Heating Up The Barbecue

Last weekend was the 15th Annual Big Apple Barbecue event. More than a dozen of the nation’s most prominent barbecue joints – including Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q, Hometown Bar-B-Que, Blue Smoke, Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ, Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint and Memphis Barbecue Co., set up stations around Madison Square Park in the heart of Manhattan.

The event was presented by Kingsford Charcoal and this year Rich Products also joined in as a sponsor.

I was invited to a press preview on June 9, and had the chance to pig out on some real gourmet barbecue! On the menu was a to-die-for Foie gras with grits, pickled strawberries and gravy; roasted coppa (pork) sliders with salsa verde and ricotta cheese served up on Martin’s potato rolls, and frico, a parmesan crisp topped with Edward’s Country Ham and crème fraiche.

The main course consisted of Crawfish Boil featuring the little lobster-like crustaceans alone with corn, potatoes and spicy Polish sausage; Kansas City caviar, a relish consisting of corn, edamame, pickled red onions and roasted red peppers; mixed green salad; Texas Caesar salad; cornbread; and really excellent collard greens.

Rich Products provided desserts, including peanut butter and jelly cookies, cupcakes, and their newest invention the Freak Shake – a decadent thick shake topped with a churro doughnut or a peanut butter and chocolate brownie.

“Rich Products is very excited to be part of the Big Apple Barbecue for the first time,” said Tom LeBuhn, vice president of foodservice sales at Buffalo, N.Y.-based Rich Products. “We are a family-owned business focused on foodservice, and there is no better example of foodservice than what will be seen here.”

Sarah Fritzen, associate brand manager at Oakland, Calif.-based Kingsford said this was the second year the charcoal company sponsored the event.

“Kingsford is just as passionate about the people behind the grill as we are about our food,” she said. “At our Kingsford booth, we’ll be sending around a petition to make barbecued ribs the official food of America.”

Just judging by the delicious food sampled at the press preview, at the end of the two-day festival I bet she got lots of signatures.