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Barbeque Sauce Reviews

New Mustard Style Barbeque Sauce Launched

Barbeque Man, May, 2012

Carolina Sunshine is proud to offer its latest flavor in Barbeque Sauces with South Carolina Mustard Style Barbeque Sauce.

Christmas can come any month of the year

National Barbecue News, February, 2011
Carlene Phelps

Now that we are entering the "month of love," most barbecuers probably think Christmas is over until December 2011. However, we have had several barbecue sauce, rub, and gadget folks contacting us about some new and existing projects they wished to have reviewed on the pages of the National Barbecue News. I did this for several years, loving every dish of it, but had retired briefly since travel got in the way. However, things have changed and manufacturers were told to send their products to our office at 213B North Peterson Ave., Douglas, GA 31533, and we would do the reviews!

Joe and I are at home a lot more, as he is doing kidney dialysis at home and is back behind the grill again. It seems his tastes have changed to some degree with the more seasoning the better! When Joe has a "taste" for something, we start looking around for something that might work well with the dish or just simply let the items give us menu ideas.

We do grill a lot at our house; however, it has been quite cold this winter so have even chosen the "Foreman type" grill for inside. This was the occasion a few days ago when we wanted a good pork steak. Kell had whet our appetites by doing some and sharing with us the week before. We did two large steaks (see photo on page 28) and knew that we would need a lot of flavor since they were not on the grill outside. Since the folks at Carolina Sunshine had sent some products, we chose their Butt n' Rib Rub. As you can see from the photo, we rubbed generously on both sides.

While I did take the "before" picture, we were hungry and ate them without remembering to take the "after" photo. Oh well, as I said before, I'm still trying to get the hang of this product review thing again. The aroma in the kitchen was enough not only to make us super hungry, but our dog even barked her approval from the den after getting a whiff of them cooking. She is not allowed in the kitchen, unless invited, but we did save her a small strip for later.

This is an Eastern Carolina product, and we could definitely identify the mustard and vinegar combination - one flavor both of us enjoy! I'm glad we chose to use extra rub since it was inside grilling but was an excellent choice.

We'll try it again outside, but if the weather outside is frightful again, we would not hesitate to enjoy another pork steak with a generous sprinkling of the Carolina Sunshine Butt n' Rib Rub.

These products are available online at www.carolinasunshinebbq.com Thank you for your confidence and we look forward to reviewing more as meals continue to be planned in the Phelps' kitchen in 2011. Like a good stock, both of these items should be on your BUY list for the new year.

Lithia Man Has A Taste For BBQ Sauce

The FishHawker, Lakeland Florida January 30, 2009
Paula Catala

Growing up in Greenville, N.C., George Foley remembers hitting some of the most venerated, noted barbecue joints in the southern United States.

Along with his father and mother and two brothers, Foley would hit Parker's Barbecue Restaurant and Respess Brothers, developing a keen sense of what made eastern North Carolina's vinegar-based barbecue sauces distinct.

Now 50 and having lived in Lithia since 1998, Foley has decided to turn the knowledge gleaned over many meals into his own venture, putting a local spin on his own brand of barbecue sauce.

From headquarters in his home on five acres off Lithia-Pinecrest Road, Foley is now distributing "Carolina Sunshine Bar-B-Que Sauce," an eastern-North Carolina style sauce based on his own recipe.

The corporate director for risk and insurance for University Community Health in Tampa, Foley doesn't expect his sauce to put him in the position to retire anytime soon. But, he does expect to convert barbecue lovers from around Florida to what he considers a unique taste based on time-tested flavoring.

Foley said he knows of only two or three barbecue "joints" on Florida's west coast which serves eastern North Carolina sauces. He said he wants to turn the "backyard barbecuer" onto a different taste.

"There's a lot of chest-pounding about barbecue, but with all of them, there are only seven basic spices you can use," he said. "Mine is vinegar-based; that's different from what people around here think about barbecue sauce."

Carolina Sunshine comes in two styles: a mild, eastern North Carolina taste and a hotter, spicier version. Foley -- who lives with his wife, Sharon, a Bevis Elementary School teacher and has two sons and a daughter - said the idea to start his own barbecue sauce business developed from the backyard "pig pickins'" barbecues he throws for friends and family.
"I had been making my own recipe for about 10 years. People would regularly tell me, 'You should bottle this'," said Foley, who holds a marketing degree from Arkansas State University. "I laughed at first. Finally, last year, I said, 'You know what? I'm going to do it.'"

Through a friend, Foley found a bottler in Lakeland who would cook, label and bottle Carolina Sunshine. At the beginning of December, Hot Wachulas, Inc., owner Matt Barber stirred up the first batches of Carolina Sunshine sauces, bottling 1,200 bottles per run for the next three months.

"He's doing really well and he's already talked to me about placing another order," said Barber, who has about 12 clients bottling everything from sauces to salad dressings.
In addition, Foley also produces Carolina Sunshine "Butt n' Rib Rub," a $4 bottle with mixed spices used on butt roasts.

"If someone sees my sign at a show and feels the need to ask me, 'What's a butt rub?' Then, they won't likely be leaving without one," he said, with a smile.

From Lakeland, the boxed bottles go to the home warehouse to be shipped to local stores and sold online over the Internet for $4.95 a bottle. Some of the stores which have it on the shelves include the Green Egg in FishHawk, Roberts Meats in South Tampa and the delicatessen in University Community Hospital. In addition, he sells them at craft shows and weekend markets, like the arts and craft show held in FishHawk Ranch earlier this week.

So far, Foley said feedback has been positive on his venture.

Rodney Morgan, an attorney working for a Tampa hospital, said along with a partner he recently bought a case of sauces and butt rubs.

"It's amazingly good," said Morgan, who used the sauce and rubs for his Thanksgiving pork. "I hope he can make a go at it. We're very pleased."

Foley will be barbecuing and selling his Carolina Sunshine sauces at the Lakeland Pig Fest Jan. 30 to 31.

For information, see carolinasunshinebbq.com.

Southeast Feast

The Ledger, Lakeland Florida December 31, 2008
Kyle Kenedy

So where's the hottest Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue sauce being made these days? If you guessed 'Eastern North Carolina,' George Foley would like to prove otherwise. Foley, a hospital adminstrator in Tampa and owner of the Carolina Sunshine online business, teamed up with Lakeland-based Hot Wachula's (a gourmet dips and sauces firm) to produce a special line of Eastern North Carolina sauces, which are vinegar-based with pepper, but no tomato. The sauces are being sold in Tampa-area stores, craft shows and weekend markets.

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Local Resident Shares Eastern North Carolina BBQ Taste

The Osprey Observer, December, 2008
Tamas Mondovics

By, day George Foley is an administrator for a hospital system in Tampa, but with what spare time can be found, Foley decided to share his love of barbeque coupled with his own special sauce.

“My intention is to introduce eastern North Carolina style barbeque to one barbeque lover at a time,” Foley said.

According to Foley, true lovers of barbeque like all styles and that there are many. But Foley, who was raised on the eastern North Carolina style of barbeque, explained that it tends to be “whole hog” and served with a vinegar-based sauce without tomato; tomato being a primary distinction between the eastern and the western or “Lexington” style.

His frequent visits to barbeque joints along with his experience in hosting rather large eastern North Carolina style “Pig Pickins” at his ranch in Lithia, making the sauce for his friends and years of family secrets have all culminated to the recent introduction of his brand, now called Carolina Sunshine BBQ, barbeque sauces.

Foley said that he is after the backyard barbequer and griller and the specialty meet market specialty meat market; at least for now as he has teamed up with Matt Barber of Hot Wauchula's in Lakeland, and now producing an original, relatively mild eastern North Carolina style sauce and a spicier version. Both the original and hot are somewhat sweet and spicy, but Foley points out that the hot is not a hot of hot sauce standards. “The spice is kicked up a notch but in North Carolina it is not so much about the heat but the flavor," Foley said. "I know some like the heat. The vinegar in the sauces goes a long way and brings out the flavor of the pork. It doesn't change it and it doesn't hide it," he said. Early indications are that People really like the sauce, including Foley's wife, Sharon, an Arkansas girl with a long time love of the Memphis style, who is starting to develop an appreciation for the sauce. The product labeling has been as big a hit as the sauce itself though each product label is distinct. The pig-on-the-label theme graces the entire line and Foley somewhat sheepishly confesses that he just "dreamed it up"...apparently literally while he was sleeping. After taking bed-side drawings to Kemp Design Services in Lithia, the brand image for Carolina Sunshine was born, even before real consideration of the actual production. The sauce can now be found in several stores, craft shows and weekend markets throughout the Tampa Bay area.

The most recent addition to the product line is the Carolina Sunshine "Rib n' Butt Rub" with a Junior Pig on the label, complete with tan lines, the name alone generates the wanted attention and questions which Foley admits is no accident.

"If someone sees my sign at a show and feels the need to ask me 'what's a butt rub?' then they won't likely be leaving without one. Pretty soon, they think they have to have it and usually leave with a twin pack of the sauces," Foley said, adding, "I am having a blast. This is more than just BBQ. It is therapy."

For more information, please visit www.CarolinaSunshineBBQ.com or call 610-8525.

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New Mustard Barbeque Sauce Available Christmas can come any time of the year Lithia Man has a Taste for Barbeque Southeast Feast Local Resident Shares Eastern North Carolina BBQ Taste	Carolina Sunshine is spreading the word one barbecue lover at a time™. Hear what some local news sources are saying about us! Barbeque Sauce Reviews Tangy Western North Carolnia Barbeque Sauce BBQ Sauce Reviews Butt n' Rib Rub BBQ Super Stars Top 100 List New Mustard Style Barbeque Sauce Launched Barbeque Man, May, 2012 Carolina Sunshine is proud to offer its latest flavor in Barbeque Sauces with South Carolina Mustard Style Barbeque Sauce. back to top Christmas can come any month of the year National Barbecue News, February, 2011 Carlene Phelps Now that we are entering the "month of love," most barbecuers probably think Christmas is over until December 2011. However, we have had several barbecue sauce, rub, and gadget folks contacting us about some new and existing projects they wished to have reviewed on the pages of the National Barbecue News. I did this for several years, loving every dish of it, but had retired briefly since travel got in the way. However, things have changed and manufacturers were told to send their products to our office at 213B North Peterson Ave., Douglas, GA 31533, and we would do the reviews! Joe and I are at home a lot more, as he is doing kidney dialysis at home and is back behind the grill again. It seems his tastes have changed to some degree with the more seasoning the better! When Joe has a "taste" for something, we start looking around for something that might work well with the dish or just simply let the items give us menu ideas. We do grill a lot at our house; however, it has been quite cold this winter so have even chosen the "Foreman type" grill for inside. This was the occasion a few days ago when we wanted a good pork steak. Kell had whet our appetites by doing some and sharing with us the week before. We did two large steaks (see photo on page 28) and knew that we would need a lot of flavor since they were not on the grill outside. Since the folks at Carolina Sunshine had sent some products, we chose their Butt n' Rib Rub. As you can see from the photo, we rubbed generously on both sides. While I did take the "before" picture, we were hungry and ate them without remembering to take the "after" photo. Oh well, as I said before, I'm still trying to get the hang of this product review thing again. The aroma in the kitchen was enough not only to make us super hungry, but our dog even barked her approval from the den after getting a whiff of them cooking. She is not allowed in the kitchen, unless invited, but we did save her a small strip for later. This is an Eastern Carolina product, and we could definitely identify the mustard and vinegar combination - one flavor both of us enjoy! I'm glad we chose to use extra rub since it was inside grilling but was an excellent choice. We'll try it again outside, but if the weather outside is frightful again, we would not hesitate to enjoy another pork steak with a generous sprinkling of the Carolina Sunshine Butt n' Rib Rub. These products are available online at www.carolinasunshinebbq.com Thank you for your confidence and we look forward to reviewing more as meals continue to be planned in the Phelps' kitchen in 2011. Like a good stock, both of these items should be on your BUY list for the new year. back to top Lithia Man Has A Taste For BBQ Sauce The FishHawker, Lakeland Florida January 30, 2009 Paula Catala Growing up in Greenville, N.C., George Foley remembers hitting some of the most venerated, noted barbecue joints in the southern United States. Along with his father and mother and two brothers, Foley would hit Parker's Barbecue Restaurant and Respess Brothers, developing a keen sense of what made eastern North Carolina's vinegar-based barbecue sauces distinct. Now 50 and having lived in Lithia since 1998, Foley has decided to turn the knowledge gleaned over many meals into his own venture, putting a local spin on his own brand of barbecue sauce. From headquarters in his home on five acres off Lithia-Pinecrest Road, Foley is now distributing "Carolina Sunshine Bar-B-Que Sauce," an eastern-North Carolina style sauce based on his own recipe. The corporate director for risk and insurance for University Community Health in Tampa, Foley doesn't expect his sauce to put him in the position to retire anytime soon. But, he does expect to convert barbecue lovers from around Florida to what he considers a unique taste based on time-tested flavoring. Foley said he knows of only two or three barbecue "joints" on Florida's west coast which serves eastern North Carolina sauces. He said he wants to turn the "backyard barbecuer" onto a different taste. "There's a lot of chest-pounding about barbecue, but with all of them, there are only seven basic spices you can use," he said. "Mine is vinegar-based; that's different from what people around here think about barbecue sauce." Carolina Sunshine comes in two styles: a mild, eastern North Carolina taste and a hotter, spicier version. Foley -- who lives with his wife, Sharon, a Bevis Elementary School teacher and has two sons and a daughter - said the idea to start his own barbecue sauce business developed from the backyard "pig pickins'" barbecues he throws for friends and family. "I had been making my own recipe for about 10 years. People would regularly tell me, 'You should bottle this'," said Foley, who holds a marketing degree from Arkansas State University. "I laughed at first. Finally, last year, I said, 'You know what? I'm going to do it.'" Through a friend, Foley found a bottler in Lakeland who would cook, label and bottle Carolina Sunshine. At the beginning of December, Hot Wachulas, Inc., owner Matt Barber stirred up the first batches of Carolina Sunshine sauces, bottling 1,200 bottles per run for the next three months. "He's doing really well and he's already talked to me about placing another order," said Barber, who has about 12 clients bottling everything from sauces to salad dressings. In addition, Foley also produces Carolina Sunshine "Butt n' Rib Rub," a $4 bottle with mixed spices used on butt roasts. "If someone sees my sign at a show and feels the need to ask me, 'What's a butt rub?' Then, they won't likely be leaving without one," he said, with a smile. From Lakeland, the boxed bottles go to the home warehouse to be shipped to local stores and sold online over the Internet for $4.95 a bottle. Some of the stores which have it on the shelves include the Green Egg in FishHawk, Roberts Meats in South Tampa and the delicatessen in University Community Hospital. In addition, he sells them at craft shows and weekend markets, like the arts and craft show held in FishHawk Ranch earlier this week. So far, Foley said feedback has been positive on his venture. Rodney Morgan, an attorney working for a Tampa hospital, said along with a partner he recently bought a case of sauces and butt rubs. "It's amazingly good," said Morgan, who used the sauce and rubs for his Thanksgiving pork. "I hope he can make a go at it. We're very pleased." Foley will be barbecuing and selling his Carolina Sunshine sauces at the Lakeland Pig Fest Jan. 30 to 31. For information, see carolinasunshinebbq.com. back to top Southeast Feast The Ledger, Lakeland Florida December 31, 2008 Kyle Kenedy So where's the hottest Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue sauce being made these days? If you guessed 'Eastern North Carolina,' George Foley would like to prove otherwise. Foley, a hospital adminstrator in Tampa and owner of the Carolina Sunshine online business, teamed up with Lakeland-based Hot Wachula's (a gourmet dips and sauces firm) to produce a special line of Eastern North Carolina sauces, which are vinegar-based with pepper, but no tomato. The sauces are being sold in Tampa-area stores, craft shows and weekend markets. back to top Local Resident Shares Eastern North Carolina BBQ Taste The Osprey Observer, December, 2008 Tamas Mondovics By, day George Foley is an administrator for a hospital system in Tampa, but with what spare time can be found, Foley decided to share his love of barbeque coupled with his own special sauce. “My intention is to introduce eastern North Carolina style barbeque to one barbeque lover at a time,” Foley said. According to Foley, true lovers of barbeque like all styles and that there are many. But Foley, who was raised on the eastern North Carolina style of barbeque, explained that it tends to be “whole hog” and served with a vinegar-based sauce without tomato; tomato being a primary distinction between the eastern and the western or “Lexington” style. His frequent visits to barbeque joints along with his experience in hosting rather large eastern North Carolina style “Pig Pickins” at his ranch in Lithia, making the sauce for his friends and years of family secrets have all culminated to the recent introduction of his brand, now called Carolina Sunshine BBQ, barbeque sauces. Foley said that he is after the backyard barbequer and griller and the specialty meet market specialty meat market; at least for now as he has teamed up with Matt Barber of Hot Wauchula's in Lakeland, and now producing an original, relatively mild eastern North Carolina style sauce and a spicier version. Both the original and hot are somewhat sweet and spicy, but Foley points out that the hot is not a hot of hot sauce standards. “The spice is kicked up a notch but in North Carolina it is not so much about the heat but the flavor," Foley said. "I know some like the heat. The vinegar in the sauces goes a long way and brings out the flavor of the pork. It doesn't change it and it doesn't hide it," he said. Early indications are that People really like the sauce, including Foley's wife, Sharon, an Arkansas girl with a long time love of the Memphis style, who is starting to develop an appreciation for the sauce. The product labeling has been as big a hit as the sauce itself though each product label is distinct. The pig-on-the-label theme graces the entire line and Foley somewhat sheepishly confesses that he just "dreamed it up"...apparently literally while he was sleeping. After taking bed-side drawings to Kemp Design Services in Lithia, the brand image for Carolina Sunshine was born, even before real consideration of the actual production. The sauce can now be found in several stores, craft shows and weekend markets throughout the Tampa Bay area. The most recent addition to the product line is the Carolina Sunshine "Rib n' Butt Rub" with a Junior Pig on the label, complete with tan lines, the name alone generates the wanted attention and questions which Foley admits is no accident. "If someone sees my sign at a show and feels the need to ask me 'what's a butt rub?' then they won't likely be leaving without one. Pretty soon, they think they have to have it and usually leave with a twin pack of the sauces," Foley said, adding, "I am having a blast. This is more than just BBQ. It is therapy." For more information, please visit www.CarolinaSunshineBBQ.com or call 610-8525. back to top