Annual Cutchogue FD Chicken BBQ is a clucking good time

There are only a dozen or so tickets left for the Cutchogue Fire Department‘s 68th Annual Chicken Barbecue this weekend, which will be held under the traditional tent on the grounds of Peconic Bay Vineyard on Main Road.

Chicken barbecue committee chairman Richard Jernick said the fire department ordered 3,520 chicken halves for the event and close to 3,000 tickets have already been sold. The ball started rolling back in May when the fire department reserved an entire acre of corn from a local farmer. On Monday night, Mr. Jernick and ex-chief Allan Glover journeyed to New York City to pick up other produce from a market.

And the fire department is busy the rest of the week in preparation as well; tents went up Tuesday morning, chairs and tables are to be set up Wednesday evening, and the ladies auxiliary will be taking care of all the food prep at Cutchogue East Elementary School on Thursday.

“It’s going to be an all-hands-on-deck situation until we’re done,” Mr. Jernick said.

The beloved North Fork summer tradition consistently sells out yearly, and the dinner this year comes with a half-chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, cucumber salad, tomatoes, ice cream, peaches and a drink — all for $40 — and can also be ordered to go. There’s also, of course, a secret sauce that only four members of the company know how to make.

Mr. Jernick said there is a whole “binder” filled with crucial chicken barbecue information that gets passed down each year. He said he felt excited to be granted the role of chairman and to carry on the role next year back at the brand new firehouse, which has been under construction.

“It gives me a little bit more responsibility this year, so I can get my feet a little bit more wet, as far as seeing how this actually operates because next year, it’s going to be a new venue,” Mr. Jernick said.

The committee chairman credited Mr. Glover for his expertise and help with the event, which the fire department “wouldn’t be able to do” without him. He added how important it is to educate new members of the fire department why the chicken barbecue has become incredibly well-regarded by the North Fork community.

“I sent out an email to the membership just explaining, this is what we’re known for and when people think of the Cutchogue Fire Department, they think of the chicken barbecue,” Mr. Jernick said.

Lt. Ken Pearsall said as a fire company captain, he oversees all the various department committees and events throughout the year, but given the scale of the chicken barbecue fundraiser, he said the event is a key component to the Cutchogue Fire Department’s prosperity.

“We are very, very appreciative of the public’s immense support every year. We’ve managed to keep it this size for decades now, and we feel like we have it down to a science,” Mr. Pearsall said. “We’re very proud of that and the efforts of the members, our ladies auxiliary, and many members and family from the public come to contribute help throughout the week, including our own Junior Fire Department as well.

“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,” he added.

The event is on Saturday, Aug. 23 from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., with beer service ending at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are selling fast. To reserve yours, contact any Cutchogue firefighter or call the firehouse directly at 631-734-6907.