LIFT UP LOCAL 036
Written by Pamela Patton
📷 courtesy of Amber Rose Photography
Levi Johnson, Jr. was born into a family of great cooks. His grandfather, Ottway Clemons, was a pit master. Everyone in Covington, Tennessee, sought out his Bar-B-Q special sauce, which was made with white vinegar and packed a lot of heat.
But Mr. Levi knew that in the north, grill masters and Bar-B-Q enthusiasts like their sauces a bit milder with a hint of sweetness.
“When I started tinkering with my grandfather’s recipe, I wanted to make a healthy version with a hint of sweetness and a touch of heat. And I knew I had to make a version that would separate us from the various barbecue sauces on the market,” Mr. Levi said.
The result is Mr. Levi’s My-T-Fine Soul Sauce, a great tasting, healthy alternative to most barbecue sauces because it doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, excess sodium, gluten or fillers.
“Soul Sauce is the best of the north and south. A little bit of natural sweetness and a bit of tang from apple cider vinegar, which is actually better for your health than the white vinegar.”
Commercial sauces typically contain 7 grams of sugar per tablespoon but can be as high as 17 grams and come from various ingredients—most often high fructose corn syrup. A single 2-tablespoon serving around 50% of the recommended daily limit. Alongside high sugar content, barbecue sauce typically contains considerable sodium. For example, one tablespoon of a popular sauce contains 424.32mg of sodium, approximately 18% of the recommended daily intake.
Soul Sauce is just one of Mr. Levi’s talents. He’s a talented painter and musician who sings and plays the kalimba (as did Maurice White, the founder and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire). He was also a mechanic with the Detroit Board of Education. “They did some privatization, and I took early retirement, which left me with time on my hands, so I thought it was time to get serious about Soul Sauce. I started making and bottling it, using the same pressure-cooking technique as canning tomatoes, and selling it myself.”
“Soul Sauce is the best of the north and south. A little bit of natural sweetness and a bit of tang from apple cider vinegar, which is actually better for your health than the white vinegar.””
Between music sets, audience members would line up at Mr. Levi’s car to buy bottle after bottle of his sauce. “And people kept telling me I should take it to the marketplace. They say if more than one person tells you something more than once, likely it’s true.”
Much like selling the kitchen-bottled sauce from the trunk of his car between music sets, Mr. Levi began promoting his sauce at Belle Isle in the summer. “People are barbecuing, and I’d roll my little cart up to them and ask what they were putting on their meat. They’d mention different brands, and I’d tell them, ‘You don’t want that. You want this!’”
“Word of Soul Sauce began to spread, and Mr. Levi began producing Soul Sauce in the communal kitchen at Detroit’s Eastern Market, where he also sold Soul Sauce. Soon, the independent Western Market in Ferndale began carrying it, where it was a best-seller.
Mr. Levi decided the time was right to get into larger grocery stores—starting with Meijer Marketplace stores. “They were working on opening the Woodward Corner Market when I just walked in, asked for the manager, and asked them to carry my sauce.”
Today, Mr. Levi’s My-T-Fine Soul Sauce is on the shelves at Woodward, Capital City Market, Rivertown Market, and more than 60 additional Meijer stores.
“It sells well, but people are cautious about buying a product they haven’t tasted before,” says Mr. Levi. “That’s why we’re in the stores doing demonstrations, tastings, and sharing our unique recipes.”
You may wonder why it’s called Soul Sauce instead of Bar-B-Q sauce. “It is Bar-B-Q sauce, but it’s more. I put it in a squeeze bottle and squirt it all over my morning omelet. About four years ago, I stopped eating red meat and just ate seafood. It’s wonderful on a fish fillet, and I dip shrimp in it instead of cocktail sauce. My daughter, Antisia King, the company’s Vice President in charge of everything—including me—uses it in her wonderful turkey chili and turkey meatloaf. And there are other great recipes on our website. Substitute it for tomato sauce, and you’ve added some soul!”
Soul Sauce is available in three flavors: Original Mild, Spicy, made with Cayenne and black pepper, and Habañero XS, which is the Spicy plus Habañero flakes.
What’s next for Mr. Levi? “I’ve been working on a dry rub that can be used as a seasoning or a topping. I mentioned I eat a lot of fish, and the rub is wonderful on salmon. I brush the filet with olive oil, sprinkle the rub, and broil.”
Whatever Mr. Levi comes up with next, it’s sure to have a lot of soul.