Nettle Creek Foods was born from a love of smoked meat.  Our founder, Terry McCann, loved good BBQ and delicious smoked meat.  When on vacation with his family, they would stop at all of the best BBQ spots a city had to offer.  He became interested in learning the art of smoking, so in 2011, his family bought him his first smoker, a Weber Smoky Mountain, for Father’s Day.

In May 2012, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.  After surgery, she contracted a surgical infection that kept her in bed all summer.  Since the family remained homebound that summer, Terry worked on perfecting his BBQ and smoking skills.  Every weekend, he prepared a feast and invited the couple’s best friends over to sample and critique the food.  His wife loved the social interaction she was desperately missing, and Terry loved the feedback he received on his smoked meat.

In addition to smoking the meat, Terry made his own spice rubs and BBQ sauce that he felt complemented his dinners the best.  Thus, the Original BBQ Sauce was born.  It went through several iterations until Terry perfected the recipe.  He then followed the same process with the Spicy BBQ Sauce, the Bourbon BBQ Sauce, and the Carolina Mustard Sauce.

Through recent years, Terry cooked his ribs, pulled pork, and beef brisket for friends.  The response was overwhelmingly positive, with friends telling him he should sell his sauces.  So Nettle Creek Foods was born.

In establishing his brand, Terry wanted to honor his family.  When his paternal great-grandfather immigrated to the United States from Ireland, he settled in Morris, Illinois.  Nettle Creek runs through Morris, and it had a beautiful, historic aquaduct that collapsed in 2013.  Recognizing that the past sacrifices made by his family allowed him opportunities today, Terry honored his ancestors who left Ireland for a better life in the United States by naming his company in their honor.  Our logo contains an image reminiscent of the fallen aquaduct at Nettle Creek in Morris, Illinois.

We hope you enjoy our BBQ sauce as much as Terry’s family and friends do.  Terry’s daughter, Olivia, is featured on our home page, eating our BBQ sauce on her ribs.