R.J.'s wins first prize for Sweet Mustard sauce
Sep. 8—HENDERSON — When a judge asked for a second helping of R.J.'s Sweet Mustard sauce, Russell and Monica Johns at least knew they were making some noise in their first sauce contest at the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, held Sept. 2-4.
The husband-and-wife duo behind the R.J.'s Grill food truck, which emerged on the Vance and Warren county cuisine scene two years ago, welcomed a team of several judges to their tent. Some of the judges sampled festival sauces with crackers, pretzels and bread, or sipped it out of a tiny cup or spoon. Tasting it on food (meat) wasn't allowed.
"One girl said, 'Let me try some more of that,' " Monica recalled.
Out of 25 vendors, RJ's Sweet Mustard sauce was voted Best Mustard Sauce at the festival, for which the featured attraction was the Christopher Prieto Pitmaster Invitational.
Amid the splendored aroma of barbecued whole hog, ribs, brisket, and poultry sifting through the Sandhills air, R.J.'s made its mark against steep competition.
"This wasn't their first rodeo," R.J. said. "You could tell."
"We really didn't expect going out there and getting anything," Monica said.
The winning sauce was one of two that R.J.'s has bottled by Henderson's Carolina CoPacking before it gets distributed to a variety of businesses around town. The other is the tomato- and vinegar-based R.J.'s BBQ Sauce, which Russell Johns Jr. reminded is not to be slept on.
"Both of 'em are good, now," R.J. said.
Both sauces feature garlic, pepper, vinegar, sugar — the basics, R.J. says.
"Sweet and tangy with a little kick," Monica added.
Monica said R.J'.s Sweet Mustard Sauce blends perfectly with boneless chicken thighs, and children love to use it for chicken nugget dip.
R.J.'s might have been new to the Pinehurst festival, but R.J. and Monica have been in the cooking game for a number of years now, going back to R.J.'s days as a restaurateur in Sacramento, California.
The Golden State capital is where Monica hails from, while 59-year-old R.J., born in New Jersey, was raised in the Wise community of Warren County before the Army sent him westward.
R.J.'s sauces are inspired by R.J.'s late uncle Richard Moss III of Manson. Twenty years ago, Richard gave away only some of his sauce secrets to R.J., instead encouraging him to build off of the foundation and make it his own.
"I just wanted to keep it going," R.J. said, "because, I mean, people love it."
Sauce alone can only take you so far on a food truck, though.
Rest assured, R.J.'s has no shortage of grilled-up offerings waiting to be doused.
The menu includes but is not limited to: fried fish, chicken wings, pork chops, hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage, bologna burgers, cheesesteaks, fries, onion rings, mac and cheese, baked beans, green beans, potato salad, slaw, hush puppies, and candied yams.
R.J.'s Grill typically parks in the lot across U.S. Highway 158 Business from the Vance County Rescue Squad, near the Budget Host Inn, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., R.J.'s sets up at The Deck Entertainment Complex off Highway 1 in Norlina.
The best way to describe R.J.'s?
"Cooking with love," R.J. said, shortly before regaling the reporter of this article with a story about the "old school" hot dogs he used to enjoy by the old Norlina bus station. The buns were steamed, soft and warm.
"You like hot dogs?" R.J. asked the reporter. "... We try to make our hot dogs different."
Beyond intrigued, the reporter slowly nodded yes, seeking to dutifully verify R.J.'s claim of offering such a special hot dog, and ordering this one "all the way" with chili, but minus the slaw. Almost all the way.
Fact check: R.J. was telling the truth about his hot dogs.
"We just wanted to keep it simple," R.J. said of his grill. "Something small, something simple — but good."
