Guests line up for Brisket at the annual Brisket King NYC cook-off at Pig Beach BBQ. Photo: Shane O’Brien
April 24, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
More than 500 barbecue lovers packed Pig Beach BBQ in Astoria on Wednesday, April 23, for the 13th-annual Brisket King NYC, where over 20 chefs from across the Tri-State area served up creative interpretations of the classic Texas barbecue dish.
Held at 35-37 36th St., the competition saw chefs infuse brisket with flavors drawn from their cultural and ancestral roots. Dishes ranged from Dominican-style meats and West Indian spices to brisket smoked in a Thai ceramic cooker, showcasing the city’s rich culinary diversity.
Jimmy Carbone, who founded Brisket King in 2012, said the event has evolved alongside New York’s multicultural food scene.
“When we first started the event, it was New York Jewish brisket, it was something your grandmother cooked,” Carbone said. “But you look around here, you’ve got Kam Ra Thai using ceramic and ash cooking or you’ve got Leland Avellino… who’s got a wagyu Japanese-inspired brisket. They don’t use wagyu in Texas.”
Via @smoke_sweats on Instagram
Anthony Scerri of Smoke Sweats, an Astoria native, was crowned Brisket King 2025. His winning dish drew inspiration from his Maltese heritage and his wife’s Hungarian ancestry.
“I look forward to this event pretty much every single year,” Scerri said. “It’s one of those competitions where nobody’s competitive. We’re all collaborative. We all have the same vision, where we want to serve amazing people who are coming out.”
Photo: Shane O’Brien
For Carbone, the annual event isn’t just about who takes home the crown—it’s about building community among chefs, pitmasters, and food lovers.
Carbone said he created the event as a way to support up-and-coming cooks and restaurant owners by offering the kind of opportunities and connections he lacked when he started his culinary career three decades ago.
“When I first started 30 years ago, I didn’t know any other restaurant owners and everyone was cutthroat, so who do you talk to for advice?” Carbone said. “These are all small business owners, mom and pops, aspiring people, some dream of having a store… Our mission is all the people that are cooking there today are just trying to make it, and they’re getting notoriety from it.”
That spirit of mutual support was on full display throughout the evening. After serving his final dish, Anthony Scerri, this year’s Brisket King winner, passed along his remaining utensils to another competitor—a gesture Carbone said was typical of the event’s collaborative energy.
“They all want to win, but they know that they’re in it together,” he said.
Jesse Corsini of Crossroads Que, based on Long Island, echoed that sentiment.
“Everybody helps everybody,” Corsini said. “It’s all about the community aspect.”
Photo: Shane O’Brien
For Vincent Mangual of Empire BBQ, Brisket King isn’t just a competition—it’s a platform for growth.
“This event is special because of the opportunity to work with so many fellow pitmasters,” Mangual said. “You form relationships, you build friendships. Networking here is a bigger thing for us. We’ve been able to open up two further locations just from the events that we’ve done here.”
That spirit of camaraderie is exactly what founder Jimmy Carbone envisioned when he launched Brisket King over a decade ago.
“They’re amongst peers, and they learn and they make connections,” Carbone said. “It’s like a career development.”
Head judge Adam Poch, who has been part of Brisket King for 10 years, said the competition has matured in both quality and reach.
“About five or six years ago, you would have about three or four briskets that stood out, and now you have 10–15 amazing briskets,” Poch noted.
He added that the event has outgrown several past venues due to rising attendance and long lines, and while interest continues to surge, organizers are eager to remain rooted at Pig Beach BBQ in Astoria.
A portion of proceeds from Wednesday’s event supported Friends of Firefighters, a nonprofit that provides counseling, peer support, and wellness services to FDNY members—part of Carbone’s ongoing commitment to partnering with charitable organizations each year.
Brisket King NYC 2025 Winners:
Brisket King: Smoke Sweats (@smoke_sweats)
Runner-Up: Avellino Family BBQ (@avellinofamilybbq)
People’s Choice: Friends of Firefighters: Empire BBQ (@friendsoffirefighters)
Soup-er Comfort Food: Empire BBQ (@empire_bbq)
PYT Pretty YUM Thing: Kam Ra Thai (@kamraithai)
Bao Down: Fire and Smoke BBQ NY (@fireandsmokebbqny)
La Mama de la Mama: Tio Rozay’s BBQ NY (@tiorozaysbbq)
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Brisket: Crossroads Que (@crossroadsque)
With another successful year in the books, Brisket King NYC continues to build more than just bold barbecue—it’s creating a lasting community, one slice at a time.
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