Dave Mundis ’90 (left) and Mike Vincent ’90
Slightly sweet, somewhat spicy, a little bit vinegary. This isn’t a characterization of Dave Mundis ’90 and Mike Vincent ’90 (although it could be), but rather, how they describe their award-winning ThunderSnout BBQ Sauce.
Last year, they won first place at the Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Contest — the Super Bowl of barbecue. Through the billowing grill smoke, the Sigma Chi brothers and best friends for 30 years looked at each other and said, “We’re crazy not to do anything with this.” The pals followed their noses and have been working on their business plan ever since. “We don’t want to bite off more than we can chew,” said Vincent. So, they’re reaching out to stores in their respective areas (Mundis in Denver, and Vincent in New York metro). Despite living almost 2,000 miles from each other, the friends, who met first year on the fourth floor of East Hall, don’t let distance keep them apart. They get together regularly, including meeting up for cooking competitions around the country.
Neither are professional chefs, but they began experimenting with different sauce recipes years ago because the grocery store offerings weren’t up to snuff. Since winning Memphis, they’ve poured their hearts into that recipe.
ThunderSnout “has different flavor profiles depending on how you utilize it during the process of cooking,” Vincent said. “It takes on a whole different character when you marinate with it, cook with it, or add it at the end. It’s not just barbecue sauce, and that’s how we’re trying to differentiate ourselves.”
Here, they’ve shared one of their favorite ways to get saucy. For more information, visit thundersnoutbbq.com.
— Aleta Mayne
ThunderSnout Grilled Chicken Pizza with red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro
Ingredients:
- 1 store-bought raw pizza dough (room temperature)
- 1 C. flour
- 1 bottle barbecue sauce (preferably ThunderSnout)
- 8 oz. part-skim low-moisture shredded mozzarella
- 2 medium-sized boneless chicken breasts
- 1 small red onion, sliced into thin strips
- 2–3 small pickled jalapeños (or pepperoncini) cut into 1/4-inch pieces OR 1 small fresh jalapeño, seeded and finely diced (omit if you don’t like)
- 1/4–1/2 C. fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Marinate the chicken in barbecue sauce. Grill it, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Dust a pizza pan with flour. Roll the dough flat, sprinkling it with flour to prevent sticking, and shape to fit the pan. Pre-bake the dough for 3–5 minutes. Remove from oven and spread dough with barbecue sauce, leaving 1 inch open around the edge (although we like to brush some ’Snout on the crust when it is done, for a nice glazed effect). Evenly distribute the mozzarella, chicken, red onion, and jalapeños.
Pop it back into oven for 10 more minutes or until the cheese starts to brown lightly and bubble. Using a spatula, peek at the underside of the dough to make sure it’s done. Remove from oven and dust with cilantro. Let pizza rest for 2–3 minutes, slice up, and enjoy!
