Community comes out in droves for 2025 Cutchogue FD Chicken BBQ
The Cutchogue Fire Department‘s 68th Annual Chicken Barbecue went off without a hitch last weekend at Peconic Bay Vineyard on Main Road.
Photos by Jeremy Garretson
Richard Jernick, chicken barbecue committee chairman, said the fire department barbecued 3,520 chicken halves for the event and close to 3,000 tickets were sold.
The beloved North Fork summer tradition consistently sells out yearly, and the dinner this year came with a half-chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, cucumber salad, tomatoes, ice cream, peaches and a drink — all for $40. There was also, of course, that secret sauce that only four members of the company know how to make.
The preparations started back in May, when the fire department reserved an entire acre of corn from a local farmer. Last week they continued with Mr. Jernick and ex-chief Allan Glover journeying to New York City to pick up other produce from a market on Monday night; tents went up Tuesday morning; chairs and tables were set up Wednesday evening; and the ladies auxiliary completed all the food prep at Cutchogue East Elementary School on Thursday.
“All these groups come together throughout the week to make the event such a success, so while we have my role, or Rich’s role in leadership, really, there’s no one person that’s making everything go — it’s really the effort of like 150 people,” said Lt. Ken Pearsall ahead of the big event.
