What people ask us

Add it near the end. Freddie Lee's caramelizes into a glossy finish, so brush on a light coat during the last few minutes of cooking, then serve more at the table if you like.

For slow, indirect cooking, you can add it a little earlier, but finish with a fresh coat before serving.

Use it near the end when you want a glossy finish, or serve it at the table for dipping and extra flavor. For slow, indirect cooking, add a little during the cook and finish with a fresh coat before serving.

Season the food first, cook it through, then brush on Freddie Lee's in the final stretch so its sweet, tangy flavor can set without scorching.

Apply Freddie Lee's during the last few minutes of grilling. Its sweet, tangy flavor is meant to caramelize, but too much direct high heat can scorch any sauce.

Keep the heat moderate, brush on thin layers, and move the food away from flare-ups or direct flame once the sauce goes on.

Brush it on during the last ten to fifteen minutes on a grill. On a long, low smoke, you have a wider window of roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes.

Brush, let it set for five minutes, then brush again. Two thin layers create a rich glaze without burning, and you can serve more on the side.

Yes, but thin it first. Combine about one part Freddie Lee's with one part cider vinegar, oil, or citrus juice, then marinate chicken, pork, shrimp, tofu, or vegetables for thirty minutes to a few hours.

Wipe off excess before cooking and finish with a fresh coat before serving so the flavor stays bright and the sauce does not scorch.

Try Freddie Lee's on fries, potatoes, vegetables, beans, rice bowls, pizza, sandwiches, tacos, eggs, soups, chili, pasta, salads, or as a dip for finger foods.

Customers also use it in collard greens, baked beans, sloppy Joes, spaghetti, and Bloody Marys. Freddie's own favorite is spaghetti.

Yes. Brush a thin layer on salmon or shrimp near the end of cooking, or use it as a dipping sauce. Fish and shellfish cook quickly, so glaze salmon in the last five to seven minutes and shrimp in the last two or three.

Mild adds less heat, while spicy adds more without covering up the seafood.

Yes. Both labels and both heat levels are gluten free.

This statement is based on the ingredient list and is not a third-party certification. If you have celiac disease or a severe sensitivity, call us at 314-504-8762 and we will read the label with you.

The sauce contains no meat products and is labeled vegan friendly. It is not third-party certified.

If you follow a strict vegan diet and want to review a specific ingredient before ordering, call us at 314-504-8762.

No. Freddie Lee's is made without high-fructose corn syrup, as stated on the front of every jar.

Yes. Keep Freddie Lee's somewhere cool and dark before opening, then refrigerate it after opening with the lid tightly closed.

Use it by the best-by date printed on the jar. If it has been open for a long time or you are unsure about its condition, do not use it.

Follow the best-by date printed on the jar and keep the sauce refrigerated after opening. If the jar has been open for a long time or you are unsure about its condition, do not use it. You can also call us at 314-504-8762 with questions.

We are carried by chains with more than 1,200 stores nationwide. Enter your ZIP code in our store finder to see nearby locations and their distance from you.

Around St. Louis, that includes Schnucks, Dierbergs, Straub's, Fresh Thyme, Hy-Vee, and independent butchers and markets.

Yes. Dierbergs, Hy-Vee, Straub's, and Fresh Thyme also carry Freddie Lee's.

Large grocery chains usually carry the American Gourmet Sauce label. Independent butchers and markets often carry the Ghetto Sauce label. Both labels contain the same sauce. The store finder lists individual locations.

Yes, direct from us on this site. We are also on Amazon, and Hy-Vee carries us through Aisles Online.

The jar on a store shelf is 18 oz. We also sell a 12-count case of 18 oz jars, a 12-count case of 32 oz jars, and food-service gallons, four to a case.

Choose mild for a gentle hint of heat. Choose spicy when you want more heat without overpowering the food.

On the printed label, mild is navy and spicy is red, so the two are easy to tell apart on the shelf.

Because this is a food product, all sales are final. We replace products damaged during delivery.

Contact us within three days of delivery with your name, order number, and photos of the damaged item and shipping package. We will review the claim and arrange a replacement when approved.

Sweet and tangy first, with smoke behind it, and a finish that depends on which jar you picked up. It is thick enough to cling to a rib and thin enough to brush on a wing.

It is a balanced, sweet, smoky, all-purpose gourmet sauce that works across meats, vegetables, side dishes, and snacks.

Nothing is different inside the jar. Both labels contain the same sauce, made from the same recipe in the same kitchen.

We added the American Gourmet Sauce label so retailers that were uncomfortable with the original name could still carry the product. If you liked one label and can only find the other, you have the same sauce.

The name came from a family moment on our front porch. After a long day making sauce in a hot kitchen, Freddie told Deborah, “Honey, one day GOD is going to bless us to get out of the Ghetto.” Deborah heard the name immediately. Freddie was hesitant, so she suggested putting his own name on it: Freddie Lee's Ghetto Sauce. We prayed about it, laughed about it, and the name stayed.

The name reflects Freddie and Deborah's own story. It is not intended to stereotype or demean anyone. Their priorities have always been family, food, and sharing good times together.

Read the full story.

Deborah James and Freddie L. James Jr., a married couple from St. Louis, Missouri. We own and operate the company, and we still conduct product tastings ourselves.

Freddie first made the sauce for family and friends in 1986. It became a business more than twenty years later.

Yes. Family-owned and Black-owned, in St. Louis, since the recipe was written in 1986.

In our own plant at 1912 Carr Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63106. We bought the building in 2022.

Before that we rented commercial kitchen space downtown at a small-business incubator, and before that it was our own stove at home in north St. Louis.

Yes. We ship 12-count cases, 32 oz cases, and food-service gallons throughout the United States.

Review our private label and co-packing services, or call Deborah and Freddie at 314-504-8762.

We do both. If you want our sauce under your own name, tell us what you have in mind and we will talk it through.

We still do the sampling ourselves, at wine and cheese shops, farmers markets and festivals around Missouri.

Call or email and we will tell you where we will be next: 314-504-8762 or freddieleesgourmetsauces@gmail.com.

Call 314-504-8762. Deborah or Freddie will answer your questions directly.