Small Batch, TX: Texas-Grown Flavor, Made in Small Batches

Homegrown Scotch bonnet peppers from Small Batch, TX, the heat behind their salsa and Caribbean jerk sauce. Photo: Small Batch, TX.

Some of the most interesting jars on the shelves at NTX BBQ Supply don't come from a giant food company. They come from a small North Texas maker that starts its own peppers from seed, grows them out, and turns them into salsa, jams, pickles and sauces in small batches.

That maker is Small Batch, TX. We carry a hand-picked selection of their products at our store in Downtown Denison. Here's the story behind the brand, what makes their food different from the usual grocery-store condiments, and how to use every jar once you get it home.

Small Batch, TX giardiniera, Caribbean Jerk Sauce and pickles at a market table. Photo: Small Batch, TX.

From the Garden to the Jar: The Small Batch, TX Story

Small Batch, TX started in a garden. By the team's own account, they spent many years growing unique fruit and vegetable cultivars for themselves before deciding to share them with the people around them.

Peppers were the spark. As the Small Batch team points out, there are more than 10,000 types of peppers in the world, yet the average grocery store stocks a few bell peppers, some jalapeños and serranos, and not much else. Their journey began in 2022 with a plan to bring the uncommon produce they'd enjoyed for years to local farmers markets and other venues, and today you'll find them at markets and events around North Texas.

A pepper ripening on the plant. Small Batch, TX starts all of its produce from seed. Photo: Small Batch, TX.

Seed to harvest, every time

Small Batch, TX calls itself a "seed-to-harvest creator." All of their produce is started in-house from seed, which lets them control the entire growing cycle. The brand says it uses organic and natural growing techniques and non-GMO cultivars, and never uses chemical insecticides, pesticides or herbicides. (That describes how they grow. It isn't a certified-organic label, and they don't claim one.)

Beyond peppers, their garden includes tomatoes, squash, zucchini, okra, lettuce, herbs and other seasonal crops. Most are cultivars you won't find at a supermarket. As they put it, don't expect a perfectly red, round tomato; expect ridges, blemishes and a range of colors.

The peppers behind the products

Those homegrown peppers end up in the jars. According to Small Batch, TX:

• Scotch bonnet peppers flavor their Scotch Bonnet Salsa and Caribbean Jerk Sauce.
• Trinidad Scorpion peppers, one of the hottest peppers on earth, spike their spicy jams and Scorpion pickles.
• Datil peppers, a sweet-hot pepper best known from St. Augustine, Florida, go into their Datil Peach Jam.
• Jalapeño and serrano peppers bring the heat to their Chicago Hot Giardiniera.

That's what gives the brand its personality. Instead of relying on the handful of peppers you see at every grocery store, Small Batch, TX grows the peppers it cooks with, and many of them are varieties most people have never tasted.

Fresh-sliced peppers packed jar by jar, the "small batch" in Small Batch, TX. Photo: Small Batch, TX.

What Makes Small Batch, TX Different?

• Texas made and local. A small maker selling at North Texas farmers markets, events and locally owned shops.
• Hand-crafted in small batches. Their tagline says it plainly: "Seed to Harvest Creations. Hand Crafted. Delicious."
• They grow their own peppers. The brand grows the Scotch bonnets, Trinidad Scorpions, Datils, jalapeños and serranos behind its signature products.
• Unique cultivars. The business is built around fruits and vegetables that are rarely offered at local grocery stores.
• Non-GMO and chemical-free growing. In their words: non-GMO cultivars and never any chemical insecticides, pesticides or herbicides.
• Filler-free. Small Batch, TX describes its produce and products as filler free. Their jams, for example, use crushed fruit as the backbone rather than juice.
• Flavors you won't find at the big-box store. Scotch bonnet salsa, Chicago giardiniera made in Texas, and Scorpion pepper jam aren't typical grocery-aisle items.

Small Batch, TX Products You Can Find at NTX BBQ Supply

Small Batch, TX makes more than we stock. Their full lineup also includes olive tapenade, pickled peppers and okra, and seasonal fresh produce. Here's what NTX BBQ Supply currently carries on the shelf in Denison.

Scotch Bonnet Salsa (Mild and Fire)

Scotch bonnets are a Caribbean pepper in the same family as the habanero. They're known for serious heat wrapped in a fruity, almost sweet flavor. Small Batch, TX builds its salsa around its own homegrown Scotch bonnets plus several of its garden sweet peppers. The result is a salsa that tastes bright, balanced and spicy, and unlike anything in the chip aisle.

At NTX: we carry Mild and Fire. Start with Mild for the flavor. Go Fire if you want that Scotch bonnet heat front and center.

Try it on:

• Tortilla chips (the obvious, excellent place to start)
• Street tacos and fajitas
• Scrambled eggs and breakfast tacos
• Grilled chicken, pork chops and fish
• Burgers and smoked sausage

Chicago Giardiniera: Texas Made With a Midwestern Soul

If you've never had giardiniera, here's the short version. It's an Italian-style relish of chopped, pickled vegetables and peppers, typically carrots, celery, cauliflower and hot peppers. In Chicago it's a way of life, piled on Italian beef sandwiches and pizza. In Texas it's surprisingly hard to find, which is exactly why Small Batch, TX started making it. Their Chicago Hot Giardiniera gets its kick from jalapeño and serrano peppers.

At NTX: we carry both Mild and Spicy/Hot.

Try it on:

• Italian beef sandwiches (the classic)
• Burgers, hot dogs and smoked brats
• Homemade pizza
• Pasta salad, or chopped into a green salad
• Charcuterie boards
• A Bloody Mary garnish, or straight out of the jar

Crunchy, tangy, bold and a little addictive. Giardiniera on smoked sausage is one of the easiest upgrades you can make to a cookout.

Small Batch Jams: Sweet and Spicy

These are jams, not jellies. Small Batch, TX uses crushed fruit as the backbone, so you get real fruit in every spoonful. Their signature spicy jams are infused with their own homegrown Trinidad Scorpion or Datil peppers, so you get fruit first and then heat.

The Small Batch, TX lineup includes peach, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry and pineapple jams, in both regular and spicy versions such as Scorpion Blackberry and Datil Peach.

At NTX: we carry an assortment of both regular and spicy jams. Flavors rotate, so stop in to see what's on the shelf this week.

Use it for way more than toast:

• Spoon a spicy jam over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers
• Add it to a ham and grilled cheese sandwich
• Brush it on pork, chicken or ribs as a glaze in the last few minutes on the smoker
• Toss it with roasted Brussels sprouts
• Stir a spoonful into your favorite BBQ sauce for sweet heat
• Spread it on a burger bun with bacon and sharp cheddar
• Top yogurt or oatmeal with a regular flavor
• Add it to a charcuterie board

Caribbean Jerk Sauce

Small Batch, TX hand-crafts its Caribbean Jerk Sauce from its own homegrown Scotch bonnet peppers. The brand calls it a 20-ingredient sauce with a flavor that's sweet, savory and tangy, with a spicy finish that leaves you wanting more.

Try it on:

• Chicken thighs and leg quarters on the grill or smoker
• Wings, tossed at the end or served for dipping
• Pork tenderloin, chops or pulled pork
• As a marinade before the cook
• Drizzled over a salad or grain bowl

Spicy Pickles: Bread 'n Butter and Dill

Small Batch, TX makes these as Scorpion Bread-n-Butter Pickles and Scorpion Dill Pickle Chips. They're crispy, crunchy pickles spiked with the brand's own Trinidad Scorpion peppers: the flavor and crunch of a good pickle, with a kick that keeps you coming back.

At NTX: we carry Bread 'n Butter Spicy Pickles and Dill Spicy Pickles.

Try them on:

• Smash burgers and chicken sandwiches
• Chopped brisket or pulled pork sandwiches
• Hot dogs and brats
• Charcuterie and snack boards
• Straight from the jar

What Should You Try First?

New to Small Batch, TX? Use this quick guide to pick your first jar.

Why Local Food Belongs at a BBQ Store

Great BBQ isn't only about what happens on the grill. The sauce you brush on, the pickles on the bun, the relish on the brat and the jam glazing the ribs can change the whole meal. That's why you'll find a lot more than grills and pellets on the shelves at NTX.

We like carrying products you won't find in a typical big-box store, especially when they're made by people down the road. Small Batch, TX fits right alongside the BBQ sauces, hot sauces and salsas, rubs and Texas olive oil already in the store. It's one local business supporting another. When you buy a jar here, you're backing a North Texas maker who grows the peppers behind many of these flavors.

Want to go deeper? Read more about the brand's seed-to-harvest story, browse their full product line, or check their event calendar. They regularly set up at North Texas farmers markets and festivals, including right here in Downtown Denison.

Find Small Batch, TX at NTX BBQ Supply

Small Batch, TX lists NTX BBQ Supply as one of the locally owned shops where you can find its products. Our current assortment includes Scotch Bonnet Salsa (Mild and Fire), Chicago Giardiniera (Mild and Spicy/Hot), regular and spicy jams, Caribbean Jerk Sauce, and Bread 'n Butter and Dill Spicy Pickles. Flavors and stock rotate, so come see what's on the shelf.

NTX BBQ Supply
327 W. Crawford St.
Downtown Denison, TX 75020

Come try something different. Grab a jar for your next cook, pick up a few for gifts, and ask us what we've been putting it on lately.

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