Rib King NYC™ moved to Industry City in Brooklyn for 2023, and hundreds of barbecue fans followed it there on Memorial Day weekend. Fifteen-plus pitmasters cooked in the courtyard, and El Dorado Slim, with Little Feat’s Scott Sharrard on guitar, was booked for two sets in the bandshell.
The winner came from Connecticut: Jose Perez of Bear’s Smokehouse (@bearssmokehouse) took the crown with smoked pork ribs finished in chicharron dust. “As the head judge, I can say it was a hard-yet-easy decision,” said Adam Poch, who praised the cook, the sauce and the crunch. Runner-up was Anthony Scerri of Smoke Sweats (@smoke_sweats) with ribs in a coffee and aged maple syrup barbecue sauce. “Never in my lifetime did I think that a small joke turned BBQ popup would ever receive such an honor,” Scerri wrote afterwards.
The 2023 awards
- Rib King NYC™ Champion: Jose Perez, Bear’s Smokehouse, chicharron-dusted pork ribs
- Runner-up: Anthony Scerri, Smoke Sweats, coffee and aged maple ribs
- Slow and Low: Fire & Smoke BBQ (@fireandsmokebbqny)
- The Thicc Award: Blue Smoke (@bluesmokenyc), Bret Lunsford
- Packs-A-Punch: Darlene Lawrence, Sands Jerk Hut (@official_sandsjerkhut)
Who cooked
The field also included Oak Marprasert of KAM RAI THAI (@kamraithai), Taste of Surabaya (@tasteofsurabaya), Vincent Mangual of Empire BBQ (@empire_bbq), Samuel Alleyne cooking for Big Bob Gibson’s competition team as Pig Beach’s guest, and 2020 Sauce King NYC grand champion Ray Sheehan, whose bacon-wrapped Oreos got their own line. Alexandra Donnadio baked the cheesy cornbread focaccia, Dakota Hams brought 27-month country ham, MuMsKitchens NYC did dessert, and the Sauce King NYC winners poured hot sauce: Coney Island Saucery, Rocket Fuel Foods, 718 Heat Factory, Bayou Gotham, NY Shuk and Marie Sharp’s. Drinks from Gun Hill Publick House, Fort Hamilton Distillery, Upstate Vodka, Daychaser and Romilly were sold at a cash bar that year, and VIPs got two drink tickets. By 2025 drinks were included in the ticket.
Results from NYC BBQ, June 2, 2023 (Sean Ludwig); photos by Kareem Black.