through a huge assortment of ribs, burnt ends, smoked belly slices, pulled meats and brisket as well as
cornbread, slaws and glass boots full of beer, I realised that for one of the first times on the trip, I wasn’t concentrating too hard on the quality of every individual aspect of the food but was instead really enjoying the whole experience. Josh’s wife was front of house for the evening and made us feel so welcome, the place was buzzing and jam packed, the food and drinks came thick and fast and it was one of those places you just didn’t really want to leave.
The smokehouse is involved in a lot of community works locally, helping do some great work and cementing its place as more than just a restaurant but an active local resident. A fixture in the neighbourhood, in fact everything a real BBQ joint should be and everything that for me, BBQ is all about. People, as well as meat.
This idea is reenforced by Josh’s latest venture at the Mothership meat co. where an old auto shop
warehouse in Dutch Kills has been repurposed as a monster, super laid back, Texas style meat
market eatery and community space for smoky cookouts, live gigs and also a focal point for fundraising and community projects. I hope to be a part of that in future and cook in its huge pit next time I’m in town for a popup showcase of some UK BBQ.
Talking of the importance of people in BBQ, that trip to New York in 2017 allowed me to spend some time, and a drink or two, with the genuine legend that is Jimmy Carbone. Owner of ‘Jimmy’s No43’, aficionado of all things ale brewing based in the New York area and also, most importantly, the man behind events like the annual ‘Pig island’ and ‘Brisket King NYC’. Events that celebrate BBQ food, but also, just as importantly, the sociable coming together of great people under the
loose guise of a competition.
Fast forward a year to early Spring 2018 and I find myself given the opportunity to be the first UK entrant into the amazing ‘Brisket King NYC’ competition. All I needed to do to be part of this crazy event was get myself to the States, enlist some help from friendly natives, find someone to supply me with enough full packer briskets, find someone/somewhere that will let me cook them and then get my finished project in front of the judges plus serve 500 other portions to the crowd and VIP’s.
How hard could that be, right?
The field in this competition is made up of professional smoke house cooks, and restaurant teams from all over the place and so, whilst perhaps out of my depth, it was a field that was more suited to my approach than something like say a sanctioned BBQ competition would be. Professional English Pit botherer vs. a load of folks that actually deserve the name ‘Pitmasters’. I admit, I was simply glad to be given the chance to take part and fly the flag in some small way for how we do things
over here.
The judging panel was not a little intimidating too, featuring food writing hero Peter Kaminsky (the guy who’s books made Mallmann global news after his years in the wilderness), Eater NY meat man Nick Solares, Food Network stars, Food & Wine magazine editor Dana Cowin etc. Overall, a crowd who knew their stuff and wouldn’t be suffering any fools gladly. I thought I may be in trouble.
My dish was one of our custom rubs, featuring smoked chilli and some cumin with other spices and tempered with some sugar, coffee and chocolate. I thought it was a good mix to provide a flavour that might not be what the judges were used to, a really good crusty bark and I planned to serve this with that great British condiment, homemade horseradish cream.
So much for the plan, but thankfully the New York BBQ family came to the rescue on the practicalities too. Matt at Fletcher’s graciously let me use a little bit of space in one of his Oyler pits for the cook and his meat supplier
‘Green Tree Packing’ generously agreed to supply me with some Choice grade USDA briskets. We
were on!
John Patterson and I trimmed the meat which I explained wasn’t something I was used to in the UK where you need all the fat you can get on your brisket. After a good, thick coating of our rub, the briskets were slid into the smoker over some good, dry oak and after wrapping in the later stages, they were pulled out when they hit between 85-90c internal. Then wrapped tightly and packed into a cambro for what would be about 3 hours prior to opening them up ready for judging. After a slight
hitch with our car being towed by NYPD we Uber’ed everything to the venue and hit the noise and
hustle of a whole new side to NY BBQ.
Here were all of the chefs and their teams, busily prepping a multitude of dishes, putting finishing touches to sides, opening up jars of homemade pickles and wildly busying themselves with other fixings ready for the off. A huge contingent of the NY kosher BBQ scene was a big presence, along
with the likes of Chefs from Dinosaur, Hill Country, Hometown, Salt & Bone, Kimchi Smoke &
Butcher Bar. All of whom were looking to be top dog in this prestigious fight for the Crown of
‘Brisket King of New York’. We had little to do by comparison; sauce was made, briskets were
resting, so despite having very little space to move we didn’t need a lot compared to some folks. It
did make me realise though, that our dish was going to have to really stand out in it’s simplicity
given all the ‘extras’ that were being prepared around me. We literally just had meat and sauce.
At the allotted time I handed in to the judges in what was a maelstrom of bodies by them by then,
the venue was literally packed. Smoke and steam filling the air to compliment all the excited voices
and glasses being raised. As soon as that was over, the full realisation that we now had to sling 500
portions out to the ticket buying guests and all of the VIP’s hit me and I just got my head down,
kept slicing - “bit of fat, bit of lean” for everybody. I repeated my description of the main themes of
the dish, it’s flavours, as well as an explanation of what an English bloke was doing amongst all of
this, so many times that I actually got quite good at it by the time the last few portions went out. In
fact, there was even a mini celebration when a group of VIP’s who’d been queueing and queueing
to try our food thought they’d been left high and dry when we ran out, only for me to remember that
I still had what was left of the judge’s turn in brisket in the cambro. Cheers went up, more potions
were passed out and then with a big hug of thanks to John Patterson and Johnathan Forgash who
had helped get me through this storm, we hit the bar. I was satisfied that ,against all of the logistical
odds, I had actually made it to the States and had turned in and served a dish that I was both happy
with and pretty much reflected my approach to BBQ. Not standard, classic fare, but honest and with
a twist. Quiet Waters BBQ.
We were several drinks in when the prize giving announcement started and we were happily
cheering somewhere near the back of the crowd when, in a slightly surreal moment, Jimmy
announced I had come in second place. There is a chaotic video somewhere that captured the
genuine shock on my face and my disbelieving acceptance speech. Clearly the UK must know
something about good BBQ and it seemed fitting that a city built on welcoming immigrants from all
over the world and valuing what they bring to the mix should have appreciated me and my offering
to the BBQ Gods.
So, what have I learnt of New York BBQ? I know that for some people it will never be authentic
and that those are the same people who would probably feel similarly about UK BBQ. That what
they would call authentic is only a merging of many foreign influences and cultures, says quite a bit
about the concept of authenticity itself but also it misses the point that New York, like the UK, is all
about taking influences from all over the place and mixing those with traditional methods and styles
to form any number of variations, too numerous to nail down with any single set definition. It’s just
excited and inspired folks doing their own thing with smoke and fire, just like it is here.
© John Gower May 2018
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