STATEN ISLAND, NY — It’s no easy task to be hot and cool at the same time.

But Staten Island is doing it — twice — this weekend.

Even better: This pair of five-alarm/five-borough attractions isn’t happening at some hipster “dive” or even the safe-distance-from-the-Ferry Ballpark.

Nope. Saturday’s official New York City Chili & BBQ Cookoffs take place deep in the heart of S.I. — on the gloriously old school grounds of Historic Richmond Town.

More than 3,000 heatseekers turned out for 2011’s International Chili Society-sanctioned competition/tasting, so organizers decided to up the ante (competitive food competitions=big bucks, folks) this year with Gotham’s inaugural Kansas City Barbecue Society “Pit Bowl” of sorts.

“BBQ and slow-cooked, smoked food has invaded our urban culture,” says Ed Wiseman, executive director of HRT. “What was once a regional specialty has become the new backyard pastime. It

was time to celebrate that cultural food phenomenon in NYC.”

A whopping $10,000 prize booty attracted dozens of foodie fighters from around the East Coast, but carnivorous connoisseurs say that wouldn’t always have been the case.



MEAT & GREET

“When I first moved to New York City from the South in the early ‘90s, real barbecue was virtually non-existent,” says

editor

, a native Texan who’s tracked the barbecue movement through career pitstops in Kansas City, New Orleans, Memphis to Garden City, Long Island.

“Today, however, the five boroughs have numerous top-notch restaurants,” adds the

. “Plus, a massive annual BBQ block party, and now the very first KCBS sanctioned barbecue contest.”

And Cantwell isn’t just blowing smoke up our collective you know what — his “Smoke In Da Eye” team intends to school the competition (watch your babyback, Danny “PepperLoco” Gentile of Tottenville!) with an unofficial pitmaster class: “I look forward to heading to Historic Richmond Town, cooking up some fine fare and hopefully walking away a winner.”

But first, chili power buffs compete in red and green chilis and salsa categories from the time doors open at noon Saturday until winners are announced at 4 p.m. Barbecue battlers like Cantwell will fire up their smokers the next day to win prizes for the best pork butt, brisket, chicken and pork ribs. Doors open at noon; winners will be announced at 6 p.m.

The weekend will also feature kids crafts and rides, historical demonstrations and exhibits, live music and the perfect culinary complement: cornbread baked in a 200-year-old oven.

JUICY JUDGEMENTS

Contestants at local cookoffs have the potential to win not only big cash prizes — but bigtime home-cook bragging rights.

As the only sanctioned events in NYC, the cookoffs draw the region’s best competitors to the

. Winners can use the event as a springboard to the National Championships, hosted by the International Chili Society and the Kansas City Barbecue Society.

Admission — $10 for adults and $5 for children each day — entitles guests to taste and cast their vote in the “People’s Choice” competition by dropping tokens into the jars of the cooks they feel are the best.

Other categories are adjudicated by a group of food experts, international society members and local “celebrities,” who follow specific rules established and monitored by the ICS and KCBS pros.

“We understand how important these competitions are to the contestants, so we make sure everyone has the opportunity to win by adhering to strict guidelines,” says Richmond resident Bob Coghlan, a previous Grand Prize winner and this year’s Chief Chili Judge. “It’s not easy and it gets a little intense but we need to be diligent to insure the best recipe wins.”

PRESTIGIOUS PROTEIN

Lest one think this is just some down-home endeavor, unworthy of big city folk, let Mayor Michael Bloomberg remind us: “There is no better place than New York to enjoy the best food from throughout the world, and this weekend, Historic Richmond Town is serving up something for all our chili and barbecue connoisseurs.”

Legends on the chili cookoff circuit concur.

“It is an honor to participate in such a prestigious event, says

“... I’m very excited to cook at the only cookoff in NYC. This event always draws the region’s great chili cooks.”

Plus, it affords local newbies an opportunity to show off their sauce — without a lot of travel and tolls.

“When we found out (this was) happening right in our own backyard, we decided it was time to see how our barbecue stacks up against some real pit masters,” says West Brightonite

and first-time cookoff competitor. “We’re looking forward to meeting people who don’t think it’s crazy to cook a piece of meat for 12 hours or more and have a good time doing it.”