Secret family BBQ sauce recipe discovered
Sauce or no sauce? The Kreuz BBQ Sauce policy.
Going forward, the original Kreuz Market location in Lockhart will keep the traditional “no sauce” policy. Loyal customers in Lockhart have come to the expect the “no sauce, no forks” tradition as part of the Kreuz experience.
In order to meet the needs of customers in Bryan, Kreuz is offering its newly discovered secret family BBQ sauce (and forks).
For the first time in 115 years, Kreuz Market is offering customers its own secret family barbecue sauce recipe.
The announcement is causing a stir among loyal Kreuz customers and BBQ aficionados. Since 1900 the Kreuz mantra has been “No forks. No Sauce. No kidding.”
On April 17, 2015 fifth generation Kreuz owner Keith Schmidt revealed a long held family secret. His grandmother Betty Jean Yates Werme had created a barbecue sauce.
Werme’s Kreuz family BBQ sauce was a tightly held secret that she only shared with Keith’s mother. It was a secret because sauce was not acceptable in Lockhart barbecue families and its existence was sure to cause a controversy.
Werme died in 1973, but she left the saucy secret in her daughter’s hands. Schmidt learned of the secret sauce when his mother simply decided it was time to reveal its existence.
“My mother texted me and said, your grandmother Grana had a BBQ sauce recipe. Let me see if I can find it,” said Schmidt.
That simple text forced Schmidt to make a difficult decision whether to introduce the sauce in the restaurants. The introduction of sauce is likely to upset Kreuz loyalists who love Kreuz for its tradition of eating barbecue with their hands and without sauce.
After much thought, Schmidt finally decided that it was time to serve other Kreuz customers who like sauce and forks.
And now Schmidt has a sauce worthy of Kreuz smoked meats.
A Worthy BBQ Sauce
If you are wondering what the new Kreuz Barbecue Sauce tastes like, don’t expect it to be a sugary thick sauce typically found in barbecue chains.
This sauce was never created to mask the meat and smoke.
“The sauce is simple and complements rather than covers the meat,” Schmidt said. “My grandmother was very careful about that when she created this sauce.”
Meat and Smoke
Since Charles Kreuz Sr. fired up his Lockhart, Texas smokers back in 1900, Kreuz has always prided itself on the quality of its meat and its smoke.
Senior taught the family that the meat is simply too good to cover it up with inferior BBQ sauce. He defined the traditions and kept it simple. Barbecue was meant to be eaten with hands, not forks, sans sauce. Those traditions were instilled in his sons and grandsons.
“When my father (former Kreuz owner Rick Schmidt) had to move from the original location to our current building in Lockhart, he wrestled with the idea of sides like beans. His father would never have done that. It wasn’t traditional to him. My aunt was doing well at the original location (in Lockhart) with her changes, so he thought people can come and have it exactly the way it was in the old days,” Schmidt said.
“The sides were just additions and didn’t ruin our traditions. So I’m not letting a plastic fork or a BBQ sauce keep potential customers from having the barbecue we try so hard to perfect,” Schmidt said.
The sauce is available in the Bryan restaurant location. Lockhart? Don’t ask!
Kreuz understands this is a big change and we would like to now what you think. Please comment below.