Partner Highlight: Countryside BBQ

Rick and Karen Chase owned a meat locker when the farming crisis hit in the late ’80s, and like many others, they were looking to another way to add to the business. Their dad had a BBQ sauce recipe that he had been making since 1950, and after a bit of sweet talking, he revealed his recipe to them and Countryside BBQ sauce was first introduced to the public in August of 1987. They quickly knew they had a winner, when the business grew rapidly by word of mouth. By the ’90s, Countryside BBQ Sauce was in Fareway and Hy-Vee warehouses.

“In January of 1999 the Meat locker burned down, and my parents made the decision to continue the BBQ Sauce business,” said Sean Chase, son of Rick and Karen, and owner of Countryside BBQ Sauce. “I joined the family business in April of 2012 and my parents have since retired.” The Countryside team is definitely a family business! Sean works with his daughter Alexa in Algona, Iowa to create their delicious sauces.

Their growth is continuing everyday. “Things have definitely come a long way from making 20 bottles a day on a stove top. We now generally produce 200 gallons a day,” said Sean.

In June of 2012 they introduced a new product into the mix: Countryside coleslaw dressing. “We were trying to find a way to make summer time meals easy during and something that goes well with BBQ,” said Sean. “Sometimes I think more people use it for pasta than coleslaw.” This versatile dressing can be added to cabbage, pasta salad, and more!

Shortly after in June of 2016, Countryside released their new jalapeño BBQ sauce to the public after customers requested a spicier version of their original sauce. Freshly diced jalapeños are added to their barbecue sauce to create a great jalapeño flavor with just a little kick. Sean says the best way to enjoy the jalapeño BBQ sauce is on grilled chicken, “All of our products are different than most sauces on the shelf and I think that is what sets us apart from the others.”

You can find Countryside BBQ sauce on Amazon, at Fareway, Hy-Vee, Dan and Debbie’s Creamery, and other speciality stores throughout the midwest. Countryside BBQ sauce can even be found in some Edgewood Locker products. “Partnering with several other businesses who sell prepackaged cooked meats has been a really great experience,” said Sean. You can find their original BBQ sauce and coleslaw dressing at Dan and Debbie’s Creamery, and you can enjoy their barbecue sauce in Edgewood locker’s shredded pulled pork product, which can also be found at Dan and Debbie’s Creamery.