Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce is at Home in Louisiana

Story, photos and recipes by Cynthia Nobles

Every once in a while, I come across a bottled seasoning sauce that tastes better than anything I can make from scratch. Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Finishing Sauce & Marinade is one such time-saving gem.  

Surprisingly, Leonard’s Carolina sauce is made right here in Louisiana. Chris Leonard is from the western part of North Carolina, but his mother grew up in Lafayette. About 9 years ago he moved to Lafayette to look for work in the oil business. 

​“That plan didn’t pan out,” Chris says. “So I worked on an MBA at the University of Lafayette. And I fell in love with the region.” He also fell in love with fellow MBA student, Camille Autin, who became his business partner and fiancée. (The two are getting married this November.)

It was during the 2020 pandemic that the homebound couple entertained friends and wowed them with this new (to Louisiana) flavor. The accolades and requests for the recipe prompted them to bottle and commercially sell Chris’ family’s sauce.  

“My dad created this recipe years ago,” Chris says. “He took the vinegar sauce common to Lexington and gave it a little more seasoning and body.” 

“Diesel” Dan Leonard, Chris’ father, based his recipe on Carolina Red Sauce, the sweet, spicy, cider vinegar- and ketchup-based concoction that is the pride of the western part of North Carolina. In this region, this thin style of sauce is used to mop big cuts of smoked pork and ribs. It’s also used as a “dip,” for dunking in finished bites of meat. Dan Leonard’s version is thicker than what’s traditional, which makes it more versatile. It also has enough heat to keep any Cajun from reaching for the cayenne shaker. 

To get their product to market, Chris and Camille worked through the LSU AgCenter Food Incubator. LSU’s food incubator program has helped many fledgling Louisiana food companies test, produce, package, and market new products. Chris says he and Camille had access to the center’s professional kitchen, processing facility, and food safety and packaging experts. “And we all designed the label,” he says. “Camille and I had lots of input.” 

During my conversation with Chris, I picked up hints about just how serious barbecuing is in North Carolina, even down to the coleslaw. “The eastern and western halves of the state prefer different coleslaws for pulled pork sandwiches,” he said. “The west eats red slaw. It’s chopped really fine and seasoned with red sauce. The east likes white slaw.” 

​Further research reveals that in North Carolina, barbecue discussions can be as toxic as talk about politics. The basic differences between the state’s two major barbecue regions are that the east likes smoking whole hogs using a vinegar and pepper sauce with no tomato. The accompanying coleslaw is made with mayonnaise. The western part of North Carolina (Piedmont or Lexington style) prefers to barbecue pork shoulder, and they use Red Sauce, or “dip”, which contains ketchup and lots of pepper.

At first I thought it was the sweetness and the just-right heat level that drew me to Leonard’s BBQ Sauce. I also thought back to the barbecue cooking contests I’ve judged over the years, and I realized that my taste buds naturally gravitate toward entrants with sauces based on vinegar. Then there’s the ease of using only one bottle of something for seasoning. I concluded that I probably like this product because of the combination of everything. 

Chris gave me a partial list of dishes that his sauce can enhance: grilled crabs, raw oysters, crawfish dip, skewered shrimp, chicken wings, eggrolls — you get the delicious picture. 

You can find 16-ounce bottles of Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Finishing Sauce & Marinade at 35 locations in Acadiana, including Acadian Superette, Fresh Pickins’, and Rouse’s.

To find your closest retailer, go to www.leonardsbbq.com.
 

Do you have a Louisiana agriculture story or a recipe you’d like to share? Contact me at [email protected].
 

Cynthia Nobles is the cookbook editor for LSU Press and the author/co-author of several historical cookbooks, including A Confederacy of Dunces Cookbook, The Delta Queen Cookbook, and The Fonville Winans Cookbook.
 
 
Easy BBQ Black Beans
Makes 4 servings
 
Leonard’s BBQ Sauce has plenty of kick, so there’s no need to add the usual list of peppers and spices that give beans taste.
 
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
½ cup finely chopped onion
⅓ cup Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce
 
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower to a brisk simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is cooked through and the beans are creamy, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
 
 
 
Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Red Coleslaw
Makes 15 sandwiches
 
6-8 pounds Smoked Pulled Pork (recipe follows)
15 hamburger buns
Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce
Red Coleslaw (recipe follows)
 
Place generous portions of pulled pork on the bottoms of buns. Top with additional sauce and coleslaw. Cover with remaining bun half and serve warm. 
 
 
Smoked Pulled Pork
Makes 15 sandwiches
 
This is Chris Leonard’s recipe for authentic North Carolina-style smoked pulled pork.
 
6 to 8-pound pork shoulder
1 (16-ounce) jar Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce
 
Prepare a smoker with hickory or oak wood to 250°F. Place the pork, fat side up, on the middle rack and cover the smoker. Smoke the meat, basting every hour with Leonard’s BBQ Sauce, until it is pull-apart tender, usually when a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 200°F. This can take up to 8 hours. Remove from the smoker and wrap in foil. Let rest 1 hour. 
 
Shred the pork with your hands or a fork. Add 1 cup barbecue sauce to the meat and toss to coat. 
 
 
 
Grilled Shrimp Skewers
Makes 4 servings
 
For this recipe, use the biggest shrimp you can find.
 
4 wooden or metal skewers
1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small zucchini, in ¼-inch slices
1 small yellow squash, in ¼-inch slices
1 cup Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce
 
1. If you’re using wood skewers, soak them in water 15 minutes. Thread the shrimp, zucchini, and squash onto the skewers. Brush both sides with sauce and set aside.
2. Coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Cook one side of the skewers 3 minutes and baste with sauce. Turn over, baste, and cook the other side until shrimp are pink and curled, 2-3 more minutes. (To broil, place on a foil-lined pan and broil on high 2-3 minutes per side.) Serve at the table with more Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce.
 
 
Red Coleslaw
Makes 10-12 sandwich servings
 
This is Lexington-style coleslaw, also known as barbecue slaw. The “red” comes from ketchup, not red cabbage. (Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce already has ketchup in it.) 
 
1 medium head green cabbage, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup Leonard’s Carolina BBQ Sauce
 
Combine cabbage and onion and toss well with barbecue sauce. Chill at least 4 hours.