2016 Big Apple Barbecue Block party
June 12th, 2016 by Mr. C
(Memphis Barbecue and their baby back ribs. Loved the enthusiasm of the pit crew! Ribs were amazing!)
I had a smokin’ good time with friends at the 14th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in Madison Square Park on Saturday. We didn’t stay for too long but just enough to sample 5 ‘cue plates that included a succulent whole hog pulled pork sandwich, a pulled pork shoulder sandwich, baby back ribs, smoked wings, beef brisket, & smoked sausage. We noticed that Ed Mitchell and his BBQ team made a triumphant return to the block party this year but we did not have enough room in the belly to get in a round of Ed’s wonderful smoked creations. What we did have was the familiar Big Bob Gibson’s pulled pork shoulder sandwich accompanied by their delicious spicy mustard cole slaw. Shoveling their tasty cole slaw in with the sandwich is messy but a necessity! Moist pulled pork with the mayonnaise based white sauce is hog heaven! Our next victim would be another pulled pork sandwich and my favorite from the day and from Big Apple BBQ block party past. Thank you Skylight Inn/Sam Jones BBQ! They served a smoked whole hog with the entire carcass roughly chopped & mixed with vinegar & various spices by a master butcher with knife skills that everyone should be scared of! The double action cleavers that he used to dispatch the carcass and his rebel yells made things interesting and fun! What I love about Skylight’s whole hog sandwich is the moist meat with the tasty spices and crunchy cracklings that randomly get tossed in with the pulled pork mixture. Add that in with the tangy sauce and slaw and hmmmmmm hmmmmmm – words fail me! Another Big Apple BBQ block party favorite is Texas based Salt Lick. They killed it again this year with their tender beef brisket and smoked sausage with cheese. The sausage had a little snap upon contact with your teeth and the smoke flavor was apparent! The Salt Lick BBQ sauce had a happy blend of sweet, smoke, & spice! The white bread was the perfect vehicle to carry or should we say mop up the brisket, sausage, & sauce!
(The Cue crew hard at work minding the bbq block party!)
Our next plate was the tender baby back ribs from Memphis Barbecue. The meat fell off the bone with minimal contact and the sauce was tasty. I just wish there was more ribs to the order! I think I needed a whole rack! The last plate was my least favorite of the day. It was the smoked Alabama white wings from Blue Smoke in NYC. First, I thought the wings were too soggy and gloppy from the sauce. I didn’t like the texture of the wings nor the taste of the sauce. Something tasted gamy to me. Was it cheese or something else? Not sure but I wasn’t fond of the taste. It almost seemed like the wings were stewed in with the sauce. Maybe this dish is far too difficult to execute with the amount of covers they needed to churn out for the block party.
(Skylight meat handler showing his knife skills!)
(The whole hog pulled pork sandwich from Skylight. My favorite of the day. One word – cracklings!)
(Salt Lick BBQ before the storm)
(The Salt Lick team before the opening bell of the block party!)
(TEXAS!)
(Salt Lick beef brisket & smoked sausage!)
(Ed Mitchell’s BBQ team – hard at work)
(Ed Mitchell himself making sure things are smooth!)
(Memphis BBQ with some basting and grilling of the baby back ribs)
(Memphis BBQ baby back ribs with smoked beans)
(Big Bob Gibson’s pork shoulder sandwich – steady & delicious every year!)
(Bakers Ribs hard at work)
(Mike Mills and his 17th Street BBQ team)
(Impressive setup by Skylight Inn/Sam Jones BBQ)
(What a rig of smokers by Sam Jones/Skylight Inn)
(The Dinosaur BBQ street team & Ubon’s BBQ street team in a little bit of verbal debate for competition in which line you should get into before the crowds magnify)
Tags: BBQ, big apple barbecue block party, ed mitchell, food, pitmasters
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