Meet Richard Henderson

Richard Henderson has a passion for creating things. He’s always coming up with new ideas and inventions (He swears he had the idea for “Uber” before Uber did!)

Born in Arkansas and raised in Bakersfield, Richard grew up in a large family where cooking was a necessity. He spent many hours in the kitchen with his mom. Being from the south, she loved to cook, and specialized in sauces. Naturally, she passed this love of sauces on to Richard. As a result, when Richard became an adult, cooking wasn’t a chore for him, it was a passion.

Richard called himself a “backyard cook,” and experimented with different grills and smokers to perfect the meats he loved to prepare. Once, at a weekend gathering with friends, a local chef challenged Richard to a “rib throw down.” Three judges were selected from the gathering and the contest was on. At the final tasting all three judges agreed, Richard’s ribs excelled in all three categories: presentation, tenderness, and taste. When asked what made the difference in his ribs, one of the judges said, “The ribs were really good, but that was some Kickin A$$ barbecue sauce!” With an appropriate change in spelling, Kickin Ash BBQ Sauce was born.

In the months that followed, when he wasn’t working at his “day job,” Richard was working on perfecting his sauce. Friends, family members, and anyone who was willing to give it a taste were his testing crew. And because to Richard, no one is a stranger, he had no qualms handing out samples to anyone, any time, any place. (Often to the embarrassment of his family!) When requests for more began to pour in, he knew he had the right recipe.

In 2020 Richard retired from his day job and now devotes himself fully to Kickin Ash BBQ Sauce…and whatever next big idea he comes up with!

So, where’s the rub?

Well, the BBQ sauce wasn’t enough. After showing so much love for Richard’s signature sauces, customers began clamoring for a rub. And following months of careful recipe tweaking and taste testing, it’s here! “Kickin Up Dust” is the new all-purpose rub for beef, chicken, pork, and fish from Kickin Ash BBQ Sauce. It’s so good you can smell the flavor as soon as you open the bottle. And of course, “Kickin Up Dust” rub has just a little “kick” in the end, just like Kickin Ash BBQ Sauce!

Try some today and check back for new rub flavors coming soon!