One of the Northeast's Most Important BBQ Joints Celebrates 10 Years
Hoodoo Brown BBQ in Connecticut hosted a 10th anniversary bash with pitmasters from around the country serving up memorable bites.
Since 2015, Hoodoo Brown BBQ in Ridgefield, Connecticut, has been one of the most important and influential barbecue joints in the Northeast. Owner Cody Sperry opened Hoodoo Brown after experiencing life-changing barbecue in Austin, Texas, and wanted to find a way to replicate Central Texas-style ‘cue in his home state.
Flash forward to today, and Hoodoo Brown has made appearances at barbecue events all over the country, continued to innovate its menu, and landed a coveted spot on Daniel Vaughn’s United States of Texas Barbecue list of the best Texas-style joints outside of Texas.
This past weekend, Hoodoo Brown celebrated its 10th anniversary with a huge cookoff with pitmasters and chefs from around the country. It was a fitting and fun tribute to Hoodoo’s success and all the friends it has made along the way.
The event transformed Hoodoo Brown’s parking lot into a series of tents featuring a wide array of food, drinks, and live music. Attendees could hang out around the tents or inside the restaurant, which provided lots of extra seating and a way to get out of the sun.
Hoodoo Brown invited many heavy hitters to cook at the event, including Dave Bonner of Green Street Smoked Meats in Chicago; Phil Mosely and Garlic Ron Evans of Blue Oak BBQ in New Orleans; Jake Wood of Lawrence BBQ in Raleigh; Jordan Wright of Wrights BBQ in Bentonville, AR; Burt Bakman of Slab BBQ in Los Angeles; Blake Stoker of Blake’s at Southern Milling in Martinsville, TN; and Andrew Ho and Sean Wen of Curry Boys BBQ in San Antonio; and Jeff Schmidt of Hindsight BBQ in Waterbury, CT. The crew from Hoodoo Brown, including Tyler Hodge (“The Sausage King of Connecticut”), also served up bites.
Each of the guest pitmasters served a unique dish. A few of the highlights were the ambitious pastrami brisket rueben tostada from Hindsight BBQ, savory pork ribeye with spicy pimento cheese and seasoned crackers from Blake’s at Southern Milling, shwarma-spiced steak with Ethiopian tahini and a spicy green sauce from Slab BBQ, and NC oysters with BBQ Butter from Lawrence BBQ. The guys from Blue Oak BBQ made an authentic Louisiana crawfish boil. Mama Hoodoo also cooked up tons of homemade desserts that you just had to make room for.
Outside of the spectacular food, the Hoodoo Brown bash was also a chance to connect with pitmasters I hadn’t had a chance to meet yet or reconnect with ones from the past. I finally had the opportunity to talk to Blake Stoker of Blake’s at Southern Milling, Jake Wood of Lawrence BBQ, and Burt Bakman of Slab BBQ — all of whom take different approaches to barbecue. It was also a pleasure reconnecting with the teams behind Curry Boys BBQ and Hindsight BBQ.
“Ten years of having fun, being weird, and slinging meat. What a wild ride it’s been! Wouldn’t trade it for the world! Thank you to my family, friends, our loyal customers, and members of the Hoodoo crew past and present for all the years of support and believing in Hoodoo Brown BBQ,” Sperry wrote on Instagram.
Hoodoo Brown’s 10-year bash was a barbecue celebration to remember with tons of flavorful and memorable bites. It was also a great chance to see old friends and make new ones. See more pics from the event over on our Instagram.
Sean Ludwig
Co-Founder, The Smoke Sheet
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Smoke Sheet to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.