
Rib King NYC 2022
Food Karma Projects – the producers of Pig Island NYC and Brisket King® NYC – are bringing you the ultimate memorial day barbecue and picnic. Join us on Saturday, May 28th for Rib King 2022 plus a full day of fun featuring the Sauce King NYC Makers Showcase, Hard Cider Alley, pickles, grilled goodies including vegetables from the Snug Harbor Heritage Farm plus many other food products, spirits and drinks. It’s all happening at the historical Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Staten Island. Ride the ferry to flavor and kick off summer at this all-inclusive Memorial Day weekend festival. Tickets are on sale now.
And check out this amazing preview of our event by Sean Ludwig of NYC BBQ.
Features of this ALL-INCLUSIVE event include:
- 10+ meat grilling stations – including Holy City Hog farmer and BBQ Guru Tank Jackson from Charleston, SC, bringing his famous shrimp & grits and grilling pork sliders at a second station
- Jamon Station featuring KY-raised ham and “echoes of Spain” with Sidra and Tierra Callada Olive Oil sampling
- Welcome cocktail courtesy of Upstate Vodka
- NY State Wine from North Fork
- Grilled goodies, including vegetables from the Snug Harbor Heritage Farm
- Family-friendly with live music and other entertainment TBD
- Sauce King NYC Makers Showcase featuring sauces from artisan food makers Coney Island Saucery, Bayou Gotham, Rocket Fuel Foods and others, TBA
- Community partner, Friends of Firefighters, will be grilling with us
- Hard Cider Alley with Brooklyn Cider House, Aval, Original Sin, Romilly, Austin East and more
- Heritage Farm onsite chefs headed by former Blue Hill Chef Trevor Kunk grilling farm-grown vegetables on a Sea Island Forge
- Pickles, Hot Sauce and other fermented foods from Rick’s Picks and others
- Other entertainment – including an art demo by Charles Ozawa – TBD
- Plus many other food products, spirits and drinks – including Staten Island’s very own Flagship Brewing
Chefs Competing for the 4th RibKing of NYC award, co-hosted by NYC BBQ (chef list subject to change):
- Prairie Fresh Prime Pork from Kansas, sponsoring all competing chefs
- 2022 Brisket King® NYC Joe Musngi of SmoKing of Meats
- Sean Keever of Big Guns BBQ
- Darlene Lawrence of Sands Jerk Hut
- 2022 Brisket King® NYC Best Bite winner Bark Barbecue
- Blue Smoke, winners of Best Traditional brisket at 2022 Brisket King® NYC
- Smoke Sweats of Bed Stuy, Brooklyn
- Zabb PuTawn
- Jesse Jones, Chef Jesse Concepts, NJ
- Queens Custom Barbecue
- BBQ Guru Tank Jackson (see above)
- Fefe Anggono, Taste of Surabaya – NY Indonesian Food Bazaar
- With more to come
Check out this amazing preview by SI Live!
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is an 83-acre outdoor venue. Guests are encouraged to come at the start of the event as some restaurants may run out of food later in the day and to bring their own picnic blankets, camp chairs and water. Read about last year’s event here.
VIP Tickets ($85 + fee) include an all-inclusive ticket with 11:00 AM early admission to have a one hour head start to taste the brisket and mingle with the chefs before general admission guests arrive plus an exclusive Rib King t-shirt.
VIP Tables ($850) include 8 all-inclusive tickets, designated seating, early access at 11:00 AM to chat with pitmasters and get the first bites from the grill and Rib King t-shirts.
Early Bird Tickets ($55 + fee) include an all-inclusive food and drink ticket at a discounted price for 12:00 PM general admission… FINAL WEEK FOR EARLY BIRD TICKETS (ENDS MAY 8TH)!
General Admission ($65 + fee) includes an all-inclusive food and drink ticket with 12:00 PM admission.
No Refunds.
Rain or Shine.
21 and over.
Rib King at 5 Boro PicNYC 2021
Despite the weather, 5 Boro PicNYC 2021 went on rain or shine and was a huge success!
Hundreds of guests made it to Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden to enjoy ribs, sauces, veggie dishes, drinks and more. The event owes its success to the positive attitudes of all the participants and the generosity of our sponsors Prime Six Charcoal, Prairie Fresh and Kikuichi Cutlery.
Two-time Brisket King® winner Richie Holmes of Juicy Lucy BBQ took home the top prize for his St. Louis style Duroc pork ribs with bing cherry chipotle barbecue sauce. As he told us between his 2021 wins, “I’ve never competed in Rib King, but I’m going to win that, too.”
Second place went to Hindsight BBQ of Waterbury, CT. They served maple bacon baby back ribs with house barbecue sauce as well as St. Louis style ribs with Original Sin blackberry hard cider sauce.
Best Rib Dinner went to a collaboration between Jase’s BBQ and Bark Barbecue for their smoked ribs with Dominican rice and beans, sweet plantains and cornbread. Chef Jesse Jones was also awarded for his stellar ribs and coleslaw.
Other favorites included Brothers Smokehouse’s famous sticky ribs, ribs rubbed in coffee with a coffee barbecue sauce from Smoke Sweats, baby backs glazed with Laphroiag from Matt Fisher, ribs topped with green harissa from Smokin’ Joes and traditional St. Louis ribs from Mable’s Smokehouse. Every single one of our participants served up truly excellent ribs.
There were also delicious non-rib dishes like carrot hot dogs and stewed collard greens made by Trevor Kunk with vegetables from the Snug Harbor Heritage Farm, whole hog from Mario Chape of Big Papa Smoke’m and pork sliders from Tank Jackson of Holy City Hog. Knob Creek, Laphroiag, Maker’s Mark, Jim Beam, Austin Eastciders, Flagship Brewing, The Long Drink and more kept guests hydrated all afternoon. Sauce makers including Coney Island Saucery, Silva’s Heet Wave, BBQ Buddha and Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce also sampled and sold their products, making sure everyone left with something to remember the event by.
Read More:
“The Most Delicious Ribs from Rib King NYC 2021” on NYCBBQ
“Memorial Day Weekend BBQ Fest on Staten Island: Rockin’ Ribs on a rainy Saturday” in the Staten Island Advance
Join us for our next event: Pig Island on September 11th at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden






The Rib King NYC competition will be a special component of our newest event: 5 Boro PicNYC. Join us for the ultimate Memorial Day Weekend barbecue and picnic on Saturday, May 29th at Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island. Ride the ferry to flavor and kick off summer at this all-inclusive Memorial Day weekend festival featuring killer barbecue and great vegetarian dishes. Find more information and updates here. All inclusive tickets are on sale now.
Introducing Sauce King NYC™
Sauce King NYC™ will determine the best barbecue sauces, hot sauces, rubs, marinades and more. A panel of expert judges from the NYC food, chef, and media community will taste each sauce, and select exclusive winners in each category who stand out for their bold flavors, excellent ingredients, and delicious taste.
This is not your average sauce competition. It’s not about finding the hottest sauce that will blow your head off. Sauce King™ is about showcasing the wide range of top quality, all natural, barbecue sauces, hot sauces, and beyond that are perfect for backyard barbecue, grilling, and home cooking. We will be accepting a wide range of submissions – with the opportunity for people to submit their own categories.
Become the Sauce King when you enter your BBQ sauce, hot sauce, condiment, marinade and more at saucekingnyc.com and read more about the innovative virtual competition in NYC BBQ.
Rib King NYC 2019 Recap
Thanks to the incredible chefs, judges, and hungry guests who made Food Karma’s 2nd Rib King a huge success!

And the Award Goes To…
The 2019 Rib King is Sruli “Izzy” Eidelman of Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse Izzy’s Asian beef back ribs took home the trophy this year! Eidelman is also the previous winner of Brisket King NYC and recently opened an outstanding kosher barbecue taqueria in Crown Heights.
The People’s Choice Award goes to Gentle Giant Brewing Company and Barbecue featuring Matt Worgul and Alex Recchia.
This team came from Rockland County, New York to serve traditional beef ribs that won over the audience’s appetite.
Honorable Mentions Include:
Best Traditional Ribs by Mable’s Smokehouse
Most Creative Dish by Pig Beach NYC
Best Presentation by Rib It Til It Smokes
Bad to the Bone for Kimchi Smokes

Read more about the event in a great recap from NYC BBQ Weekly

Thank you to our judges and the event’s curator, Sean Ludwig of NYC BBQ!

Right: Leiti Hsu, Adam Poch, Ed Randolph
Participants at Rib King NYC 2019 include:
Cash Only BBQ – Corey Cash
Cash Only BBQ is a relatively new operation out of Brooklyn that has lots of swagger and creativity and it is a favorite at local barbecue events. Owner Corey Cash had to recently close his small joint but plans to open a bigger one later this year in Brooklyn.
Hill Country Barbecue Market – Ash Fulk
Hill Country is one of NYC’s most important barbecue joints and one of the best you’ll find in Manhattan. Pitmaster Ash Fulk has been slinging great Texas-style BBQ for many years and previously competed on Bravo’s Top Chef.
Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse – Izzy Eidelman
Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse is the brainchild of Sruli “Izzy” Eidelman, a master of kosher barbecue and a previous winner of Brisket King NYC. He recently opened an outstanding kosher barbecue taqueria in Crown Heights and he is building an empire of inventive kosher restaurants
Gentle Giant Brewing Company and Barbecue – Matt Worgul and Alex Recchia
Gentle Giant Brewing Company is an acclaimed microbrewery and barbecue joint, representing the best of Rockland County. If you’re looking for one of the best beer and barbecue pairings in the Tri-state area, look no further
Mable’s Smokehouse – Jeff Lutonsky & Meghan Love
Mable’s Smokehouse has been a popular barbecue staple in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for nearly 10 years. Jeff and Meghan offer a blend of Texas, Kansas City, and Oklahoma barbecue with an emphasis on brisket and ribs.
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue – Cenobio Canalizo
Morgan’s Brooklyn Barbecue moved to new ownership last year and executive chef Cenobio Canalizo and pitmaster Eric Springer have reinvigorated the menu. The dynamic duo will certainly bring their A game to Rib King.
Pig Beach NYC – Matt Abdoo
Pig Beach NYC has become one of the most exciting Brooklyn barbecue operations, with chef and pitmaster Matt Abdoo leading the charge.Q
Rub It Til It Smokes – Evan Burrows and Roberto Pastrano
The Rub It Til It Smokes (RITIS) barbecue team from New Jersey has been making fantastic food for years, all with the purpose of raising money to support charities and fundraisers.
Wandering Que – Ari White
Wandering Que’s Ari White is one of NYC’s leading kosher barbecue voices. White won Brisket King 2016 and he still hosts many successful pop-ups around the city.
Our Community Partner

Our events create connections among chefs, farmers, and the restaurant industry as well as support the greater community. This year Rib King NYC is proud to partner with Friends of Firefighters in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Friends of Firefighters is a 501c3 community partner.