In Search of Perfect Barbecue, or is That BBQ?

Welcome to Head Country... Keep the Snickers to a Minimum
At 1 pm the next day, we're pulling up in front of the Head Country Manufacturing Plant, a nondescript building in Ponca City's industrial district. After signing waivers swearing secrecy – okay, not really – we were led into the warehouse where we were met by Paul Schatte.

Overwhelmed by the competing aromas of spices, brown sugar, and cooked sauce that were coming from the kitchen I forgot to ask Paul his title. After the tour I decided that he was the Greatest Person on Earth, but that was because he gave me six bottles of sauce, two containers of seasoning, and a really BIG t-shirt (I guess I really ain't no "slim cut" no more). I imagine that his real title has something to do with being Plant Manager or Head of Operations, but I'm not sure.

The legendary Head Country Sauce – described in the company's literature as being fat-, cholesterol-, and preservative-free – started over 50 years ago when Bud Head returned from serving on a destroyer during the war. Cooked on his home stove and sold in fruit jars, the recipe was held onto by Bud until he sold it to his nephew Danny in 1977 – the same year that punk exploded and Elvis imploded. Coincidence? You decide.

Danny, who still runs the company, has overseen the growth from a small operation into a sauce that is now the #1-selling in Oklahoma, outdistancing such high-powered, brand-name rivals as Bullseye and KC Masterpiece. In addition, the company caters for such events as Big 12 college football games, provides sauce for food service operations, and sells sauce and seasonings over their Web site at headcountry.com.

And while the original sauce – a blend of ketchup, vinegar, seasonings, and smoke – accounts for 85-90% of the company's sales, their recently-introduced "Hickory Smoke" (less sweet but with more of a pepper kick) and "Hot" (regular with an attitude) varieties are definitely catching on.

Following their success with sauce, Danny and his brother started the Head Country restaurant in the early 1990s. Paul Dougan worked as chef at the establishment for about six years, then left to open the aforementioned Dougan's. When asked how the BBQ meal we had could be so incredibly moist and consistent, Schatte mentioned that the restaurant moved to a rotisserie smoker a few years back, giving the chef more control and the meat a more consistent quality. But glance out the back of the warehouse and you can still catch a glimpse of the original smoker with slide-out racks (see photo).

Lest you think that all sauces are created equal, we found that there are as many ways to cook BBQ sauce as there are ways to spell BBQ (or barbecue)! The eastern half of North Carolina likes a milder sauce with a touch of tomato. Their cousins on the other side of US Highway 1 like a thinner, more vinegary blend. Venture into Texas and you'll find that making sauce is a complex, more elaborate affair blending onion, celery, brown sugar, beef stock, cumin, and more. Hell, seems like nothing's easy in Texas, whether it's killing presidents or making BBQ sauce!

As for the Oklahoma/Kansas City region, there's definitely a ketchup thing going on. Their sauces tend to be a mix of ketchup/catsup, molasses, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and a little ground cayenne for an extra punch. Personally, I'm just waiting for my shipment of Head Country to arrive so I can begin my own culinary experimentation in The Hungover Gourmet Test Kitchen!

Anyone for ribs???

Dougan BBQ (215 S. 14th Street, Ponca City, OK 74601)
Bad Brad's Bar-B-Q (Highway 60 West, Pawhuska, OK 74056)
Head Country Restaurant (1217 E. Prospect, Ponca City, OK 74601, www.headcountry.com)