Some of you may or may not remember but back in March of this year, I reviewed Blue’s Carolina Pepper Sauce and gave it high marks as an SAS (specific application sauce). The original is the perfect compliment to pulled pork, BBQ’d chicken and just about anything you can grill or smoke. Recently Steve & I have been exchanging emails and thoughts regarding his current work in progress, the Carolina Pepper Sauce Habanera Reserve and Steve was kind enough to agree to doing a meet your maker profile for the HSBers. Just putting this post up makes me crave some pulled pork slathered in Carolina Pepper Sauce…
Why Hot Foods? And what was your first sauce?
I’ve always been into sauces, but not really hot sauces. Initially I started a catering company that used pull behind smokers that I would take to events, weddings, parties and things like that. Folks enjoyed the catering but they flipped over my first sauce that I called Carolina Dip. I had used some Tabasco sauces in the past and thought that I could do better.
What is your favorite product you make?
I like my original Blue’s Carolina Pepper sauce. It’s not very hot, but it brings out foods natural flavors instead of overpowering foods. This was my goal initially to start with.
Any new products we should be ready for in your line?
I am working on a new sauce that will be called Blue’s Habanera Reserve. I have done two trials, both were good, but I liked the second version better. I’ve sent out many samples to critics and Chile heads and have been given good feed back. Everyone has loved the sauce but still want more heat. On this last trial run, I will add more habanera peppers and I think I’ll have a winner. I’ve got more plans down the line that include Blue’s Hot ‘N Sweet Mustard and Blue’s Wing Sauce. I’m also FDA approved for a fantastic dry rub, but I can’t figure out how to make it cost effective. I’m taking baby steps on growth. If my pockets were deeper I’d launch all my products as quick as possible.
Where do you see the future of hot sauce in 5 years?
I see hot sauce in 5 years even more competitive than it is today. Humans can only take so much heat, so I don’t see sauces getting hotter, I see manufactures getting back to flavor. Right now, that is missing in a lot of hot sauces. 10 years from now hot sauces will be packaged with holographic labels. There will be so many sauces out there that whatever catches the consumers eye will sell. The market will be so flooded that no one except the big, big companies will be able to make money. 20 years from now, who knows maybe “hot sauce pills” I’ll be too old to shop for sauce by then.
What is your favorite sauce you don’t make?
I recently demo’d my sauces at The Southern Season in Raleigh-Durham. I had the good fortune of meeting Page (Cackalacky sauce) and the folks from Joe Bud’s Foods. I like a lot of sauces but the Joe Bud’s Everything Sauce would even make dirt taste good. It wasn’t hot, but is a great product.
Do you eat the foods you make?
I have my Carolina Pepper Sauce pretty much everyday. I use the mild on everything and use the hot a little more sparingly. I have bottles sitting in our kitchen everywhere.
What do you eat hot sauce on?
Hot sauce has to go on all of my wife’s cooking. Seriously, I keep several sauces handy. My sauce goes on all pork and all grill type meats. Texas Pete goes on my wings, Joe Bud’s Everthing Sauce goes on everything else. My mild Carolina Pepper Sauce gets mixed with a little olive oil and goes on salads.
What sets you aside from the other hot sauce producers out there today?
My initial goal was to make a better sauce than Tabasco. I believe that I have done that. I don’t have a flashy name or a gimmick label. No key chains come with my sauces. My sauces are food enhancers instead of mind melting heat. My growth is being realized thru repeat customers. I believe that great flavor, fair heat and reasonable price will eventually make Blue’s Sauces a household name.
What is your inspiration before you embark on a new concoction?
I tend to get creative in my head in the middle of the night. I keep a pad of paper and a pen by the bed. A few years back, I sat straight up in bed with the absolute best invention that this world needed. I didn’t write it down and that’s why I get to work a full time job and run Blue’s BBQ, Inc.
Outside of creating hot products, what else keeps you occupied or out of trouble?
Between my job with Nascar, playing in a band, being active in our church, raising kids and paying bills, there is no time to get into trouble. I’m lying, there’s always time.
Any weird stories or uses for your hot sauce that you would like to share?
Nothing really weird about my sauce. My first trial run Of Blue’s Habanera Reserve got a little interesting. I added water to this version, and then decided to boil the water back out. Not a smart thing to do with a real hot Habanera Sauce. The smell and the heat in the air forced us to evacuate.
How much sauce do you make in a week?
I currently make 8 gallons per week of my Blue’s Carolina Pepper Sauce (mild). It goes to a restaurant called Board Walk Billy’s in Charlotte. For the 10 oz. bottles, I was forced to go to a co-packer. They are doing another run as we speak. By years end, they will have done about 9,000 bottles this year. My Blue’s Habanera Reserve will initially be done out of the house until demand gets too great. I’ve already got orders and haven’t started on a new label yet.
How many different recipes do you go through when developing a new sauce?
I’ve been fortunate with my recipes. Carolina Pepper sauce was already in my head and my new products will be variations. My Hot’n sweet mustard is in my head. Blue’s Wing Sauce is a no brainer. A little Habanera Reserve and a little butter and bingo, Blue’s Wing sauce.
How did you get started in the industry?
I started as a caterer. It was way too much work. My customers asked me to develop my sauces and Blue’s BBQ, Inc. was born
What is your biggest challenge so far?
Marketing, marketing and marketing. Volume, volume and volume. You can have the best sauce in the world and still lose money. I truly have a great product but I don’t have the brains or funds for marketing. As far as volume, you can’t make money selling a bottle or even a case at a time. You need to sell pallets. To sell pallets you need Wal-Marts, Costco’s or BJ’s. These places get you the volume, but they want your product for less than you can produce it. I’m currently in 28 grocers, but the sauce doesn’t sell very well. It’s got to be marketed in the stores.
What is the most common question you get?
The most common question I get is “Can I have another free sample”? And of course “What’s the hottest thing you got”?
What do you want to know from the readers of the HSB?
I want everyone to try a bottle of Blue’s Carolina Pepper Sauce and let me know his or her comments. I want to know if your HSB readers are after just heat or flavor with heat. Also, I’ve been given mixed reviews of my label. It’s a love, hate thing. Reviews have been 50/50. The big blue guitar on the label started out for product recognition. With the addition to Blue’s Habanera Reserve to my line, I am looking at a total “do-over” of my label. Nick, how about a label competition on HSB for a new label for me?
What’s a typical day for you?
Typical Day, lots of coffee. At least 5 calls to sauce wholesalers or distributors. Lots of emails to sauce web sites. Several trips to the grocery store. Packaging my sauce and mailing from my web sales. This is predicated on me not working at my real job.
Worst burn ever?
Worst burn? Dad left me outside too long on a sunny day when I was only 3.
Best burn ever?
Best Burn? I have a friend that said I couldn’t make wings hot enough. I took a bunch of red savina peppers that I had grown and simmered them for hours in Texas Pete Hot Sauce. This made the hottest wings that I had ever had that didn’t include an extract. They were good!
Blue’s BBQ, INC.
1260 Boswell Court
Concord, NC 28027
52 responses to “Meet Your Maker #19 – Steve Burnham of Blue’s BBQ”
I have yet to try this!! But it sounds delicious…Nice interview Nick
[Comment ID #68958 Quote]
Second that Lisa, AND, any bottle of sauce with a guitar on the label belongs in my fridge and in my collection !!
Hey Lisa, I have a bottle of that sauce…you can open it if you want to try it 😉
Some interesting stuff here:
“I see manufactures getting back to flavor. Right now, that is missing in a lot of hot sauces.
True, but some already do “focus on flavor”…
” 10 years from now hot sauces will be packaged with holographic labels. There will be so many sauces out there that whatever catches the consumers eye will sell.“
On no, the gimmic thing again. True, a catchy label will stand-out and sell more, but a good tasting product should keep them coming back for more. But, a collector will usually buy 1-2 bottles just for so, (no matter of label/taste) but those small sales wont help sustain a company.
“The market will be so flooded that no one except the big, big companies will be able to make money.”
Hopefully this will never happen because alot of the best stuff comes from the little guys (and gals)
“As far as volume, you can’t make money selling a bottle or even a case at a time. You need to sell pallets. – These places get you the volume, but they want your product for less than you can produce it.”
Another good point, makes you think how hard it is for the little guys (gals) out there.
[Comment ID #69023 Quote]
I was told long ago , get into the hot sauce biz to make hot sauce, not to make money. We love making sauce, we are not making any money, but it is a passion, an obsession, and more fun than anything I have ever done. The bills are paid, the equiptment is paid for, it is self sustaining, anything left over is reinvested.
Gimmick labels. WE ARE GUILTY !!!
They do sell, BUT, you have to have a product behind the label. Thats where the repeat biz comes in. The guitar label is catchy, stands out, I would grab a cpl for sure. After the novelty wears off, the taste will dictate more purchases.
Steve, I will have to try the sauce for sure, your stuff sounds great. Best of luck from PPP, and do you have any recordings available of your band? Blues and hotsauce just go together like Arizona and sunshine.
Keep us posted !!!
[Comment ID #69004 Quote]
Very good sauce. Hey you all just keep makeing sauces. I will do my best to keep buying and spreading the word. About Hot Sauce pour it on eveything.
I tried the stuff and did not have the same conclusion as nick. It was like a very miled vinegar and tomato juice combination. It wasn’t terribly bad, just not something I would buy.
Anyone in the 715 area code try to fax me a little while ago? I just got a fax transmission on my cell phone.
To All:
I appreciate all the kind words.
For eman: my co-packer had made a mistake in my recipe and literally hundreds of wrong samples were sent out after Peppers, Inc. accepted my sauce in the spring. You might have received this sauce. If you get on http://www.bluesbbq.net and give me an address, I will send you another bottle on me and a sample of my not yet released Blue’s Habanera Reserve. I want you to be happy.
Blue’s
One thing I look forward in doing in NM is trying all the different sauces. You here all the great reviews but I can only hold so much sauce in the fridge…. Do people have little sample packs to try?
[Comment ID #69046 Quote]
They have actual SAMPLES to try right there and then!!!! Come hungry and ready for some heat! But you better spend most of your time at THT with your helmet handing out OUR samples! 😉
[Comment ID #69051 Quote]
I’m bringing my cooler and sitting with the THT all weekend.
[Comment ID #69044 Quote]
Very cool thng to do Steve. Much admired!
[Comment ID #69051 Quote]
BTW – how was the meeting tonight. I think I need to attend the next one – sounded like a heck of a lot more partying then meeting!
[Comment ID #69052 Quote]
ROCK ON HUV!!!
[Comment ID #69054 Quote]
It went great!!!! You can sit in on any of them you want, but be warned, we are NOT nice. That is what the booze is for! 😉
[Comment ID #69054 Quote]
Its the only way we know how to have a meeting huv! We accomplish so much when we’re a little liquored up! Did you have a flash back of TX ????? FAT KID SAUCES WOOOOHHOOOOO!!! We should have put you on speakerphone so we could all hear that accent of yours!
[Comment ID #69061 Quote]
I dont have the accent – everyone else does 😉
[Comment ID #69051 Quote]
Okay, but mom says you need to play nice….lol
[Comment ID #69062 Quote]
LOL, now it just sounds like you’ve been drinking!
[Comment ID #69063 Quote]
That’s why you need the helmet.
[Comment ID #69065 Quote]
Thats what I’m scared of….lol
Whats up Huv?
[Comment ID #69063 Quote]
Blane, Blane, Blane, have you not been paying attention….. Jodie doesn’t play well with others! EVER! Don’t worry, Lisa and I play nice. Well ok, I play nice. 😉
[Comment ID #69066 Quote]
Not much….. Just getting ready to crash. Got your email – replied
Man I think you are in a heap of trouble with the THT in NJ 😀
[Comment ID #69069 Quote]
lol
Can’t you just hear the Southern Drawl. Habanera. Love it. Love it.
[Comment ID #69073 Quote]
You get my email Jack?
[Comment ID #69075 Quote]
Blane, yes, I will get you details. MSK is the Mississippi Sauce King, worlds largest collection of signed sauces, and a total RIOT to party with.
Check yer mail, I’ll reply right now.
[Comment ID #69067 Quote]
EXCUSE ME? I AM NICE!!!!! You’re FUNNY!
[Comment ID #69079 Quote]
Thats what I thought but wasn’t for sure….lol
[Comment ID #69080 Quote]
I’m really scared….. I think I’ll put a sheild on my helmet
Helmets are fun. I have been workin on mine for NM. Blane, you are a maniac, I will now refer to you as Blaniac. LOL
[Comment ID #69083 Quote]
Too funny
Great interview Nick and Steve.. this stuff is awesome on pulled pork…
[Comment ID #69041 Quote]
you got it
i will post back here what i think.
[Comment ID #69046 Quote]
you will have plenty to try….. the key is trying to try the milds first, then work the heat up..so you can truly appreciate each and every sauce.
[Comment ID #69052 Quote]
I’m with you Huv…Bwana DK sent me…Oh My God, Oh my God….
[Comment ID #69067 Quote]
Blane…did we forget to tell you, Kristi is the angel…cough…cough….lol
[Comment ID #69079 Quote]
Did you get mine AJ? i got an error back. but basically thanx didnt know i could connect them
[Comment ID #69082 Quote]
just bring Luke, they’ll be too busy fussing over him to hurt you….
[Comment ID #69429 Quote]
Are we going to all get together and do a poker game again or reserve a table and play for some real money?
bigshow….just shot you an email
I don’t know about y’all, but I am ready for the holidays to be over and firery foods to be here!!!!
LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!
[Comment ID #69433 Quote]
Yes, one way or the other. that was a great time in TX. i won’t be bringing my chips, but we’ll figure something out. i bet we could rent a table or two and dealers.
[Comment ID #69435 Quote]
i’m in that means winters almost over too….
got the e-mail and replied
Night Boys
[Comment ID #69431 Quote]
Yeppers, got it TBS
[Comment ID #69436 Quote]
I called the po ker room manager, he was going to get back to me on private tables, but he did say they are available for groups, should be fun !!
[Comment ID #69438 Quote]
hey Bret, by Bret….
[Comment ID #69440 Quote]
great, i was just thinking about putting in a call too. i think ideally it would be nice if we could just rent a couple of tables, with chips and dealers. do our little tournament, and have a buy in like we did in texas. then anyone who wants to play for real can just do that at the regular tables
[Comment ID #69442 Quote]
fookin A, sounds great to me.