Ralph's Bar-B-Q Sauce - Small Batch Barbecue Sauce by a Lexington NC Guy

Ralph's Original Bar-B-Q and Mopping Sauce

I've been looking forward all week to trying out Ralph's barbecue sauce. Ralph is my co-worker at Catawba College. We'd not met, because we're in different buildings. I teach and write about grilling and barbecue at night, and Ralph is a retired police officer from Lexington, NC who works security (thanks!) and he spends his spare time making his Bar-B-Q & Mop sauce.

Shane, who is the head of security and a long time friend, told Ralph about my hobby and gave him my business card (very inexpensive from Vista print online - check them out if you need cards), and he told me that Ralph was a sauce guy and would be getting in touch. This is where you all must be thinking "small world." I couldn't believe there was a small batch barbecue sauce maker on campus and that I'd not heard about it.

Ralph pulled a night shift and stopped by my office in the morning with a jar of his sauce, and we had a great chat. I can't think of anything I enjoy much more than talking barbecue - other than maybe eating barbecue.

Ralph is originally from Lexington which is a barbecue capital in North Carolina. I can't say THE barbecue capital, or I'd really tick off the eastern style North Carolina barbecue folks. That argument ranks with religion and politics in this state, and I hide in the bunkers when that argument comes up - eastern versus western barbeuce in NC.

For twenty years, Ralph has been tweaking around with his barbecue sauce. About seven years ago, his wife thought he had it perfect and said, "That's it. Leave it alone." That became his signature sauce and the one sitting on my desk that day and on my table tonight.

For years, Ralph made his special barbecue sauce for his own grilling and as Christmas gifts for the family. He said that one year he thought maybe he should do something different. Everyone was saying, "Where's the barbecue sauce?" He didn't make that mistake again. You know how families are. You really don't want them all mad at you and especially not at Christmas.

With family, friends, and the folks at church going wild for Ralph's Bar-B-Q Sauce and Mop, he decided maybe he could market his product. That's a huge undertaking especially when you're doing it out of your home kitchen and two galllons at a time.

"My wife has been real patient with me," said Ralph who generally waits until everyone is asleep at home to work his barbecue sauce magic. He's now talking to a bottler out of Winston Salem, so that he can make more sauce than what he can at home in the kitchen.

Some local stores already carry Ralph's Bar-B-Q sauce. He's in Salisbury (Village Groceries on 601 and McLaughlin's on Monroe St.), Lexington (Bass Food Mart and Conrad & Hinkle on N. Main), and Thomasville (Shuler's Meat Market on 29/70). He was on consignment to start with, but his sauce was popular, so the stores buy it outright now.

Also, if you're local, then Village Inn Pizza of Salisbury, NC uses Ralph's sauce on their wings on Wednesday nights. Stop by and try those out and tell them Ralph rocks.

Ralph is now setting up a Ralph's sauce web page and getting his sauce out there. I'm writing this on Easter weekend 2011, and the page just went up, so keep in mind that you're in the pilot group as they build the space.

Smoked Pork Butt Off the Weber Bullet

Here's the pork butt we've had on the Weber Smokey Mountain today. No. It's not sauced at this point. We rubbed it with Bandiola Barbecue rub which is why it's such a pretty color (and the bark has a very nice flavor).

We let the pork butt rest but not long. Eli was hungry - starving. I think this is a chronic issue with 18-year-old boys. In any case, we rested the pork with Eli slipping samples and dipping it in Ralph's sauce.

Ralph's Barbecue Sauce - Heating Up

You don't have to heat up Lexington type barbecue sauce, but I like it warmed up. So, I put some in the pot and heated it up on my new glass top stove. I don't much like my new stove other than the cool purple color it makes around the pot that you can see here. That is a story for another post though.

North Carolina Chopped Pork BBQ Sandwich with Ralph's BBQ Sauce

I put my barbecue sandwich together and sauced it and got my first taste of Ralph's sauce. Yum. It reminded me of a barbecue sauce I bought in Murphy, NC ten or more years ago that I've tried and tried to find with no luck. All small batch sauces are a little different, but Ralph's has that sweet flavor with a bite of heat behind it that I'd loved so much with that Murphy sauce I got at the flea market. Ralph's BBQ sauce was a big hit here all round. Yes. Ralph's wife was correct. He nailed it.

If you're not from North Carolina or aren't familiar with Lexington style barbecue sauce, then it's vinegar based but has some red (ketchup in this case) plus some heat (pepper seeds and/or cayenne - depending on the sauce maker). It's unique and very good.

This type of barbecue sauce is common for slow smoked pork but also for chicken and ribs. It can be mopped on as food is grilling or cooking or used as a dip after the food is cooked.

Ralph told me that he especially liked to use his sauce with chicken, and that's what I plan to do next. It can be sauced on the grill, or he told me that it's really good to Southern fry chicken and then pour his sauce over it and let it sit for a while. That's what we call barbi-fried chicken around here.

I've been talking about Ralph's sauce and our pork butt evening this week on Facebook. You can find me there under Cyndi Allison (Salisbury and/or Grill Girl - since there are others with the same name on there). Norman, a guy I graduated with and who was always one of my favorite classmates, noticed I was talking about Ralphs's barbecue sauce. He clicked in to let me know that Ralph is his brother-in-law. It was great to hear from Norman again, and I'm right back to thinking "small world" again. I'm glad Shane hooked us up. We're just two working folks with hobbies that are similar. I write on barbecue. He makes barbecue sauce. I'm sure we smiled or waved while walking across campus. Now, we are barbecue buddies.

Thanks for the sauce Ralph. I can be a tough critic I know. Your BBQ sauce was everything I hoped for and more.

FlameDisk - My Students Had a Blast with Easy Grill Fuel Product

I am sitting here at my computer desk and thinking about this wild week. The exam in my Writing for Media class was to make a video. Since I am big into grilling and barbecue, I thought something in that line would be fun.

The great folks at FlameDisk which I carry at OpenSky now were kind enough to send out some FlameDisks for the project and also one for each student at the end of the project.

I had explained to my students (many who have never grilled or seldom done so) that FlameDisk is an alternative to charcoal. It is easy to use and safer, so it's a good pick for new grillers and tailgaters. FlameDisk is good for me too on nights when I'm tired and do not want to spend a lot of time working on a charcoal grill fire.

The students really liked the FlameDisks, the grilled out food, and a non-traditional exam. While it was more like a cook out party in some ways, the students worked hard and produced two neat videos about FlameDisk you ought to check out. I had a wide open class, so they went with humor, so folks will like these videos.

First, there is FlameDisk Boy. The hero swoops in and helps Amanda who has terribly burned up her hot dogs.



The second FlameDisk video project was a grill off between two students - one with charocal and one with FlameDisk.



Of course, it takes a village (or a pretty good sized group to do a good video), so thumbs up to the entire class who worked on the concepts, scripts, grilling, and editing.



And, thanks again to FlameDisk. You were a hit with my students. They liked the easy grilling, no mess, and green clean container at the end.

Catawbapalooza 2010 - Fun in the Sun and Grilled Burgers and Hot Dogs

We always have a fun day at Catawba College each spring before the last couple of weeks of school. It's Catawbapalooza, and the students grill out and host games and enjoy some carnival rides set up in the back parking lot.

The grill guys were excited to have a new gas grill this year. It takes a big grill to crank out enough grilled food for a whole college. There are around 900 day students total, plus the students invite faculty and staff out to enjoy the day as well (THANKS!). A head count would be hard, but I can say it's a crowd. I've been to Catawbapalooza every year, and I would say this is the biggest turn out ever.

The guys rotated on grilling which was good, because it was a scorching sunny day this year, and it gets hot standing over a grill.



One real popular activity this year was Corn Hole. It's kind of like horseshoes, but it's more portable (wooden boxes that fold down). Also, you don't have to worry about beaning someone with a metal horseshoe. You throw bags filled with corn instead.



Everyone went back and forth to get food and drinks during the day. The big tent was packed at times, and Brandon and some of the other students were burning a trail up the hill to restock both food and drinks. If you don't have college aged kids, then I must tell you that they can pack away some food. I usually double amounts over what I do for family, unless it's mostly girls. Then, I don't grill as much, since most college girls eat like birds.



Speaking of the college girls, here is a whole hill of young ladies who found a little shade. They are definitely styling this event. Well, I don't have to point that out now do I?

Some of my best students are mixed in there including the newspaper editor. So, hi Aly and Jen! Hope to see some Catawbapalooza articles and photos in The Pioneer (our online student newspaper - brand new this year).



The students at Catawba are terrific! They are smart and funny, and they make my job something I care deeply about. I have to hang tough in class and make sure they get what they need for the future, and it is really nice to have a day where we can all let our hair down.

* I got over 100 photos of Catawbapalooza 2010, so if any students want to check those out, they are at FaceBook under my user name Cyndi Allison.