Launch
We did not set out to launch ten things. We set out to make one rub good enough to put our names on, and then kept finding reasons to make another. Twenty-two numbered jars later, five had earned a label, a bottle and a spot on the shelf. Turnpike Smoke made six in September, named for the grass fires you can see on the Turner Turnpike from ten miles out, and Beautiful Sunset and Cold Water followed that same week. Then the sauces caught up: Grand Isle Hook Set Sauce in October, and Knock Your Sauce Off, the wing sauce we had been arguing about since spring. That is the ten.
Six dry blends, two barbecue sauces and two finishing sauces. Every one of them is small batch, low on salt so you can season heavy, and made in one kitchen from a written formulation with a taste panel behind it. No ghost pepper in any of them, now or ever. Here is the lineup, in the order we would hand them to you.
1 · Some Heat
The one that started it. Deep and smoky rather than sharp, herby underneath, with a pepper build that keeps going after the bite. It was built for a screaming hot cast iron skillet and a redfish fillet, and it has never really left that job.
Good on Redfish, snapper, catfish, shrimp and any firm white fish. Skillet, grill grate or plank.
2 · All purpose
Named for the band, because it is the one that rides in the green room cooler. Savory and garlic led with a deep, almost meaty base, ten percent salt, and barely any heat. It is the bottle we reach for without thinking, and the one we tell people to buy first.
Good on Chicken, steak, burgers, pork chops, vegetables, eggs and popcorn. Anything, honestly.
3 · Some Heat
Came out of an actual shrimp boil on an actual dock at Port Aransas. Coastal and aromatic, bright citrus lift, celery salt, a warm finish that rides underneath. It is a boil seasoning first, but it works dry on anything that came out of the water.
Good on Shrimp, crawfish and crab boils, fish tacos, fries and corn on the cob.
4 · Medium
Smoke three ways and not a grain of sugar. Smoked paprika for the body, chipotle for a fruitier smoke and a Medium warmth, and a little mesquite on top. With no sugar in it nothing burns, so it goes on the night before and sits through the whole cook.
Good on Pulled pork, beef ribs, brisket and chicken quarters. Stir it into baked beans before they go in the oven.
5 · Mild
Chris and Landon wanted a beach sunset, vivid and a little psychedelic. Sweet paprika and dried orange peel carry the color, ancho chile keeps the heat at Mild and fruity rather than sharp, and cumin, allspice and ginger give it the warm, low golden hour glow the name promises.
Good on Chicken, pork chops and tenderloin, shrimp and other shellfish, white fish, and roasted vegetables.
6 · Medium
Named for the RiverKingz song: Latin at its core, modern rock in its attitude. Ancho chile goes in first, deep and a little fruity, cayenne builds a steady Medium heat behind it, cumin and Mexican oregano carry the savory side, and dried lime zest cuts through it bright and cold, the flavor the name is named for.
Good on Chicken, pork and beef of any cut, shrimp and firm white fish, and roasted corn and vegetables.
7 · Medium
The first sauce. Sweet smoked mango up front, a soft chipotle warmth behind it that settles in and stays put. It was made for the last five minutes on the grill, brushed on when the sugar can caramelize without burning.
Good on Pork shoulder, ribs, chicken thighs, salmon and grilled pineapple or peaches.
8 · Medium
A Gulf Coast take on Carolina gold. Bright and tangy, mustard forward with a rounded sweetness behind it and just enough heat to notice at the end. Landon wanted to name it after his truck. It earned the Mobile Bay name instead, on a dock, over thighs.
Good on Pulled pork, chicken thighs, ribs, smoked sausage and anything that needs cutting through.
9 · Some Heat
Named for the moment the rod goes over, and it hits the same way: bright up front, then gone. Red jalapeño and roasted red pepper carry the flavor, garlic and onion sit underneath, and lime lands at the finish. The kick is quick and it fades, which is why it ends up on eggs on a Tuesday as often as on a platter of boiled shrimp.
Good on Eggs first, then boiled shrimp, crawfish, oysters, gumbo, fried fish and fried chicken.
10 · Some Heat
The wing sauce, and the spiciest thing we make, which still is not a dare. Red fresno and roasted garlic go in up front, guajillo sits underneath for depth, and honey and lime close it out, so the heat arrives late and stays friendly. It took the longest of any bottle to get right, because a wing sauce that is only hot is easy and a wing sauce you want to keep eating is not.
Good on Wings, first and last, then grilled chicken, shrimp, fried fish and anything that comes out of a fryer.
If you cannot decide, the four-pack is the answer. Pick any four, mixed however you like, and fifteen percent comes off the lot. Everything ships together, free over $45.
Build your own
Nobody needs all 10 at once. Choose the four you will actually cook with this month, and take 15 percent off the lot.
Keep reading
Every formulation on the shelf started out as a number on a mason jar. Here's how five jars became five names, and why two of them almost didn't make it.
Most rubs on a grocery shelf run salt-heavy because salt is cheap and it's the easiest way to make a blend taste like something. We went the other way on purpose.
Before there was a bottle, there was a band, a green room cooler, and two guys who couldn't agree on the setlist but never argued about the rub.
From the lineup
Every post ends the same way, with a fire and a bottle. Ten small batch rubs and sauces, low on salt so you can season heavy.
Areas we serve
Wholesale, a tasting at your shop, or bottles for a festival near you? Say hey.
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