Saturday morning, it looked like Meatopia would be hellish. With the heat index in Manhattan soaring into the triple digits, the prospect of massive meat consumption--outside--did not seem appealing. Organizer Josh Ozersky was worried enough to post an emergency FAQ on the Meatopia website, assuring would-be-deserters that all would be OK.
It was certainly hot, but the festival's riverside location, in Brooklyn Bridge Park, provided a refreshing breeze. Beer and bottled water were in ample supply, and much of the food was good enough to make enthusiastic carnivores forget their surroundings. Here's the full list of participating chefs, with their dishes. Rodney Scott and Sean Brock won Meatopia's best of show award for their barbecued whole pig. For what it's worth, HuffPost Food's three correspondants unanimously declared Naomi Pomeroy's beef cheeks the winner of the day. But there were many strong contenders.
We spoke with some of our favorite chefs and asked them about their Meatopia strategy. Watch the video below.
If you're still hungry for more, check out HuffPost Food's meat-astic photos below. All photos are by Joe Satran/The Huffington Post.
