Image #: 14536833 A suckling pig is grilled. DPA/LANDOV (DPA /Landov)
This month, two of summer’s most anticipated al-fresco extravaganzas fire up their grills, and in doing so, will duke it out in the ring for the title of
Ultimate Meatfest.
In one corner is Cook Out NYC, beer guru Jimmy Carbone’s celebration of outdoor grilling on Governors Island (scheduled for today) with more than 25 chefs and beer by Sixpoint Craft Ales. In the other is Josh Ozersky’s Meatopia, a festival of whole-animal cookery and general debauchery with 45 chefs grilling and chilling out at Brooklyn Bridge Park, scheduled for July 23.
These days, Carbone and Ozersky might be adversaries, but just last year they collaborated to produce Ozersky’s first Meatopia on Governors Island, which was both a monument to beef, beer and painfully long lines. Basically, what started out as a birthday party for Ozersky and his VIP foodie friends mushroomed into an unmanageable meataholic’s wonderland with more than 5,000 guests and not nearly enough tasty treats.
“Working with Jimmy last year on Meatopia was great, but I am a writer, and he’s a bar owner,” says Ozersky. “We didn’t really know what we were doing.”
This year, Ozersky hired professional event producers to oversee his giant
barbecue, and is confident it will be the cook-off of the year.
“This is the most ambitious, over-the-top, extravagant culinary event that has ever been attempted in New York, and maybe even in the country,” he boasts. “I am willing to almost guarantee that customers won’t have to wait.”
Sam Barbieri of the Waterfront Ale House isn’t hedging his bets, and is the only gastronomic mastermind participating in both events, making 300 to 350 pounds of house-cured wild boar hams and bellies (with homemade pickles and salads) for Meatopia, and 175 pounds worth of barbecue beef brisket and jerk pork loin for Cook Out. All of his prep and initial cooking will be handled at his Brooklyn barbecue pit, and will be hauled to and finished at both events in his 18-foot barbecue trailer.
Here, The Post takes you through the beastly details of each fest. Let’s get ready to rumble!
Cook out NYC
*Location:
Governors Island’s Historic Colonel’s Row
*The timing: Today’s 5½ hours of gorging starts at 11:30 a.m. and lasts until 5 p.m., so think of it as breakfast, lunch and dinner.
*Tickets sold: At press time, about 1,500 tickets, which include food in tasting portions, have been sold for $40. There will be an additional 1,000 available at the gate for $45. Kids under 12 are free with a ticketed parent. Beer, wine, water and soda will cost extra.
*The menu:Chefs and local purveyors will include Fatty Crab’s grilled Dickson’s Farmstand Meats, shrimp from The Lobster Place and braised pork belly in adobo from King Phojanakong of Kuma Inn. “I have known Jimmy for a while, and it’s really exciting to be able to do this event with him,” says Phojanakong. Exciting, but hard work, too: Phojanakong will be marinating and braising several hundred pounds of pork belly over two days, before hauling it to Governors Island on the ferry and firing up the grill.
*Meathead-to head:“Josh goes more national, and I’m more focused on local charities and craft beer scene,” says Carbone.
*For veggies only:Brooklyn Rooftop Gardens will be doing grilled vegetables.
*Sweet stuff:Free shaved ice from Wooly’s Ice House, founded by New Yorkers and cousins David Sat and Danny Che.
*Thirst quenchers:Bar opens at noon for Sixpoint Craft Ales, which will pour four beers, including a wheat, a pilsner and two beers custom-brewed for the event ($6/pint, or $20 for four).
*Fun! fun! fun! Bluegrass bands will play (left), while burger contests, a hot-dog cook-off and a kimchi-eating contest take place. Plus, you can eat, leave the fest, play a round of minigolf, come back for more, rent bikes and take a tour of the island.
Meatopia
*Location:
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5
*The timing:
Meatopia’s four-hour binge starts at 5:30 p.m. on July 23. Eat light throughout the day so you can keep going till closing time at 9:30.
*Tickets sold:
At press time, “a large chunk” of tickets have been sold, but over 1,000 (of 3,500) will be for sale at the door in three levels of pricing: “Meatizen General” ($85 for unlimited tastings); “Carnesseur” ($130 for unlimited tastings, beer and a T-shirt).
*The menu:
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of LA’s super-hot restaurant Animal are doing grilled chicken hearts with burnt eggplant purée. Eddie Huang of Baohaus is serving a “Doomtopia” stew filled with pig foot, oxtail and beef cheek. Pat LaFrieda will whole-roast an 850-pound steer over (literally) a ton of charcoal; Sean Brock of Husk in South Carolina will be roasting a 150-pound pig for 26 hours straight prior to serving it at Meatopia: “I am just so fired up to be a part of it,” says Brock, “but make no mistake: It takes a lot of whiskey and a lot of beer to cook a pig for 26 hours.”
*Meathead-to head:
“Jimmy does a fantastic job of shining a light on local farmers and producers,” says Ozersky.
*For veggies only:
Umm, water and beer.
*Sweet stuff:
Philly-based Capogiro artisan gelato will be given to all attendees (for free!). Flavors include peanut butter, Mexican chocolate, coconut milk, peaches and cream and more.
*Thirst quenchers:
Amstel Light (they’re the sponsor, so it’s Amstel or nothin’).
*Fun! fun! fun!
There will be acoustic music, meat-centered poetry slams, meat art, magicians, meat demos from the likes of Michael White and Michael Psilakis and the national finals of Whole Foods’ butchering contest emceed by Ozersky.