Thanksgiving Gets Much Better with BBQ from NYC’s Top Joints
Blue Smoke is one of the top places to order a turkey feast from. (Photo via Blue Smoke)
Hosting Thanksgiving in New York City is not easy. Chances are your apartment is not spacious enough for a large gathering and your kitchen doesn’t have enough space to easily make an epic meal. Enter NYC’s BBQ joints, which can’t create more space in your home but can help you serve a feast with turkey that will (probably) put your Dad's to shame.
At least seventeen New York City area joints are taking orders for Thanksgiving specials like smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, stuffing, and lots of pies. Below I’ve listed out these specials and catering options from several top joints.
Here is the full list of places you can find great smoked turkey and more for pre-order:
Blue Smoke - Manhattan, NY
Blue Smoke is offering packages that include House-Smoked Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom Stuffing, Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce, Cornbread, and Choice of Pie (Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Pecan Pie). Pies are also being sold a la carte. More info here.
Corner House BBQ - Staten Island, NY
Staten Island's Corner House BBQ is offering an enormous $300 package with turkey, stuffing, cornbread pudding, and much that can probably feed a large family. They also offer some inventive la cart items including manicotti and cupcakes
More info here.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Brooklyn - Brooklyn, Harlem, and Newark
All three local Dinosaur locations are offering Thanksgiving packages, with one of the best deals around: $160 for a package that serves 8 to 12 people. The only difference between each location's packages are pies, but I assume they'll all be pretty tasty. More info via their catering page here.
Fette Sau - Brooklyn, NY
Fette Sau in Williamsburg is offering in-house turkey specials throughout the season and also do select catering orders, including 14-16 pound Heritage Breed Turkeys ($165), Mac and Cheese ($100), Collard Greens ($47), and Cornbread ($45). Orders/deposits need to be in by Sunday, November 17. Email them at fettesaubbq@gmail.com to place your order or if you have questions.
Fletcher’s has been serving up smoked whole turkeys in Brooklyn for seven years. (Photo via Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue)
Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue - Brooklyn, NY
Fletcher's has been smoking and serving Thanksgiving turkeys for seven years and this year they are doing it again. On top of turkey, Fletcher's also has the option to buy whole smoked briskets in case you want to change things up. Sides options include collard greens, mac & cheese, pit-smoked beans, and cornbread. More info here.
Gentle Giant Brewing - Pearl River, NY
Gentle Giant's inventive barbecue menu extends to Thanksgiving. They have three different package sizes that all include turkey, stuffing, and sides. Plus, they offer a la carte ordering as well. Orders must be picked up the day before Thanksgiving. More info via GGB’s menu page here.
Hamilton Pork - Jersey City, NJ
You can pre-order a 10-12 pound whole smoked turkey from Jersey City hotshot Hamilton Pork by the Monday before Thanksgiving and it runs $99. You can also order items from their catering menu as well. All turkey orders need to be picked up any time between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Hill Country loves Thanksgiving so much it even serves turkey legs throughout November. (Photo via Hill Country Barbecue Market)
Hill Country Barbecue Market - Manhattan, NY
Hill Country offers one of the most expansive Thanksgiving menus and is one of the rare joints that is also open on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving packages are available for pick up on 11/27 or 11/28. They have the "Rancher's Feast" that serves 8-10 people or you can order a la carte options. More info here. (They also provide detailed reheating instructions that are generally awesome guidelines for Thanksgiving food.)
Juicy Lucy BBQ - Staten Island, NY
Juicy Lucy has not released their Thanksgiving-themed packages yet, but I’ve confirmed that they have at least one in the works. Keep an eye on their social media pages if you want to get some turkey or more from them.
Kimchi Smoke - Westwood, NJ
Kimchi Smoke will be offering some Thanksgiving specials including smoked turkey breast and brisket for order. Orders must be placed by Friday, November 22 and orders should be picked up on Thanksgiving day between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Send an email to info@kimchismoke.com if you want full catering options or want to place an order.
Mable’s Smokehouse - Brooklyn, NY
Mable's in Williamsburg is offering a Thanksgiving Feast that comes with a smoked Turkey that feeds 10-12 people, plus a host sides a la carte to choose from such as collard greens, mac and cheese, BBQ baked beans, and more. Orders for the Mable's thanksgiving feast need to be in by November 19 and must be picked up the day before Thanksgiving. More info here.
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue - Brooklyn, NY
Morgan's in Prospect Heights will be open on Thanksgiving, but also is offering a Thanksgiving-themed package where you can choose between smoked whole turkey, sliced turkey breast, and brisket as your main and you choose three sides.
More info here.
Mothership Meat Company - Queens, NY
Long Island City's Mothership Meat Company will be smoking whole turkeys for pre-order, but they have not revealed more details than that yet. Orders can be placed at Mothership or through sister restaurant John Brown Smokehouse. Keep an eye on social media for more details, which will be coming soon.
Pig Beach - Brooklyn, NY
Pig Beach in Gowanus has a nice Thanksgiving package for $250 that serves 10 to 12 people and it includes whole smoked turkey or smoked ham as the main, plus sides and pies. There are also a la carte options too. More info here.
Randall’s Barbecue - Manhattan, NY
Randall's on the Lower East Side is offering a Thanksgiving package for $290 that serves 8 to 10 people and it includes whole smoked turkey (sub brisket for $20), stuffing, gravy, mac and cheese, green beans, and sweet potatoes. More info here.
Red White & Que in NJ goes extra smokey with its turkeys for Thanksgiving. (Photo via Red White & Que Smokehouse)
Red White & Que Smokehouse - Kearny, NJ
New Jersey hotshot Red White & Que is offering 12 to 14 pound whole smoked turkey with stuffing, gravy, & fresh cranberry sauce for $100, plus they also have smoked turkey breast, sides, and more available a la carte. They also might sell you a whole brisket if you ask nice. Thanksgiving orders are available for pre order until 11/22 (although they usually sell out before then). Orders should be submitted via email to redwhiteandquesmokehouse@gmail.com. Pick up is Thanksgiving day from 10 a.m. until noon. More info here.
Virgil’s Real BBQ - Manhattan, NY
Virgil's in Times Square will be open on Thanksgiving but you can get packages from them earlier than that too. Their $249 package include an 18 pound whole smoked turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and more. They also have pies available for order. Packages are available for dine-in or takeout, but it's advised to order early. More info here.
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If you want to pre-order from any of these joints, I would make sure you get your orders in during the next week, since many of these places will sell out.
If you want to eat-in at a New York BBQ joint for Thanksgiving, Hill Country, Morgan’s, and Virgil’s will be open on that crazy day. I’ll have more details on those restaurant’s Thanksgiving day-of offerings in the coming weeks.
I hope you’ll consider ordering Thanksgiving items from local joints if you’re not keen on making food yourself. If you do end up ordering, please let me know how it goes and also let me know if I missed any great BBQ places for Thanksgiving orders.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
The upcoming memorial party for Carl Ruiz at Pig Beach was included in Grub Street’s top events happening this month. (Photo by Sean Ludwig)
Grub Street has included next weekend’s fundraiser at Pig Beach in Brooklyn for the late Carl Ruiz in its top food events to attend in November. Tickets start at $75, but the barbecue and drinks will top-notch. (More info in the events section below.)
Veterans will be able to eat for free on Sunday, November 10 at Red, White, and Que Smokehouse in Kearny, NJ in honor of Veterans Day on Monday. The restaurant takes donations year round for its fantastic "Buy A Vet A Meal" program to help defray costs.
With all the city still buzzing and debating how good (or not good) Peter Luger Steakhouse is, Eater New York has released a new list of the seven best places to eat steak in NYC. For the record, they included Peter Luger on their list but I'd personally rate Smith & Wollensky and St. Anselm ahead of it.
Rochester, New York will soon get a new joint called Mitchell Hill BBQ starting November 15. Owners Bob and Roxanne Benoit have had a catering operation for the past seven years but now will make the jump to a full-fledged restaurant. The menu will feature BBQ staples, steak, burgers, craft beer, cider, and wine.
Northfield, New Jersey’s Pork Island BBQ will soon open a new location in Ocean City. This location will be called will be called Pork Island Grill and will open this spring on 34th Street and Asbury Avenue. They will offer barbecue, but also serve breakfast, lunch, and early dinner as well.
Hong Chun Cheon, a spicy chicken chain with hundreds of locations in South Korea, opened its first U.S. location in Manhattan’s Koreatown this week, Eater New York reports. Hong Chun Cheon serves a specialty called dakgalbi, a Korean-style spicy stir-fried chicken.
Earlier this week, Wilson's Bar B-Q, an old-school Pittsburgh joint that had been open just under 60 years, was destroyed in a fire, the Post Gazette reports. The joint was best known for its pork ribs, but also sold chicken, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and coleslaw.
New Jersey food reporter Pete Genovese has a new list out of the 31 best NJ restaurants in the middle of nowhere, which naturally includes a few barbecue joints. Back Bay BBQ in Egg Harbor Township, Bill's BBQ in Franklinville, and Henri's Hotts Barbecue in Folsom made the cut.
IRL BBQ
This weekend’s all-inclusive CiderFeast NYC in Brooklyn will offer up great ciders and meats to try.
Here are the top BBQ (and related) food events coming soon to the New York metro and the Tri-State area:
Saturday, November 9: If you love cider and cured meats, don’t miss out on Saturday's CiderFeast NYC event in Brooklyn. Celebrate NY Cider Week with this all-inclusive event with cider tasting, cured ham, apple pie, Spanish foods, live music, and more. Buy tickets here.
Saturday, November 16: Brooklyn’s Pig Beach will soon be hosting a Memorial Party for Carl Ruiz, who passed away recently. The #ruizingforacause event will feature several top pitmasters from around the city and country, all making fantastic barbecue. It will serve as the launch of the #ruizingforacause Foundation that will be focused on two causes close to Carl’s heart: the culinary world & those getting their start in it and funding research for finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. The event is from 12 to 5 p.m., but VIP tickets will get you in the door one hour early. Buy tickets here.
Monday, November 21: Holy Ground BBQ in Tribeca will be hosting two BBQ & Martinis 101 sessions on November 21. The joint will welcome Robby Nelson, East Coast Sales Director for AMASS (an innovative spirits startup based out of L.A) to teach everything there is to know about the martini. The experience will be paired with BBQ mainstays from Holy Ground. Buy tickets here.
Thursday, November 28: Few barbecue joints are actually open on Thanksgiving itself, but you’ll be able to eat smoked turkey and more at Hill Country Barbecue Market, Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue, and Virgil’s Real Barbecue. The restaurants will be open and doing a traditional Thanksgiving feast with all sorts of meats and sides.
Saturday, January 18: The 10th annual Beer Bourbon & BBQ Festival is leaving Manhattan after a decade of fun and heading to Brooklyn. A ticket buys you access to tasting great local barbecue, hot sauces, and tons of spirits. The “Beast Cage” will be back with exotic smoked meats, including alligator, lamb, bison, longhorn rounds, and much more. There will also be whole hog as well and you won’t want to miss it. Buy tickets here.
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