Pig Island BBQ Event Returns as a Socially Distanced Picnic
Tons of great food including whole hogs will be served at Pig Island 2020. Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue (pictured here) will be back too.
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With many events canceled or postponed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was starting to feel like there may not be any good barbecue events held locally for the rest of 2020. Thankfully this has changed with the announcement of Pig Island NYC 2020, which will be held on Saturday, September 12 at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island.
Buy tickets to Pig Island 2020 here.
Pig Island has been held for the past nine years at Erie Basin Park in Red Hook, Brooklyn, but this year the event is heading to the 84-acre Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden to ensure people can properly space out and stay safe while enjoying their food and drinks. Snug Harbor will also allow people to take in the botanical gardens as well, so there’s more to do than just picnic with friends and family.
Naturally, the event will also look different to keep guests and chefs safe. Capacity will be capped to follow state and national guidelines, attendees will be expected to wear masks when not eating and drinking, and groups will be expected to sit together on blankets or at VIP tables that are spaced out from other groups and families. Food and drink stations will be spread out among the grounds of Snug Harbor and any line where people are waiting will have social distancing.
Pig Island NYC has been a fun picnic-like event for years but this year's event will look different with more room to spread out and a different venue.
While the event may look and feel different from 2019's Pig Island event, it will still feature a ton of high-quality food and drinks. Here is a full rundown of the talent lined up so far for this year’s event:
Tank Jackson, Holy City Hogs - Charleston, South Carolina
Mario Chape, Big Papa Smokem - New York and New Jersey
Cenobio Canalizo, Morgans Brooklyn Barbecue - Brooklyn, New York
Matt Fisher, formerly of Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que - New York, New York
Jase Franklin, Jase BBQ - New York, New York
Trevor Kunk, The Little Beet - New York, New York
Father and Sons BBQ - The Bronx, New York
Que Chevere - New York, New York
Friends of Firefighters - Brooklyn, New York
Mike Lapi, a chef and instructor at SUNY Cobleskill - Cobleskill, New York
Dishes this year will include whole smoked hogs, pork ribs, brats, sausages, hot dogs, shrimp and grits, pork tenderloin with corn pudding, jerk pork, smoked pigtails, corn muffins, Puerto Rican roasted pork, and much more. As for drinks, Staten Island’s Flagship Brewery will be serving beer, cider, and spirits, with more alcohol stations to be announced later.
If you love pork ribs, Pig Island will be a great event to check out.
Pig Island NYC 2020’s nonprofit community and charitable partner will be Friends of Firefighters, which provides counseling and wellness services to active and retired New York City firefighters and their families. One very cool aspect of working with Friends of Firefighters is that firefighters have frequently come and cooked at Pig Island, with some very good ribs cooked last year for attendees.
Snug Harbor has hosted several picnics and family fun events in the past but Pig Island will look different due to social distancing. (Photo via Snug Harbor / Facebook)
Pig Island event organizer Food Karma Projects typically hosts a number of food events during the year, including Brisket King NYC, Rib King NYC, and others. But most events have been put off due to the pandemic, and Pig Island is currently the only event officially scheduled as of now. Brisket King NYC could potentially return in October, but Food Karma is waiting until late August to make a final decision.
Delicious sausages will also be on hand at Pig Island NYC 2020.
If you're interested, you can buy tickets to Pig Island 2020 here. I for one can’t wait to finally go to a true barbecue event for the first time since January. I hope to see you all there in September.
Sean Ludwig
Founder, NYC BBQ
EAT ALL ABOUT IT
One of the best places to get wings in all of New Jersey are from TST BBQ in Leonardo. (Photo via TST BBQ / Facebook.)
Here are the top BBQ and related food news stories you need to know about this week:
This past Wednesday, Americans celebrated National Chicken Wing Day and it turns out there are a lot of great wing joints in and around NYC. Intrepid food reporter Pete Genevese put together his list of 44 best places to get wings in New Jersey. And if you’re looking for wings in NYC, Grub Street has you covered.
The new Jewish-style BBQ joint Pulkies, which is located in Chelsea Market in Manhattan, was recently profiled by InsideHook. The joint specializes in turkey and beef.
If you are looking for New York culinary specialties outside of New York City, Splice Today has a list of other great items like Buffalo Wings, “Michigan red hots” near the Canadian border, and marinated spiedie sandwiches in the Southern Tier region.
Brooklyn’s Pig Beach NYC will soon open a full restaurant down in West Palm Beach, Florida, but is currently doing delicious weekend popups right now, the Palm Beach Post reports.
Barbecue master Steven Raichlen published his 6 steps to the best barbecued ribs recently in the New York Times, which is chock full of good advice. (Some of the best advice there is to not put sauce on your ribs too early, only put the sauce on at the end of the cook.)
IRL BBQ EVENTS
As mentioned above, Pig Island NYC is returning in September as a “socially distanced picnic” that will be more spaced out but still have lots of fun and food.
Every Saturday through August 29: Green Hill Kitchen & Que in Greenport, NY (on Long Island) is hosting a Pitmaster Series, where each Saturday a big BBQ name will come and cook. Guests will feature Pig Beach, Gotham Burger Social Club, The BBQ Ninja, and Memphis Barbecue Company. More info here.
September 12, 2020: At Pig Island NYC 2020, this year’s event will be a socially distanced picnic at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island. Come enjoy food and drinks at this 84-acre outdoor space. Buy tickets here.
September 12, 2020: This year’s NYC Hot Sauce Expo will take place at the Brooklyn Expo Center. This event was rescheduled from April due to COVID-19 but is currently planned for September. The Hot Sauce Expo typically features tons of vendors you can buy hot sauces and BBQ sauces from Buy tickets here.
November 7, 2020: The Forest Hills Wings Fest, for anyone who loves chicken wings and beer, is scheduled for November at Cobblestones Pub & Biergarten in Forest Hills, Queens. Lots of wings will be available to try and more. Buy tickets here.
NOTE: Due to COVID-19, information concerning events in NYC is subject to change and events may be rescheduled. CHECK OUT THE FULL EVENTS CALENDAR HERE
SAY HELLO
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