Some family recipes are tucked away in a kitchen drawer or written down in a dusty recipe book.
At McClard’s Bar-B-Q in Arkansas, one family recipe is considered so valuable that it’s locked away in a bank vault.
The nearly century-old barbecue institution has been serving customers since 1928, and four generations of the McClard family have helped preserve the restaurant’s traditions.
But perhaps no tradition is more closely guarded than the recipe for its signature barbecue sauce — the recipe that helped transform a roadside tourist station into one of Arkansas’ most beloved restaurants.
Its top-secret barbecue sauce has become part of McClard’s legendary history
According to the restaurant, founders Alex and Gladys McClard operated the Westside Tourist Court, which included a gas station and diner, in the late 1920s.
When a traveler passing through couldn’t pay the roughly $10 he owed after staying for two months, he offered something else instead: a recipe he claimed was for “the world’s greatest barbecue sauce.”
The restaurant said the McClards accepted the recipe in lieu of payment, thinking it was better than nothing, and realized it lived up to the traveler’s promise. The couple began tweaking it to suit their tastes, and before long, their barbecue business became the standout attraction of their tourist court.
Reviewers describe the sauce as hot and spicy, with a rich, vinegary base layer that adds a tangy bite, and say it’s more similar to traditional Carolina barbecue sauces than Texas or Kansas City varieties.
McClard’s Bar-B-Q opened in 1928 and moved to its current location in 1942.
Rather than keeping the couple’s iconic barbecue sauce recipe in the restaurant kitchen, the restaurant says the handwritten recipe is still stored in a safety deposit box at a downtown Hot Springs bank to help ensure it remains protected for future generations.
McClard’s still prepares its sides from longtime family recipes, a tradition that has attracted generations of loyal customers, including presidents.
One of McClard’s most famous fans was former President Bill Clinton
Clinton, who spent much of his childhood in Hot Springs before serving as Arkansas governor and eventually president, remained loyal to the restaurant long after leaving the state.
He was known to be a fan of the restaurant’s spicy sauce, tamale spread, and chicken wings.
The Takeout reported that the then-president would have McClard’s ribs flown to DC on Air Force One, and they were even served at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Catoctin Mountains.
McClard’s is still a local favorite nearly 100 years after opening
The restaurant’s website said the new generation of ownership at McClard’s continues to see great success.
Each week, the restaurant serves 7,000 pounds of hickory-smoked beef, pork, and ribs, 250 gallons of spicy barbecue beans, 250 gallons of cole slaw, 3,000 hand-rolled hot tamales, and 3,000 pounds of french fries.
What began as payment for an unpaid motel bill has become one of Arkansas’ most enduring culinary traditions — and one secret the McClard family has no intention of letting slip.
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