Barbecue is easy to romanticize: the smoke, the choice of wood, the ritual of tending the fire. Strip it down, however, and barbecue has always rested on one central tenet: community. It’s about feeding a crowd and bringing people together. And for Luke Unrein, that is the whole point.
Long before Unrein became the owner of Saucy Luke’s Craft BBQ in Buckeye and a two-time award-winner of Best Bite at the annual a taste of az food & drink festival, he grew up in Chino Valley, California. Like many in the hospitality industry, he started young, washing dishes and working his way up through the restaurant hierarchy. A job with Phil Romano’s Macaroni Grill eventually brought him to Arizona, but kitchens were never where he felt most at home. “My comfort level was always outdoor cooking,” Unrein explains. He describes the appeal as part instinct and part fascination: the smell of smoke, the unpredictability of live fire, and the patience that barbecue demands of anyone standing at the pit.
What hooked him was not just the craft, but what happened around it. Friends pulled up chairs, plates were passed hand to hand, and conversations lingered long after the meat came off the smoker. This instinct led him to enter the Founder’s Day BBQ Rib competition in Verrado. He did well, but what mattered more was discovering how much he enjoyed pushing himself. “That’s when I dug deep and started playing with rubs, developing flavors,” he says. “Once I got the rubs and sauces dialed in and started cooking on better cookers, I started doing better. I’ve just been having fun with it and not taking it too seriously. It’s barbecue… you’ve got to have fun with it.”
The first rub he developed is called APB, an all-purpose blend that has become the foundation of his flavor profile. Then came the Mullet Sauce. Wait, Mullet Sauce? “At first it didn’t have a name,” Unrein explains, adding, “I was just making it for my buddies. If we went somewhere, I’d bring the sauce. When it was time to bottle it, I didn’t know what to call it. They started calling it Mullet Sauce because it’s sweet in the front with some heat down the back. So, I decided to run with it.”
Like most pitmasters, Unrein has strong opinions, but unlike many, he doesn’t believe barbecue should follow rigid rules. “What’s cool about barbecue is that there really are no rules,” he opines. “It’s live fire, heat, and smoke. A lot of people watch the same content online and think that’s the way to do it. But once you start cooking, you have to find your own way.”
Unrein’s way includes cooking on an offset smoker fueled by mesquite, a wood deeply tied to the flavors of the Southwest. In fact, he had to sell his motorcycle to buy the smoker that now anchors his cooking. Mesquite has a reputation for being aggressive, meaning it burns hot and produces a bold smoke flavor that can overpower meat if not handled carefully. But this is something Unrein embraces. “Barbecue started as a poor man’s game…you use what’s local and on hand. In Texas, it’s post oak. In other places, it’s hickory. Here, it’s mesquite. I cook around 275, and mesquite loves 275,” explains Unrein.
Six years into business, Saucy Luke’s now offers four rubs: APB, Texas Hold’em, K.C. Rib Rub, and the soon-to-be-launched AZ Bark. His lineup also includes three sauces: Mullet Sauce, Dirty Blonde, and Smokin’ Buffalo. Those flavors find their way onto Unrein’s brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and chicken coming off the pit each week. Catering for weddings, parties, and events has become an important part of the business, and Unrein hopes to offer his pre-cooked meats in vacuum-sealed packages so customers can enjoy them at home.
Every Wednesday, from 4 to 8 pm, you can find Unrein on Main Street in Verrado serving the West Valley crowd. He is also working toward establishing a more permanent presence at West Valley Community Church at 200th Avenue and McDowell Road, where he plans to operate what he describes as a barbecue ministry, complete with his cooker, a commercial kitchen, and a steady place to gather.
Community, for Unrein, is not just a talking point, but something he actively builds. He has launched the West Valley Barbecue Festival in Surprise, bringing together top barbecue vendors from across Arizona while raising funds to address food insecurity. He has also partnered with the Buckeye Equestrian Center to host the Gold Buckle Bullfights and BBQ Fest on April 4th, blending rodeo culture, live music, and a rib competition. In rodeo, bullfights refer to the rodeo clowns who distract the bull to protect fallen riders.
Barbecue may begin with meat, wood, and fire. But for Luke Unrein, it has always been about something deeper. It’s about showing up, lighting the fire, and feeding the people around him. In Buckeye, that is exactly what he continues to do.
written by: marci symington
photo courtesy: saucy luke’s craft bbq