Haley Bradford Bateman 2017-07-19 01:34:34
One bite of Kevin Lyles’ famous barbecue pork atop a Martin’s potato roll and I was instantly hooked. If the perfectly smoked pork topped with his mom’s tangy mustard-based barbecue sauce wasn’t enough, then the freshly baked potato roll from the Pennsylvania-based Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc., certainly did the trick.
I became one of several thousand people in the Northwest Arkansas community who have gotten to try a Lyles original for themselves, in the beautiful industrial kitchen at Club Marketing in Rogers. Lyles is quick to point out that he really only cooks for those he loves, so he must have a big heart because many people have been blessed to sample the Club Marketing president’s made-from-scratch cooking over the years.
In fact, Lyles — who says he began cooking when he watched his mother, Mary, and sisters in the kitchen growing up — has been cooking the Friday game-day meal for the Bentonville High School Tigers every Friday that he’s in town since 2005. “And that’s four state championships under their belt, so something must be working,” he jokes.
The Friday meal, as he calls it, typically feeds 80 to 100 people and features Lyles’ homemade spaghetti sauce, salad, and rolls. Lyles has also cooked for other community events in support of his church and even at wedding receptions for close family friends.
Lyles, his wife, Lorrel, and their three sons moved to Northwest Arkansas in 1995 when he took a position with ConAgra Foods and helped start their Northwest Arkansas team. From there, he joined Club Marketing in 2003 as a partner. Today he serves as the president of the company, which has since become a subsidiary of Advantage Sales and Solutions and moved from its downtown office on the Bentonville Square to a new location in Hunt Tower in Rogers.
Florida-born and Georgia-raised, Lyles exudes Southern hospitality and enjoys cooking for family and friends — especially smoking a quality Boston butt. Hickory wood is his weapon of choice he jokes as he describes the methodical process of smoking meat for 12–24 hours to ensure its internal temperature is just right. Cooking for those dear to him is a labor of love for Lyles, who began cooking for community events when his sons went through the school system in Bentonville. “I started back before they were in high school, and they haven’t run me off yet,” he laughs. We know firsthand why.
BARBECUE SAUCE
FROM THE KITCHEN OF MARY LYLES
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp Onion Salt
2 tbsp Chili Powder
3/4 cup Water
11/4 cup Vinegar
11/4 cup Mustard
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
4 tbsp Ketchup
2 tbsp Sugar
pinch Salt and Pepper
DIRECTIONS
1 Combine ingredients and heat for a few minutes on the stove.
2 Add some lemon peel and then remove it when pouring in jars.
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