Sweet Smokie Joe: Bringing Big Louisiana Flavor to Your Kitchen
If you love cooking with bold seasoning, smoky flavors, and a little Louisiana-inspired personality, then I think you are going to enjoy discovering Sweet Smokie Joe!
Here at Momz Daily Scoops, I love finding products that can take an everyday meal and turn it into something the whole family gets excited about. Sweet Smokie Joe has created a wonderful selection of seasonings and rubs designed to bring out the natural flavor of meats, seafood, poultry, vegetables, and so much more.
A Little About Sweet Smokie Joe
Sweet Smokie Joe began in 2017, when owners Stan and Chenoa Kendall started creating their own line of seasonings. According to their story, Stan developed a beef and pork rub because he was tired of products where salt was the main ingredient and wanted something that captured the true flavors of Louisiana.
Chenoa challenged him to create a flavorful seasoning with less emphasis on salt, and that challenge helped lead to their signature Creole Kick seasoning.
Their passion for seasoning eventually grew into a larger business. The couple opened their retail store in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 2020, and in 2024 expanded into an 11,000-square-foot stand-alone outdoor cooking store. Today, Sweet Smokie Joe offers a wide variety of seasonings, rubs, sauces, cooking products, and outdoor-cooking supplies.
Their current lineup includes everything from Creole seasonings and garlic butter to chicken seasonings, pork rubs, brisket rubs, seafood seasonings, and more.
Steak & Burger Rub
The Sweet Smokie Joe Steak & Burger Rub is a great seasoning to keep handy when you are firing up the grill.
This is the kind of seasoning I would reach for when making burgers, steaks, meatloaf, steak tips, or even roasted potatoes. It adds a savory, seasoned flavor without taking away from the taste of the beef.
What I would pair it with:
Grilled hamburgers with cheddar cheese
Ribeye or sirloin steak
Steak fries
Grilled onions and peppers
Roasted potatoes
Mushrooms
Corn on the cob
It would also be fun to mix a little into your ground beef before forming your burger patties.
Creole Kick Original
Now we get to one of the products that really represents the Sweet Smokie Joe story: Creole Kick Original.
This is an all-purpose Creole-style seasoning created to bring authentic Louisiana-inspired flavor to your cooking. Sweet Smokie Joe describes Creole Kick as a versatile seasoning that enhances the natural flavor of food rather than overwhelming it.
I can see this becoming one of those bottles you reach for over and over again.
Try it on:
Chicken
Pork
Steak
Shrimp
Fish
Burgers
French fries
Roasted vegetables
Eggs
Rice and beans
If you enjoy Cajun and Creole flavors, this is definitely one to keep in the spice cabinet.
Creole Kick Sweet Kick
If you like the Creole Kick flavor but want something with a sweeter side, Creole Kick Sweet Kick is a fun variation.
The Sweet Kick is described by Sweet Smokie Joe as the sweeter version of its Creole Kick seasoning.
I think this would be especially good on foods cooked on the grill because sweet and smoky flavors work so beautifully together.
Try it on:
Chicken wings
Pork chops
Ribs
Grilled chicken
Sweet potatoes
Corn
Roasted vegetables
Grilled shrimp
It would also make a great finishing seasoning when you want just a little extra flavor before serving.
Honey Gold Pork Rub
The Sweet Smokie Joe Honey Pork Gold Rub is a seasoning I especially wanted to talk about because it is so versatile.
Sweet Smokie Joe lists it as a Honey Gold Pork Reserve Competition Pork & Chicken Rub, making it an especially good choice for pork and poultry.
The name Honey Gold immediately makes me think of a sweet, savory barbecue-style flavor with enough seasoning to create a delicious crust on the outside of the meat.
I would use it on:
Pork chops
Pork tenderloin
Pork shoulder
Ribs
Chicken thighs
Chicken breasts
Whole chicken
Turkey
For sides, I would serve Honey Gold-seasoned pork with creamy mashed potatoes, baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, roasted vegetables, or sweet potatoes.
And because pork and apples are such a classic combination, apples or an apple-based slaw would be another wonderful pairing.
Champion Chicken
Chicken is one of those meats that can sometimes use a little help in the flavor department, and Sweet Smokie Joe Champion Chicken is made specifically for bringing more flavor to poultry.
The Champion Chicken seasoning is part of Sweet Smokie Joe's current seasoning collection.
I would use this seasoning for:
Grilled chicken breasts
Chicken thighs
Drumsticks
Wings
Whole roasted chicken
Chicken sandwiches
Chicken kabobs
For a complete dinner, try Champion Chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans. For something more casual, use it on chicken wings and serve them with celery, ranch or blue cheese dressing.
It would also be delicious sprinkled over chicken before making chicken salad.
Garlic Butter
Then there is Sweet Smokie Joe Garlic Butter, and garlic butter is one of those flavors that seems to make almost everything better!
Sweet Smokie Joe describes this seasoning as being great on everything, and I can certainly see why it would be such a versatile pantry staple.
Think about sprinkling it over:
Steak
Chicken
Shrimp
Salmon
Vegetables
Potatoes
Pasta
Rice
Popcorn
Garlic bread
One of my favorite ways to use a garlic-butter-style seasoning would be on roasted potatoes or buttered corn.
It would also make a delicious addition to melted butter for dipping shrimp or brushing over grilled seafood.
Honey Gold Pork Chops
Since pork is such a natural match for the Honey Gold Rub, I wanted to create a recipe that lets the seasoning really shine.
Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops
2 tablespoons Sweet Smokie Joe Honey Gold Pork Rub
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon butter
Optional: thinly sliced apples for serving
Directions
Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels.
Rub each pork chop lightly with olive oil.
Generously season both sides of the pork chops with Sweet Smokie Joe Honey Gold Rub. Let them sit for about 15–20 minutes so the seasoning can settle into the meat.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and minced garlic.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter.
Add the pork chops and cook for approximately 4–5 minutes per side, depending on their thickness, until they are cooked through and reach a safe internal temperature of 145°F.
During the final couple of minutes of cooking, brush the pork chops generously with the honey-Dijon mixture.
Remove the pork chops from the skillet and let them rest for about 3–5 minutes.
Drizzle a little more of the honey-Dijon mixture over the top before serving.
For an extra special touch, serve the pork chops with sautéed apple slices.
What to Serve With Them
I would make this a complete comfort-food dinner with:
Honey Gold Pork Chops + Creamy Mashed Potatoes + Green Beans + Warm Cinnamon Apples
The sweet notes from the honey and apples complement the savory pork beautifully, while the Honey Gold Rub gives the meat a delicious seasoned flavor.
My Momz Daily Scoops Take
What I really like about Sweet Smokie Joe is that these aren't seasonings that make you feel like you have to completely reinvent a recipe. They give you an easy way to add another layer of flavor to foods you are already cooking.
Whether you are grilling burgers, preparing chicken for dinner, making pork chops, seasoning seafood, or simply roasting vegetables, there is something in the Sweet Smokie Joe lineup that can help bring those dishes to life.
From the Louisiana-inspired Creole Kick Original and Sweet Kick to the savory Steak & Burger Rub, Champion Chicken, Honey Gold Rub, and versatile Garlic Butter, these seasonings give home cooks plenty of ways to experiment.
For me, that is what makes a good seasoning so much fun—you can take an everyday meal, shake on a little something special, and suddenly dinner tastes like you put a whole lot more work into it!
So, are you ready to "Do You Smokie, Joe?"
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