Orange County's award-winning BBQ pitmaster Ed Randolph wins another prize
Ed Randolph just added another notch to his BBQ championship belt:
Randolph, who owns and runs Handsome Devil, a catering company and a restaurant of the same name in Newburgh, was named top pitmaster at the Poolside BBQ Battle, held at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Wine & Food Festival. His signature smoked brisket held its own against a host of other renowned pitmasters, including "MasterChef" winner Shaun O'Neale.
Proceeds from the competition and festival benefited the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.
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“Cooking was always a passion of mine,” said Randolph, a Food Network "Chopped" Champion, who lives in Orange County. He said he never set out to be an award-winning pitmaster, but got so many compliments on his barbecue from friends and family, that he decided to give it a go and launch a catering business. That success led to another: His Handsome Devil restaurant opened in Newburgh in 2020.
The menu has everything from his signature smoked brisket to pulled pork and St. Louis-style ribs to hand pies and banana pudding.
What's next
Randolph will compete at the upcoming Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival, held in Brooklyn on Jan. 29, and has a new cookbook, written with his wife Noelle, debuting this spring, along with the possibility of more brick-and-mortar locations in the near future.
As to how he came up with the Handsome Devil moniker, Randolph explained the origins in a 2021 interview with The Record:
One morning, before leaving for work, Randolph got a charming send-off from his daughter, standing at the top of the stairs.
“Daddy, you’re a handsome devil. Have a good day.”
“Handsome Devil just stuck and I spent time on the train for the next hour-and-a-half searching internet databases and by the time I got home that night, I had the name reserved. But I think my daughter wants to sue me for royalties,” he said.