Hoosier Daddy Barbecue Sauce

I love finding new products that are started up by someone just taking what they do best and running with it. It's great to hear what success Kim Foy has had by sharing the family barbecue sauce recipe. And because this product started out of nearby Dyer, Indiana it makes me smile a little more knowing that it started close to home.

Hoosier Daddy Barbecue Sauce came to be after Foy recognized the demand after getting many requests for the sauce she learned to make from her dad, William Marshall. Unfortunately Marshall passed away in 2007 and didn't live to see the success his daughter has had with his popular sauce recipe, but his legacy lives on with the word "Daddy" stamped on every bottle in his honor. And for those who aren't familiar with the term "Hoosier," it simply means someone from the great state of Indiana. Thus the name - Hoosier Daddy. Foy's husband, Dave, is also her business partner.

I learned about the sauce after someone had shared one of their Facebook posts and I began following them. (The page is worth following just for the hilarious posts.) I sent an e-mail letting them know that I'd love to get a sample to review the product. I got a package in the mail a few days later.


Those small round packs contain the Sweet and Sassy flavor, which got opened right away as I'd popped some chicken tenders in the oven for the kids for dinner that night. It was the perfect kind of sauce for me.  I had to wrestle it away from my 9-year-old to give it a try because he took an instant liking to it.

I usually steer clear of the super hot stuff or try out just a little taste. I have wimpy taste buds, what can I say? So, I much prefer the sweet and smokey flavors when it comes to sauces. I've tried many, many barbecue sauces over the years. The best I remember having was some home made sauce given to me by a guy I was interviewing years ago for his work volunteering at a local nursing home by popping popcorn for the residents during movie time. Everyone called him "The Popcorn Man." I think his real name was Berman. His sauce was thick and sweet and delicious. Hoosier Daddy's Sweet and Sassy is pretty close to what I remember the Popcorn Man's sauce tasting like. So, it ranks up there at the top for me.

Also enclosed in the package was a bottle of the Smokehouse Hickory. So, I decided to grab a couple pork tenderloins out of the freezer and pop them in the crock pot with the sauce. I used about 3/4 of the bottle, saving the rest to add to the top of the sandwiches. I always put a thin layer of water on the bottom before I start, then add the pork and then slather the sauce over the top. Sweet Baby Ray's is my old standby for when I make this for the family and it was nice to try something new.

Although I've used sauces with a smokey hint a lot for making chicken or ribs, I don't think I've ever used a sauce with a smokey flavor when making pulled pork before, but it added a wonderful layer of flavor that blended well with the other seasonings in the sauce and really made your taste buds sing, especially since the pork it was being added to was so mild. Another teaspoon or so on top of the meat before serving and you're talking pulled pork perfection. I could see right away why this company has grown by leaps and bounds since the sauce debuted in 2009, now being served at numerous sports venues, including the homes of the Windy City Thunderbolts, Schaumburg Boomers, Gary RailCats and Joliet Slammers, all independent league baseball teams as well as at the Chicago White Sox's home, U.S. Cellular Field.  It's also now being served at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the home of the Colts.


Because I always make enough pulled pork to have leftovers, I try to turn the extra meat into another meal or two. So, I also used some of the Hoosier Daddy pulled pork to top my tortilla soup. It was wonderful!


And I made up some pork nachos, which were super tasty, as well!


If you're at one of the sporting venues mentioned above, try out something made with one of their sauces and see what you think. Hoosier Daddy sauces can also be found in stores in Indiana and the Chicago area. You can also order online and if you have barbecue fans among your family and friends, it would make an awesome Christmas gift!

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