What it’s like making the top barbecue rubs in the world (plus top BBQ news & events)
Every chance I get, I like to try making new recipes in the backyard. Much to my wife’s dismay, I have amassed quite a large collection of barbecue rubs and spices over the past few years. In spite of buying what seems like every rub on the market, I actually haven’t given much thought to how barbecue rubs are developed, manufactured, and marketed until recently.
Amy Jungk, Vice President of Old World Spices & Seasonings, shows off some products.
I recently met Amy Jungk, Vice President at Old World Spices & Seasonings, during the National Barbecue and Grilling Association (NBBQA) conference in Kansas City in April, where she was the moderator of the excellent Meet the Masters “Women in BBQ” discussion.
Amy is actually the third generation of her family to work in the spice industry — along with her father John Jungk and grandfather Walter Jungk. I was thrilled when she invited me to take a tour of Old World Spices & Seasonings. My friend and BBQ Hall of Famer Ardie Davis joined me for a tour of their corporate offices and Research and Innovation Lab in Overland Park, Kansas.
A display of some of the rubs produced by Old World Spices & Seasonings.
Amy showed us around the office and I was amazed at how many different clients and labels they worked with, including many of the most popular rubs (and many that I use frequently), such as Plowboys, Three Little Pigs, The Shed, and Lambert’s. She described the business and how they go about creating, manufacturing, distributing, and marketing the various products.
In fact, the packaging and marketing of the rubs are every bit as important as the recipes. Amy described that they had created a few rubs that were good but sales were falling well below expectations. They rebranded the rubs with funny, catchy names and suddenly sales dramatically increased — without any change to the actual recipe or ingredients.
Jere Bahner, Director of Research and Development, talks about spice ingredients.
Next, we toured the kitchen and the research lab. There Amy introduced us to Jere Bahner, the Director of Research and Development. Jere was a wealth of knowledge on flavors and seasonings.
The Research and Innovation Lab was exactly as the name sounds — a room filled with cabinets and drawers full of glass jars containing every spice imaginable and where several people in white lab coats were doing what looked like important and complicated tasks. Jere and his team talked about how they can take any wet ingredient, such as whiskey, and recreate it in dry/powdered form.
Ardie Davis, Amy Jungk, and Jere Bahner discussing trends in the industry.
When I asked Jere what trends he had been seeing in the industry over the years, he responded that there was much more demand for international flavors and spicier rubs in recent years. “People are going bolder … they are definitely going bolder,” he said.
Ingredients such as jalapeno powders, ghost pepper, habanero, and chipotle are more popular than ever. “The rule of thumb is we start out bold and then we temper it down if we need to,” Jere said. “Most everybody that has got a regular blend is going to have a spicy blend as well."
The Old World Spices & Seasonings manufacturing facility in Concordia, Missouri.
Next we drove an hour east of the corporate office to Concordia, Missouri, where the company’s manufacturing plant is located. The large facility opened in 2009 and provides the capacity to bottle, package, store, and distribute products for all of their customers worldwide.
The size and scale of the operation were truly impressive. I was able to see the machinery used to blend spices in a variety of quantities. Most of the processes used to create and package the products were assisted by computers and machinery but still had significant oversight and input from employees. Perhaps this is one reason why it was readily apparent that safety — of both the employees and consumers of the products they produce — was of primary importance.
Jere Bahner, Amy Jungk, and Ryan Cooper during the tour. (Photo by Ardie Davis)
We ended the tour back at the corporate office. I was grateful to have been given a behind-the-scenes glimpse into a vital part of the industry that is important to almost everyone involved in the barbecue world, including those active on the competition circuit, pitmasters and chefs in restaurants, and even backyard enthusiasts.
Next time I am shopping for a rub to try out, I’ll have a greater appreciation for all of the hard work performed by a variety of different people that goes into each bottle. Check out BBQ Spot for more information on products, recipes, and tips from Old World Spices & Seasonings.
Ryan Cooper (BBQ Tourist)
Co-Founder, The Smoke Sheet
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
The 2019 inductees announced for the Barbecue Hall of Fame were announced recently.
The American Royal Association announced three individuals who will be inducted this year into the Barbecue Hall of Fame on The BBQ Central Show. The 2019 inductees are John “Big Daddy” Bishop of Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Wayne Monk of Lexington Barbecue in Lexington, North Carolina; and C.B. “Stubbs” Stubblefield of Lubbock, Texas.
New York City crowned Sruli “Izzy” Eidelman of Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse the new Rib King of NYC last Thursday night. Read NYC BBQ’s recap of the event, which featured fierce competition and delicious beef, pork, and lamb ribs.
Mike Zarda, one of the co-founders of Zarda Bar-B-Q who helped sustain his family’s restaurant legacy in the Kansas City area for more than four decades, died Sunday at the age of 72, writes The Kansas City Star. Brothers Mike, Steve, and Jerry founded the business in 1976 in Blue Springs and opened a second location three years later.
In last week’s issue of The Smoke Sheet, we gave tips on . Chowhound offers some more advice on what to do with leftover brisket.
B’s Cracklin Barbecue is one step closer to reopening after its Atlanta location was destroyed in a devastating fire. It will soon open a temporary location in the former Marcello’s Pizzeria spot at 1679 Avenue Place. The pizza oven there should give owner Bryan Furman some interesting new options to go with his smoker.
Josh Wadley, a Tennessee barbecue pitmaster and convicted felon, has been profiled by Men’s Journal for his unique approach to barbecue. His compelling story includes him learning to cook in prison kitchens and focusing his operation on serving truckers.
Tyler Harp is bringing a little Texas twang to his Kansas City barbecue in Raytown, Missouri, writes 435 Magazine.
With Father’s Day around the corner soon, CNET has rounded up some great gifts for pitmaster dads including recipe books, grills, wood, and tools.
In the past six months, two great new barbecue restaurants have opened to lure barbecue lovers from all over the Houston area and beyond. They are Blood Bros. BBQ and Truth BBQ, the Houston Chronicle writes.
In a new Eater article, author Jim Auchmutey explains the origins of home grilling and how the backyard grill took barbecue out of the South.
Barbecue scholar Robert Moss has mapped out a route for a barbecue road trip that will take you from Alabama up to western Tennessee then across the Appalachians into the Carolinas, via Tampa Magazine.
A new law nicknamed “BBQ Bill 2.0” was passed in Texas recently to strip the Texas Agriculture Department of its oversight of barbecue scales, which had become a burden on barbecue joints around the state, according to Texas Monthly.
The Houston Chronicle’s J.C. Reid writes that pop-up restaurants in Houston barbecue have become an important part of the scene there and it’s one way many new joints get started.
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
Watch: Sky Full of Bacon 17: A Barbecue History of Chicago
Though not as famous as barbecue styles in other parts of the country, Chicago's South Side barbecue culture is distinctive and shaped by the African-American experience in the 20th century — from the great migration from the South to the civil rights movement and racial turmoil of the 1960s. This in-depth tour talks to half a dozen pitmasters, a sauce maker, a pit manufacturer, and barbecue historians to show how barbecue was shaped by life in Chicago and served as a vehicle for the aspirations of the black community from the Depression to the present day. Watch it here.
Listen: Dave Grohl Does Barbecue - Bon Appétit Foodcast
It turns out that Dave Grohl — yes, from the Foo Fighters and Nirvana — is really good at barbecue. Like, he owns-a-giant-smoker-and-barbecues-for-hundreds-of-people good. Adam Rapoport talks to Dave about how he got into the craft and how it expanded to Backbeat BBQ, his one-man catering company. One warning: This episode contains quite a bit of profanity, so you may want to save it for later if you’re listening with kids. Listen to the episode here.
Read: Smokelore: A Short History of Barbecue in America - by Jim Auchmutey
In Smokelore, Jim Auchmutey’s narrative covers the golden age of political barbecues, the evolution of the barbecue restaurant, the development of backyard cooking, and the recent rediscovery of traditional barbecue craft. Along the way, he considers the mystique of barbecue sauces, the spectacle of barbecue contests, the global influences on American barbecue, the roles of race and gender in barbecue culture, and the many ways barbecue has been portrayed in our art and literature. It’s a spicy story that involves noted Americans from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama. Order it here.
The Tony Stone BBQ Competition in Amsterdam, Netherlands attracts people from all over Europe and the U.S.
June 8-9: Tony Stone BBQ Competition - Amsterdam, Netherlands
The eighth annual Tony Stone BBQ Competition takes place June 8-9 in Amsterdam. The competition was Europe’s first contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and a popular event for Americans to attend. The event is free and open to the public and will include a BBQ market, demonstrations, and activities for children. Competitive events include KCBS barbecue competition, Kids Q competitions, Steak Cookoff Association contest, and Tailgating competition. More info here.
June 14-15: The Great Eldorado BBQ, Blues & Brews Festival - Reno, Nevada
Fire up the grills, tap the kegs, and crank up the tunes for Reno’s best summer kick-off party. Join the fun at the Great Eldorado BBQ, Brews and Blues Festival, June 14 and 15. The event is equal parts barbeque block party, microbrew tasting event with more than 50 microbrews from around the world and music festival with two stages featuring nonstop rock and blues. More info here.
June 14-16: Denver BBQ Fest - Denver, Colorado
Get ready to go hog wild this Father’s Day weekend at the second annual Denver BBQ Festival. They will be bringing back may of the best pitmasters to serve the Q that made them famous. Even better, they’ve added a few new faces and expanded the menu way beyond the basics. There will also be live music and activities for the whole family. More info here.
June 16: Birthright BBQ Fest - Dallas, Texas
Dallas Heritage Village and Four Corners Brewing Co. invite you to celebrate Father’s Day at a barbecue event like no other. Smell and taste barbecue cooking over an open pit by pitmasters and chefs such as Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue, Todd David of Cattleack Barbecue, Evan Leroy of Leroy & Lewis, Erin Smith and Patrick Feges of Feges BBQ, Miguel and Modesty Vidal of Valentina’s Tex Mex, and special guest from North Carolina, Elliot Moss of Buxton Hall. Beer, barbecue and live music are all included in the price of admission. More info here.
June 22-23: The Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle - Washington, D.C.
This June, historic Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., will become the epicenter of barbecue perfection. The biggest part of the event is the Cooking Contest, which will feature big names like Myron Mixon, Tuffy Stone, and Moe Cason competing with teams from around the U.S. Also, lots of U.S. barbecue joints from will be there serving food and more than 30 bands will perform live on three stages. More info here.
July 5-7: I Love BBQ and Music Festival 2019 - Lake Placid, New York
This annual event in Lake Placid, New York attracts some of the best BBQ competitors in the country and continues to grow in popularity each year. Not only are there Kansas City Barbeque Society competitions happening on-site, but there are also lots of food and drink vendors for the public to eat and drink well while watching a ton of live music. More info here.
July 12-14: Windy City Smokeout BBQ & Country Music Festival - Chicago, Illinois
Get ready for beer, BBQ, and country tunes, because the Windy City Smokeout BBQ & Country Music Festival is returning to Chicago. The Windy City Smokeout is one of the largest barbecue festivals in the U.S. and this year it will feature 20 of the world’s best pitmasters and more than 15 musical acts. More info here.
July 13: South Sound BBQ Festival 2019 - Lacey, Washington
The South Sound BBQ Festival is one of the largest BBQ events for the Pacific Northwest. It will include a prol cook-off sanctioned by the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association plus an assortment of food vendors and non-food vendors from around the South Sound. There will be live entertainment, free kids activities, chicken wing eating contest, adult-only beer & wine garden, and much more. More info here.
August 17: 2019 Stumptown Beer Revival and BBQ Cook Off - Monte Rio, California
This event, which is also called the “Russian River Beer Revival & BBQ Cookoff,” features copious amounts of beer and barbecue. An entry fee includes beer, cider, and barbecue tastings for the duration of the day, along with live music and activities. More than 40 breweries and 30 barbecue teams will participate. More info here.
Smoked Turkey Breast
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose Smoked Turkey Breast from the recently-released book Whole Hog BBQ by Sam Jones and Daniel Vaughn, which was shared by the Houston Chronicle. In this simple recipe, the turkey breast is generously sprinkled with “Rub Potion Number Swine” and smoked at 250 degrees until it gets a light mahogany color. It is then wrapped in foil to seal in moisture until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. View the recipe here.
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