Pig Island's Celebration of Pork Is Back in Red Hook on September 8

Hoodoo Brown BBQ, one of the top barbecue joints in Connecticut, prepares crispy pork belly at 2017's Pig Island event.

Hoodoo Brown BBQ, one of the top barbecue joints in Connecticut, prepares crispy pork belly at 2017's Pig Island event.

More than 20 chefs and vendors are now confirmed for Pig Island, the annual BBQ event in Red Hook that offers delicious locally-sourced pork creations. The event will be back in Erie Basin Park on Saturday, September 8.

Tickets are on sale now and it runs $75 for one all-inclusive ticket. After September 1, tickets go up to $85 a pop. If you and your friends want to truly go all-out, a VIP table inside a private tent for six people runs $1,000.

Highlights from last year’s event included crispy pork belly from Hoodoo Brown BBQ, 7-hour smoked ribs from Fletcher’s Brooklyn BBQ, and North-Carolina-style pork, pimento, and slaw sandwiches from the Smoke Show BBQ crew.

Chefs and food vendors confirmed for this year include:

  • Caseiro e Bom w/ Owner Rodrigo Duarte
  • Chef Humberto Guallpa
  • Chef Jesse Jones
  • Chefs’ Consortium
  • Fletcher’s Brooklyn BBQ
  • Flying Pigs Farm
  • Gentle Giant Brewing Company
  • Hoodoo Brown BBQ
  • Hudson & Charles Craft Butchers w/ Co-Owner Jason Fox
  • Jimmy’s No. 43 and East Village Meat Market
  • Kuma Inn w/ Chef King Phojanakong
  • La Loncheria w/ Chef Danny Mena and Luis Jimenez
  • Mexicue
  • NYC Hot Sauce Company
  • Ovelia
  • Route 66 BBQ w/ Chef Billy Kooper
  • The Kingsley w/ Chef Roxanne Spruance
  • Top Gun BBQ w/ Chef Dan Jacobellis

Beer and spirits available will include:

  • Sixpoint Craft Beer
  • Guiness Sampling Tent
  • Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery, NY
  • Diner Brew Co., NY
  • Barrika Basque Country Cider
  • Original Sin Cider
  • Urban Farm Fermentory, Maine
  • Breuckelen Distilling, NY
  • Pig's Nose Scotch
  • Van Brunt Stillhouse, NY

Pig Island 2018’s community partner will be Friends of Firefighters, which is dedicated to addressing the physical, mental health, and wellness needs of active and retired New York City firefighters and their families.

I sadly will be missing the festivities this year due to a long-scheduled international vacation at the same time. But if this year is anything like year’s past, it will be an amazing chance to stuff yourself full of pork and booze and is well worth the price of admission.

One final note: Jimmy Carbone, Pig Island’s organizer and a staple of the NYC food community, is currently in the hospital after multiple emergency spinal surgeries. If you appreciate good food and BBQ events in NYC, consider throwing a few dollars his way.

Sean Ludwig