Pig, ribs and more: These Central Jersey caterers bring BBQ to your backyard
Anyone can throw some burgers and dogs on the grill and call it a barbecue, but for those who want to host a backyard party to remember, that simply won't due.
That's where these Central Jersey-based barbecue catering companies come in. From one that roasts whole pigs onsite while simultaneously cooking up authentic Thai specialties to another known for its cereal-coated chicken tenders, these barbecue catering companies know how to keep taste buds hot this season.
Have Pig Will Travel
Nearly 40 years ago, Ringoes-based Have Pig Will Travel wasn’t a full-scale barbecue catering business — it was just a guy named Jim who would bring a roaster to make extra money at parties.
But when business started getting in the way of family, Jim put it up for sale. Rich Smith Jr., who had been laid off as a shipping manager, bought it.
Smith didn't think the job would be hard. He was raised on a Hunterdon County dairy farm and moved with his family to a rural part of Virginia when he was a teenager.
“There, every 14-year-old knew how to roast a pig,” said Smith. "You didn’t hire someone to do it like you would around here. I had seen it done several times and my mother had taught me how to cook, although I was never a barbecue guy.”
He is now. Smith uses a custom smoker for ribs, chicken, brisket, turkey and wings, and ovens that he made himself to roast pig. All of it is cooked using real wood or hardwood charcoal. He also makes all six barbecue sauces.
Smith brings the pig to the customer’s home before guests arrive and cooks it in six hours. He open the oven from time to time so people can see it cooking.
Side dishes like baked beans with sausage and apples, and corn on the cob are available. But the company also offers Thai-style stir fry, Thai-style fried rice and pad Thai, thanks to Smith’s wife, Naruemol Phansa Ard (known as “Munn”), who was born in a small village in Thailand.
Have Pig Will Travel can accommodate up to 400 people within two hours of Ringoes. The pig and four side dishes for the first 50 party guests is $1,970.
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Freshness makes the difference, Smith said.
“When I pick the pig up on Friday, it was slaughtered just two hours before, and then I cook it 24 hours later," he said. “... Even the people that come to your party that are grossed out by the pig are still going to remember the day that you cooked a pig in your backyard,” he said.
Go: porkwizard.com; 908-628-0525.
Qcrew BBQ Catering Co.
“We’re not dudes on TV smoking our brisket,” said Bill Dixon, who co-owns Ringoes-based Qcrew BBQ Catering Co. with his brother, Ed Dixon. “We’re caterers making great barbecue.”
Bill Dixon has worked in restaurants and catering all of his life. He co-founded QCrew after he saw a friend find success with a similar business in North Jersey.
Parties must have a minimum of 75 people on the weekend and 50 people during the week. Customers can choose from six different menus, which start at $16 per person, plus $450 and up for the cost of labor for staffed events. Pick up or delivery (without staffing) is also an option.
Most customers choose the Popular Picnic Menu, said Dixon, which includes nine menu items, including barbecue pulled pork and mac n’ cheese, which are top sellers.
Qcrew's Cap'n Crunch chicken tenders are coated in dusted Cap'n Crunch cereal, then fried and served at room temperature with homemade honey mustard. Serving them hot changes the complexity of the cereal, Dixon said.
“It’s almost embarrassing that our most popular item has nothing to do with barbecue,” Dixon said.
Qcrew services about 16 live events per week in Mercer, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth and Union counties. These days, live events are just 20 percent of their business.
For years, Qcrew offered barbecue fare for pickup — but it “took on a life of its own” during the pandemic, Dixon said.
“We became like a viral sensation,” he said.
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After the pandemic, pickup customers became catering customers. Now, grab-and-go fare from Ringoes is available Wednesdays through Saturdays, sold cold with heating instructions (for pre-order only). It’s also sold at the Stangl Factory Farmers' Market in Flemington on Saturdays.
During COVID, Qcrew BBQ Catering Co. donated 10 percent of their sales to the Flemington Food Pantry and Food Bank of Somerset County. Now, they donate 70 trays of food every month. Customers can also opt to contribute a donation when placing an online order.
Go: qcrewcatering.com; 908-731-6900.
Smokin’ Chicks Got Wood BBQ
Don’t let the name of this Bridgewater-based barbecue food truck fool you — owner John Piazzola is serious about his barbecue.
Their pulled pork is smoked for 10 hours with a house rub, which goes on the pork 24 hours before it’s smoked. It’s then served with a Carolina-style vinegar sweet sauce.
Their Texas-style brisket is smoked for 10 hours and served with jalapeno barbecue sauce. And their chipotle pulled chicken is made with a Dr. Pepper sauce — “perfect” for chicken sliders, Piazzola said.
"My food is made fresh for every single event, and all of the meat is smoked in separate smokers,” he said.
Side dishes include mac n’ cheese (made with five types of cheese), cornbread, smoked barbecue beans with pork, and pasta salad.
Smokin’ Chicks can cook for parties within two hours of Bridgewater that have a minimum of 50 people. Customers can choose from all-you-can-eat menus that start at $23 per person, plus $150 an hour.
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Piazzola was a mechanic for nearly 20 years when he began thinking about leaving the business because he was “tired of turning a wrench and lifting heavy steel,” he said.
He joked to his boss that maybe he would build a food truck. He didn’t know anything about barbecue — but Piazzola has always liked a challenge, he said.
When he told his girlfriend, she said he was crazy to leave his lucrative job — and that she wouldn’t support him.
That lit the fire to succeed.
“When someone tells me that I won’t exceed in life, I have to prove them wrong,” Piazzola said. “That night, I called my friend to ask him to find me a UPS truck and he did, and it then took me six months to build my food truck.”
Go: smokinchicksgotwoodbbq.com; 908-884-9529.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: BBQ in NJ: Catering companies bring pig, ribs to your backyard
