11th Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Lineup Announced
The anticipation is building for the 11th annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, and the final lineup of pit masters who will be descending on New York's Madison Square Park on June 8th and 9th has been announced. The famous event that celebrates America's culinary and musical traditions has become extremely popular over the past ten years, garnering over 140,000 attendees and a yearly group of barbecue experts to showcase their talents.
The lineup of pitmasters is widespread and varied, with 17 different chefs from ten different states. Returning for their 11th year in a row are heavyweights Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala., Mike Mills of 17th Street Bar & Grill in Murphysboro, Ill. and Championship Barbecue in Las Vegas, Ed Mitchell of Raleigh, N.C., and Kenny Callaghan from Blue Smoke in N.Y.
The rest of the lineup is as follows:
- Joe Duncan, Baker's Ribs, Dallas Tex.
- Mike Emerson, Pappy's Smokehouse, St. Louis, Mo.
- Charles Grund Jr., Hill Country, New York, N.Y.
- Jimmy Hagood, BlackJack Barbecue, Charleston, S.C.
- Tommy Houston, Checkered Pig, Danville, Va.
- Patrick Martin, Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint, Nashville Tenn.
- Garry Roark, Ubon's Barbeque, Yazoo City, Miss.
- Drew Robinson, Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q, Birmingham, Al.
- Scott Roberts, The Salt Lick BBQ, Driftwood, Tex
- Rodney Scott, Scott's Barb-B-Que, Hemingway, S.C.
- John Stage, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, New York, N.Y.
- John Wheeler, Rack & Soul, New York, N.Y.
- Sam Jones, Skylight Inn, Ayden, N.C.
Grilling seminars will be held on both Friday and Saturday with two new additions including a tutorial taught by Mario Batali's sons and a seminar taught by Weber Grilling Master Kevin Kolman teaching how to grill the perfect summer dish.
Admission is free to the event, cooking demos, culinary discussions, and music performances, unless otherwise noted, and attendees can purchase a plate of barbecue for $9 (FastPasses are all sold you, so you'll have to line up with everyone else). Proceeds from the block party will support the Madison Square Park Conservancy, the organization responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the park.
Skyler Bouchard is a junior writer at the Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter at @skylerbouchard.