About Us

Who am I:  Hello to all of you and thank you for visiting Misterdisterbbq.com.    My name is Mark Christiansen, and I am the founder and owner of Mister Dister BBQ.  We hear many people read our sign and say with a puzzled look “Mister Disaster” and others ask if our logo is of the owner stirring the pot.  Both of those answers are “no”, but they are both good conversation openers.

Name:  The name does have a story worth telling.  Twenty-nine years ago I was teasing our friend’s 5 year old daughter.  She was a bit frustrated and pointed her finger at me and said “You stop it Mister Dister or I am going to tell my mother”.   Spin forward 15 years and when we were naming the company, of course I had some choice names I wanted to use.  My wife said, “if our grandchildren are not allowed to hear or say the name of your company, then it isn’t an acceptable name”.  We found the logo of the man stirring the pot and he just looked like a Mister Dister, so the name stuck. 

Where Original BBQ started:  It all started back in the 1993 at a wedding.  At the reception they had ribs catered by a local restaurant.  Atter some time I ended up getting the recipe which became the inspiration for the Original BBQ sauce.  I would make ribs for different family functions, and I would hear the comments about how good it was and that I should market it.  I spent some time in my kitchen in Monticello, MN trying to make it better, which I believe I did.  But to market, I would have to overcome some challenges.  BBQ has a very strong vinegar flavor when cooking, as well as a long and high heat cook time.  Having everything in our home absorb the vinegar smell and, in the kitchen, cooking the popcorn ceiling right off were challenges that needed to be dealt with as the business grew. 

Habanero BBQ sauce: Shortly after the introduction of the Original BBQ sauce, a good friend makes a comment that it’s good but could use a little heat.  So, I tried adding different peppers to see what worked.  I found a pepper with a good heat signature, but also great flavor.  I always say everyone will like Habanero because it is actually a fruity pepper.  Currently all the sauces have at least a hint of Habanero. 

Honey BBQ Sauce:  2014 was a turning point for my sauces.  At a farmers market a customer says I love your Original BBQ sauce, but High Fructose Corn Syrup is bad for me.  A week later I made a few samples for her and decided on Honey as a sweetener.   Now in most catsups there is HFCS mixed in, but fancy catsups tend to not have as much.  I chose to use a fancy catsup.

Whiskey BBQ Sauce:   That summer the family went to dinner at a national chain restaurant in the Twin Cities.    My son ordered ribs with a bourbon sauce and he just says, “ you have to try this”  Later that year I introduced my Whiskey sauce.  The cooked off whiskey leaves it with a tangy finish.  This is definitely my most flavorful smokey and tangy flavored sauce. 

Ghost Pepper Sauce: Then the doorbell rang. My neighbor comes and says we need more heat!  Ran a few samples by him and we decided Ghost Pepper was the answer.   Ghost Pepper has continued to be a growing product for Mister Dister BBQ.  I always say I “Minnesotized ghost pepper”.   Great heat but not over the top heat. 

Honey Mustard:  Fast forward to the winter of 2020.  I had ideas for a sauce that was different than my other sauces.  I wanted to do something with mustard. Played with it in 2016, but I couldn’t come up with something that was really good.  In January and February of 2020, I worked on a sauce that featured honey and mustard.  I got feedback from some friends in the Palm Springs CA area where we winter and developed the Honey Mustard.   I shipped some back home to a friend on my lake and his response was much better than anticipated.  In March 2020, we were introduced to the Covid, and the world stopped or at least our shows and festivals did.  Outside of a few family members and friends nobody knew of my Honey Mustard.   They are all saying the same thing that’s is awesome, but the data size was local and small.   Markets started opening back up in 2021 and to say I was not prepared for the Honey Mustard success would be an understatement. I sold out my first 3 shows until I finally said I am bringing more than I could ever sell.  That was Stone Arch Festival on Father’s Day weekend, and I was wrong.  As the summer of Honey Mustard went on it was the driving force of the business.  Customers were buying 4,5,6,12 sauces at a time.  Mustard sauce and BBQ sauces It was fun but crazy.  

Honey Mustard Habanero:  Late summer 2021, we started hearing rumblings from customers about heat again.  So, the first weekend in August, I introduced HMH (Honey Mustard Habanero).  From that weekend on it has been my number one selling product on the table. 

Original Rub:    I had my own favorite seasonings that I used so I just started experimenting with what I had in the kitchen.  The Original Dry Rub was the first to be released in 2014.

Cayenne Rub:   Cayenne quickly followed the original rub because we knew that customers would want a rub with some of their favorite spicy flavors. 

Habanero Rub:  That fall a friend who grew peppers came over with mason jars of dehydrated and ground peppers. He had Habanero, Ghost, Scorpion, Chocolate Scorpion and Carolina Reaper.  Great experiment not a good outcome.  I truly think I lost all ability to taste for a week.  Habanero was the easiest to add because Habanero sauce was such a good seller.

Ghost Pepper:   So, the next one came down to Ghost vs Reaper.  I chose Ghost to complement the BBQ sauce and it was much easier to get on the open market.  That is not taking into consideration what Reaper did to my taste buds.  So, for 7 years I had 4 rubs on the table.  Original, Cayenne, Habanero and Ghost Pepper.

Honey Mustard:   With the success of Honey Mustard sauces the winter of 2022 saw me develop the Honey Mustard Dry Rub.  Once I found dry honey powder, it was a win to incorporate that with mustard powder and many other spices to develop this full-flavored honey mustard dry rub.

Special (Saltless):    The summer of 2022 also had customers talking about salt-less dry rubs.  At that time, in my opinion this made no sense.  You have to have salt in dry rubs.  Well, I lost that vote, so over the winter of 2023 we (remember I lost the vote) developed a salt free dry rub.  Yes, I was wrong.  As it turns out it is a good-selling product, because it appeals to customers with dietary concerns and allows DIY rub makers to add their own level of salt to an already developed rub with flavor.  We kept hearing that it was hard to find a strong flavor in a salt less rub, so I worked hard to develop flavor through many complementing spices to come up with a good saltless flavor.  Still in my opinion add your own preference of salt and it is a winner. 

Java Lava:  Speaking of good selling products Its time for Java Lava.  In December of 2022 we made a visit to the Big Island of Hawaii and watched Mauna Loa become active,  which was cool.  During our stay I was introduced to black volcanic sea salt from Hawaii.  That very minute my mind started planning.  Great tasting salt with a rich black color.  Over the next 3 months I was like a mad scientist trying to get this right.  I believe there were 14 versions of this before settling on the final one.  I mixed it with coffee and 12 other seasonings to get this number 1 selling dry rub.

Where we are available:

Craft Fairs and Festivals:

 Here we are today with 7 sauces and 7 dry rubs. 2012, I registered for my first craft festival Land of the Loon in Virginia, MN, and Tall Timber Days in Grand Rapids and today, we participate in 13-15 festival annually.  We try and return to the same venues every year, as we enjoy catching up with our return customers and meeting all our new customers. 

Online Store:

Misterdisterbbq.com opened in June 2023.  As with any online presence, it is a work in progress.  Work is happening to offer new products such as gift certificates, holiday packs and of course the winter months are coming when I go back to the kitchen to create new products.   The decision was made to offer calculated shipping instead of flat rate shipping.  We have learned that the shipping rates per order are cheaper when customers order multiple products, so stock up.  Our social media presence allows us to share tips like this.  As I said, we are learning and appreciate getting feedback from you, our customer. 

Retail locations: 

A list of all our retail locations is located under the “where to buy” tab on our website.  It has been great to build relationships with owners/managers of these fine retail establishments.  I continue to target locations where we attend a craft show or festival. We know you, our customer, would like a quick and easy restock location.   

 I love listening to our customers and adapting our business to continue to meet your needs and provide you with great BBQ sauces and rub and grow our business.  Keep talking to me!  Thanks for your continued support.