A Splash Of Sauce

A SPLASH OF SAUCE

Keeping History Alive

WL 1942

The year was 1945. My grandfather Eudell, in charge of an annual event held at his church, with assistance of his brothers smoked and cooked meat over an open pit. He did this under the supervision of his then 108 year old father, my great grandfather Arthur. The activity and wonderful aroma attracted a crowd. In that crowd were several politicians including the mayor. The mayor and his crew were taken with what they saw and even more so with what they tasted. They were so impressed they did not hesitate. After a brief huddle they requested Eudell and his brothers consider cooking for a large festival planned in the downtown district. Eudell agreed and the Kewanee Hog Festival that continues to this day was born.

Unfortunately, several months later Arthur died, Arthur was responsible for a great style of the open pit method used to smoke different cuts of meat. More importantly he was also the creator of an amazing red finishing sauce well known in the black and brown community as the absolute best around. A flavorful sauce used to complete the large pork shoulders, chickens, brisket and ribs, even goat that quickly became so popular with groups and cities over fifty miles away, died. On a hot sunny day, Arthur waited in his horse and wagon at a rail crossing. As the train passed, Arthur started across and was struck by an oncoming train from the other direction. His horse had to be put down on the spot and his dog disappeared. Arthur died several weeks later after entering the hospital suffering from a bad limp caused by the wreck.

Born in 1837 Arthur spent his first 27 years of life in the throes of slavery. His father was also his owner or master. His mother lived in the slave quarters. Raised near the big house as a houseboy and cooks helper made him quite unpopular with the missus of the large plantation where he lived and served. Much of his youth and young adulthood was spent hiding in and roaming the surrounding wooded area. He escaped there often, especially when his father left for extended periods of time.This happened mostly in an effort to avoid the wrath of the missus of the house who resented him fiercely. Most likely because he resembled her children to a point that angered her. She dared not physically abuse him though as she did not want him marked upon her husband's return. She did however have her ways of mistreating him. Forcing him to spend hours as a human scarecrow being one of the least troubling.

Arthur’s colorful youth included the survival of a horrible kick to the back of his head by a horse requiring the placing of a silver coin in the wound. A coin he would carry the rest of his days. He along with a fellow young adventurer unwittingly witnessed a portion of a Lincoln Douglas debate.

As Arthur grew and spent time roaming the woods and outlying areas friends and family left bits of food in prearranged places. He also spent time looking for and experimenting as he cooked with the many herbs, flowers and wild berries available. His growing knowledge of the surroundings also helped him assist many who ran. Those seeking the railroad headed north that had no tracks. His father always told him a better day was coming and taught him to read and write a bit mostly from the bible. On his own Arthur learned directions and enjoyed quite a reputation for it. As he grew Arthur was assigned more and more cooking responsibilities. He became the go to person for smoking and cooking meat especially as they called it barbecue. He learned quickly and as with most great pitmasters he kept the bulk of his great recipes to himself.

During the several years that followed Arthur’s death Henry County Illinois probably sent more hogs to stockyards and diner tables around the United States than any other state or county. City officials lobbied hard and Henry County became designated on paper by the United States Department of Agriculture as the official Hog Capital of the World. Fortunately for all Arthur had passed the bulk of his spice and sauce recipes on to his son Eudell. Most important among them being the sweet red finishing sauce. Eudell continued the great festival tradition, all of which only served to embellish and heighten interest and passion surrounding the formula and secrecy of the tasty red finishing sauce.

As a young person I was privileged on occasion to assist my father Eudell Jr, his uncles and cousins as they all worked alongside the pitmaster, Eudell. They dug and set up open pits far and wide. My Grandpa continued the labor day tradition held each year in Kewanee. In 1964 Kewanee held a centennial celebration in commemoration of 100 years as a city. It was a grandiose event billed at the time as “The World’s Largest Free Barbecue.” My grandpa Eudell was recognized as “King Barbecue” And I Eudell lll for the first time was called on to actually assist a bit. On that one of a kind occasion Eudell oversaw the construction of two open pits.They were dug four foot wide, four foot deep and three quarters of a block long. Building blocks were placed two high all around. The pits were loaded with oak and hickey along with small amounts of fruitwood. They were then covered with construction rebar on top. Fires were lit at 11:00 pm and no meat was placed on until everything was white hot at about 4:00 am. At that time they laid on 12000 lbs. of pork. Men with pitchforks were placed twelve to fourteen feet apart with instructions to turn the huge pork shoulders every fifteen minutes. My grandfather Eudell walked the pits, inspecting and basting the meat, instructing as he went. Me? I trailed along behind awestruck. Four or five hours later people began lining up for a free bag of potato chips, a bottle of coke and a pork sandwich thinly sliced and piled high on white bread. Each one splashed with the delicious red sauce. It was recorded that 50,000 sandwiches were served that weekend. I was hooked. I fell in love with it and, from that day on I looked at myself as a barbecuer, among other things and eventually, all these years later as a true pitmaster. Even today I can hear my grandpa, ”you don’t need no mustard at a barbecue!” He never used buns either, always white bread.

The centennial celebration was a huge success. Several years passed and a new administration took over at city hall. An actual Hog Festival committee was formed and made a decision to do away with the pork shoulder and open pit. The vote was to go with a grilled pork chop sandwich. My grandpa bowed out at that time rather than cave to the butterfly porkchop. A short time later he was coaxed out of retirement as a city employee with complete knowledge of the sewer and water line system in the city. On a rainy day unfortunately he slipped or went unnoticed behind a large enloader and was pinned against a culvert wall. Many-many funeral flowers and sprays came from cities, folks and towns from miles away. There were a few towns I’d never even heard of. We buried my grandpa Eudell. As far as everyone knew his father Arthur’s recipe for the wonderful red barbecue sauce was laid to rest along with him.

Years later as an adult having graduated from chef’s school I was pleased to be given my mother’s little box of recipes from my family after her death. Out of sheer sentimentality for two years I never untied the string around it. One day I planned to make fudge and I wanted to make hers, my mom’s. So, reluctantly I opened the box. As I thumbed through it I noticed a torn piece of cardboard. Part of a cereal box actually. Turning it over to the blank grey backside I read the words bbq sauce. There were only six ingredients on the list and I simply passed over it and moved on but it bothered me. I went back and dug it out. I had my own version of several barbecue finishing sauces as a matter of fact. No harm I thought. The fudge-making went on the back burner and I put the simple sauce recipe together. As I suspected earlier it tasted awful. I was just about to pitch it and get to the fudge when a thought hit me. I was already in possession of my mother’s sauce recipe as were others. No one used it much as it seemed incomplete and you always had to add something to it in order to use it. Passing over her now coveted recipes some calling for a tad of this or a smidgen of that, or “butter the size of a walnut.” I looked for it and dug it out. A bit of excitement hit me as I recalled whenever my grandpa had large quantities of sauce to make he assigned a part of it to my mom and dad here in Rock Island and another part to family there in Kewanee leaving a secret ingredient or two only he knew to add at finishing. He would then combine it all. Trailing along with him as a young person I’d seen enough of his secrets and remembered most of those two or three things he absolutely kept to himself. I quickly made mom’s sauce, tasted it and sure enough it was missing something. Yeah! It sure was. It was missing those five or six ingredients listed on the piece of cardboard. I quickly added them. Wow! A splash of those two or three magical ingredients as I recalled them and after recommitting them to my own secret memory bank I was on the phone to my sister in the neighboring city of Moline. “Hey! You gotta come taste this.” She did and attested that “Arthur’s delicious red finishing sauce was indeed back. Grandpa Eudell in his haste or old age one year must have given my mother the portion normally reserved for family in Kewanee. As a result, she had both right there in her recipe box all the time. “It’s all good!”

Today with my son Eudell 1V as my partner and his son Eudell moving along behind, learning. We continue to make and commercially market ``Old Arthur’s Kewanee Red Barbecue Sauce. We have had many wonderful experiences along the way because most anyone who tastes’s it has a positive reaction. We have won our share of contests and been rewarded with such things as “one of the best in the country.” Food and Wine magazine. We sell a lot of sauce in two areas of the country and enjoy mail orders all around. Unfortunately, we have yet to land the big national account that will put us on the map. That does not stop us from plugging away each day. It does not stop us from encouraging everyone to try our sauce. It does not stop us as we encourage everyone to go on our Old Arthur’s website and not only read our full story but take a look at the open pits of the past. They can even see Arthur’s obituary. In the meantime be well aware that smoke is my passion and the tasty red sauce is everlastin!

Eudell Watts lll