Baptism River BBQ does good business in Beaver Bay, and it’s easy to see why.

Everything they serve is made in-house except for the buns and French fries. Co-owner Dan Cahill Mathews says that’s only because they don’t have space in the trailer.

“We’re doing what we like to call true Northwoods barbecue, so since we’re sourcing everything as local as possible, we’re getting our meats from animals that are breathing the Lake Superior air,” Kaylee Cahill Mathews said. “And then we get as much produce as we can in season as well. So when we smoke it over local maplewood, we’re hoping to kind of create a flavor that you can only get from up here.”

“I think that’s kind of the essence of barbecue. That’s why it’s so regional across the country,” Dan added. “Because it started from people cooking what they had and what was abundant in the place that they were.”

They serve pork ribs and pork belly burnt ends and vegetarian options like smoked cauliflower. The Cahill Mathews make their own rubs and sauces and come up with their own recipes for side dishes like mac and cheese.

“Fun story about this (mac and cheese) recipe: I had probably done about 20-25 different variations, and I knew I landed on the correct one when my mother-in-law tasted it and swore,” Dan said. “But she doesn’t swear, so I knew that meant I had it right.”

The idea for the Baptism River BBQ trailer started when Dan was furloughed in 2020. He threw himself into studying barbecue.

“Kaylee and I had also saved up some money for our honeymoon since we got married in October of 2019. We were planning on going on a honeymoon in 2020,” Dan said. “But we weren’t able to, so we took that money, put it into starting this business.”

They still work full-time day jobs and open the truck Friday-Sunday, usually at the Green Door right off Hwy 61 in Beaver Bay.

They also have two upcoming events further down the Shore. Baptism River BBQ will be at Wild State Cider in Duluth Aug. 16-18 and at Castle Danger Brewery in Two Harbors Aug. 23-25.

They can be tracked on Facebook.