Bill Mazeroski goes to bat for New Stanton's Poulich Pit BBQ sauce
Sitting on his neighbor’s porch having a drink, Angelo Poulich talked about marketing his barbecue sauce.
His neighbor asked if there was anything he could do, such as use his photo or name to help promote the product.
“I almost spit out my whiskey when he said that,” said Poulich, of Hempfield. “I was like, ‘That would be amazing.’ I went home and told my wife, ‘You aren’t going to believe this.’”
Poulich’s neighbor at the time was Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, known for his 1960 Game 7 World Series winning home run. Poulich never wanted to ask Maz for help, but when he volunteered, Poulich said that was an unbelievable gesture.
The sauce is now available online for $6.99 for 19.5 ounces as well as at Poulich Pit BBQ in New Stanton, open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday through August. The bottle labels feature Maz’s signature and an image of him rounding the bases after his historic hit at Forbes Field.
At Poulich Pit BBQ, they specialize in pulled pork, beef brisket, baby back ribs and chicken cooked over hardwood and charcoal and finished with homemade barbecue sauce – original or Blazin’ Boar. They don’t have any added preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. The sauce is gluten free.
Through Poulich, Maz said, “It’s the best I ever tasted. We want to have the best stuff out there.”
That’s definitely Maz, wanting to have a top-of-the-line barbecue sauce. He puts the sauce on hot dogs, said Poulich, who one day would love to see the sauce sold inside PNC Park.
The original release date was to coincide with Opening Day for Major League Baseball in April, but coronavirus pandemic prevented that. Poulich found a co-packer in Lancaster Fine Foods and a fulfillment center, Founders Market and Co.
The secret recipe is made by Poulich’s wife Aislinn. One night for dinner she needed barbecue sauce but didn’t have any. She looked up a recipe online and improvised.
“I never had made it before, so I just went for it,” she said. “I saw what I had and mixed it all together. I wasn’t sure how good it was, but I knew it was good enough to serve the family for dinner.”
Being willing to try a new recipe comes from her late grandmother, Dolores Murdock, who lived in Mt. Pleasant and was a wonderful cook.
“It had been her dream to have a restaurant,” Aislinn Poulich said. “The coleslaw and potato salad recipes are hers, so a little piece of her is here with us.”
The company is definitely a family affair. The Poulichs’ four children help out with everything from making corn bread to waiting on customers to creating the “famous” loaded potato. Angelo Jr., 12, Giata and Dimitri, both 11, and Josie, 4, are always close by.
“I like everything about this business,” said Angelo Jr., who created the “famous” loaded baked potato combination of butter, sour cream, cheese, pork or brisket, beans, slaw and horseradish and, of course, barbecue sauce. “Maybe I will do it when I get older.”
Angelo Poulich arrives by 4 a.m. and his family comes by a little later. He loads the smokers with oak and hickory wood. On a normal weekend, he makes 120-150 racks of ribs along with chicken, pork and brisket.
“I let the customers be the judges and I make it the way they like it,” he said. “We don’t reheat anything. Being out here is the best job because I love being outside and cooking for people.”
Barb Myers works nearby and stops most Fridays. Last week, she bought the loaded potato.
“It is really good and everything is always fresh,” said Myers, of Scottdale. “The sauce is really good.”
Poulich Pit BBQ is located in the parking lot of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream in New Stanton, which the Poulichs also own. They have mobile cookers and a trailer, so the business can move to wherever barbecue is wanted.
The ice cream shop is open until the end of October. In past years, September and October were big catering months for weddings and events but the pandemic has affected that business this fall. They will be taking orders for the holidays in September.
The Poulichs used to own a 7-Eleven store in Fort Allen and Mazeroski, a former Hempfield resident who recently sold his home at auction, would come in every morning for a newspaper.
“We became friends,” said Angelo Poulich, who knows a little about winning championships. He won the gold medal when he benched an American/Collegiate national record 418 pounds as a power lifter for Penn State University. “For me, this is a fairytale of a story. To have the greatest-ever second baseman in baseball and a Pittsburgh hero wanting to be a part of this? It’s an amazing feeling.”
Just like that epic Maz home run.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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