Where to Buy Larry's Southwestern Sauces

You can buy Larry's all-natural, gluten-free and vegetarian Mexican cooking sauces at the following fine stores:

Whole Foods Markets - Hadley, Framingham, Portland, Cranston, Providence, Hartford, Glastonbury, Andover, Bedford, Bellingham, Brighton, Charles River Plaza, Dedham, Fresh Pond, Hingham, Jamaica Plain, Medford, Newton, Newtonville, Prospect Street, River Street, Swampscott, Symphony, Wayland, Wellesley and Woburn.

Price Chopper -- Queensbury, Westgate/Albany, Rt 155 Colonie, Latham, Wilton, Saratoga Springs,    Clifton Park, Slingerlands, East Greenbush and Scotia.

Shop Rite -- Central Ave. Albany, Niskayuna, Kingston, City Center White Plains. 

Honest Weight Food Coop, Putnam Market, Sanders Meat Market, Peanut Principle, Young's Pharmacy/West Sand Lake, Indian Ladder Farms, Niskayuna Coop, Hudson Chatham Winery, Chatham Real Food, Hawthorne Valley Store, The Berry Farm, Adams Fairacre Farms, Guidos, New Morning Market/Woodbury, CT, River Valley Market/Northhampton, Uncommon Market/Montpelier, Healthy Living/S.Burlington, Southend Market/Bradford, VT, and many, many more.

You can also buy Larry's Southwestern Sauces online at http://www.abesmarket.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/

If you like Mexican food, you'll Love Larry's Southwestern Sauces!  

Times Union Magazine Story on Larry's Southwestern Sauces

Larry Sombke of Delmar is on a mission to get every family in the Northeast eating Southwestern cuisine a few times a week, or as much as they dine on Italian food like our beloved pizza.

Sombke cooked up recipes for ranchero, mole and chipotle sauce years ago while working in a natural foods restaurant. Two years ago, he launched his business, aptly named Larry’s Southwestern Sauces, and has already gained more followers then you can shake a maraca at.

How has he done it? With a few well-thought-out ingredients to his business plan: First, have a great product that fits a niche market; second, talk about your product at every available venue; third, always find new ways to connect with your customers.

Sombke’s Southwestern success story begins in his childhood. Growing up in Illinois, he and his family dined on chili as a staple during mealtime. “There’s a legacy of boyhood chili influences in me,” Sombke says. “We ate it all, from medium to spicy, and the whole time I was thinking about cooking and what I could do to improve it.”

In his 20s, as a chef in Missouri, Sombke perfected his recipes, which fall under the category of enchilada sauce. “It’s not salsa; salsa is a relish used for dipping,” Sombke says. “My sauces are for cooking. These are simmer sauces. It’s gluten-free, all-natural, ethnic, artisanal and a gourmet product. I got lucky hitting all the bases of what people are looking to buy for their families right now.”

After a broad and varied career including broadcast journalism, authoring cookbooks, public relations and teaching, Sombke knew it was time to pursue his own business. He got his toes wet with a couple other businesses that ultimately didn’t survive.

“I tried a sausage business that didn’t work out,” Sombke says. “There’s always been an entrepreneurial foodie side to me.”

Today, while he still works as a substitute teacher, the rest of his time is spent brainstorming, marketing, and keeping in touch with customers via newsletters, a website with recipes and even a cooking video on YouTube.

Enthusiastic, well-spoken and upbeat, Sombke makes it difficult not to get as excited about huevos rancheros as he shows people how easy it is to prepare them. “I want to show everyone how to make a fast, delicious meal using my sauces as marinades or toppings,” Sombke says. “They work with chicken, seafood, beef, you name it. The sauces can transform anything you have in your fridge into a fantastic dinner. I hear from my customers all the time about new ways they use (the sauces) to cook.”

Larry's Southwestern Sauces are gluten-free, all-natural, ethnic and artisanal

As barbeque season gets into full swing,Sombke says all three varieties — mole, chipotle and ranchero — make excellent basting sauces for anything you grill, right down to veggies. “Most barbeque sauces are catsup-based, but if you want catsup you can pour it out of a bottle onto your burger,” Sombke says. “Mine are hearty, flavorful grilling sauces, like what people in Colorado, Texas and California are eating.”

Larry’s Southwestern Sauces are now made and bottled at a large-scale kitchen in Rotterdam, but Sombke pays close attention to production. “You have to trust other people as your business gets larger, but also do your own quality control,” Sombke says. “You always have to be hands-on.”

Sombke is a frequent face at area farmers markets, but you can also find his sauces in 80 stores — from Price Chopper to area co-ops and natural food stores — across the Northeast and in several other states. His sauces were featured on Good Morning America as a 2012 “Super Bowl Party Essential,” another video clip you can find on his website.

One of Sombke’s talents is the ability to cook and talk animatedly at the same time. He seems destined to have become a specialty-foods business owner and a cooking teacher/coach. “Within the next 12 months my sauces will be sold in Texas and California stores,” Sombke says. “I love them, customers love them; I have a great product here. And I’m just getting started.”

To learn more about Larry’s Southwestern Sauces, visit here. You can check out Larry’s Sauces channel on YouTube here.

Photos by Krishna Hill/Life@Home

s Southwestern Sauces.com

Ranchero Rib Steak on the Grill

Rib steak, with or without the bone, is my favorite cut of beef steak. It is tender, it is juicy and it cooks great on the gas or charcoal grill outside. Steak is huge in the Southwest and popular in Mexico for special occasions. A good rib steak tastes even better when it is basted with Larry's Southwestern Ranchero Sauce while it is sizzling on the grill. Here's the recipe.

2 rib steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick, about one pound each

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon each Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 16 oz. jar Larry's Southwestern Ranchero Sauce

1. Bring the steaks out of the refrigerator one hour before you plan to cook them. Bringing the steaks to room temperature helps them cook more evenly.

2. Rub the steaks with the oil and season them with the salt, pepper and chili powder. 

3. Bring your grill up to medium high heat. 

4. Pour the jar of Larry's Southwestern Ranchero Sauce into a small saucepan and bring to just below a boil. You could heat the sauce in the microwave, also.  

5. Place the steaks on the hot grill and cook for two minutes. Baste the steak with Ranchero Sauce and turn them over.

6. Baste them again with sauce and let cook for two more minutes. Turn again. 

7. Baste and turn one more time for a total cooking time of about 8 minutes for medium rare.

8. Remove the steaks from the grill, lightly cover with foil and let rest for 3 minutes.

9. Slice the steaks into one inch thick pieces, spoon more Ranchero Sauce over them and serve.

Serves 2 to 4.  

This recipe is the second in Larry's Southwestern Barbacoa Summer Cook Out Series. Look at previous posts for Tacos al Pastor and watch for the next post Mole Glazed Grilled Salmon.

Women's Health Night at Shop Rite, Niskayuna

 Shop Rite Niskayuna nutritionist Elicia and pharmacist Courtney with Larry's Southwestern Sauces at Lady's Night Out for Women's Health Week.

Larry was on hand to offer samples of his Southwestern Chicken Mole made with Larry's Southwestern Mole Sauce which is all natural, gluten-free, vegetarian and low in sugar and salt.

Thanks, Shop Rite Niskayuna!

Tacos al Pastor

Tacos al Pastor is the Mexican version of Greek gyros. Only it is made with pork, flavored with pineapple and served on corn tortillas. It is a very popular street food in Mexico City. Since not too many of us have a gyro spit, called a trompo in Mexico City, I've adapted it for the backyard bbq. I made a batch the other day marinating and basting the meat with Larry's Southwestern Ranchero Sauce and pineapple. Everyone in my family loved it. 


2 lbs boneless country pork ribs or tenderloin
1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper or to taste
1 16 oz. jar Larry's Southwestern Ranchero Sauce
1 16 oz. can crushed pineapple
16 soft corn tortillas
1 cup mined onion

1. Place the pork in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the Ranchero Sauce with the pineapple and pour over the meat. Cover and marinate for two hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Remove the meat from the marinade and cook on a gas grill or charcoal cooker (or in a broiler) over medium high heat, basting with the marinade until the meat is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining ranchero pineapple marinade until bubbling and hot for about five minutes.
5. Remove the meat from the grill, chop into small pieces and keep warm.
6. Warm the tortillas on the grill, cover and keep warm.
7. Place a spoonful of meat on each soft corn tortilla, spoon the heated ranchero pineapple sauce over that, sprinkle the minced onion over that, fold the tortillas in half and serve.
Serves 4.