also follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you want to write for NYC BBQ Weekly, sponsor the newsletter, or let me know about the best new barbecue you’ve tried, send me an email and let’s talk!