Not every family has access to old “secret recipes,” but Pete Morin, a 13th-generation Acadian, does. And fortunately he decided to share those secrets and spread the piquant joy.

One of those recipes was a sauce that had its followers in northern Maine. Created by an uncle — the late Roger Morin — 58 years ago (the year Pete was born), the sauce was originally called a barbecue sauce, and was made and served at Uncle Roger’s two restaurants: The Maple Leaf in Clair, New Brunswick, and the Red Rooster in Presque Isle.

Uncle Roger’s recipes were discovered after his funeral two years ago, when Morin’s aunt uncovered an old ledger containing “several, beautifully handwritten recipes.” The pages were stained with sauce and grease, Morin says, and “To have it (the recipe) in my hands is an honor.”

At the urging of several family members, Morin decided to use the inherited recipes and go into the sauce business. “I spent that first winter tweaking the (barbecue sauce) recipe. When I got it, I knew it,” he said, “from eating it for 30 years!”

He designed a label, bottled up 150 jars of what he now calls Maple Leaf Red Traditional Dipping Sauce, and said “I’ll see what happens.” When he began networking and sharing bottles of the sauce among new and old friends, he says he was promptly told “You missed your calling!”

Morin, who sometimes refers to himself as “Pete the Frenchman,” is extremely proud of his French ancestry. He grew up in Fort Kent: “I basically lived on two sides of the river.” As a kid, he could walk across the bridge to Clair, New Brunswick. One of his first restaurant jobs was peeling potatoes. His mother also owned a restaurant, called Yolande’s, in Fort Kent, and throughout his life Morin had a number of restaurant jobs.

With that background, Morin took on the task of updating his uncle’s original recipe for today’s palate. He says the flavor of the traditional dipping sauce is designed to appeal to all of a person’s taste buds — a combination of sweet, salty, bitter and sour. “A little of each, all balanced together.”

Morin then used the traditional dipping sauce as a “mother sauce” to create two other sauces: Maudit Catch-Up Cayan and the spicy Bootleg Juniors.

Maudit (pronounced mo-DEE) Catch-Up Cayan means “damned Acadian ketchup,” Morin says, and is the mildest of his three Maple Leaf Red sauces. “It’s also made with ‘patates,’” he says. “In a three-gallon batch, I’ll put in five potatoes.”

Meanwhile, the Bootleg Juniors is a hotter adaptation of the traditional version. “I’d give it a medium range as far as heat is concerned,” Morin says.

Morin said the Maple Leaf Red sauces are “in a category I’d call liquid seasoning. They are very multi-use . . . good for all kinds of things,” including French staples such as meat pies, boudin, sausage and creton.

Noting that one bottle of any of the Maple Leaf Red sauces can replace numerous condiment bottles hiding in your fridge, Morin says, “You can throw it on rice, beans, eggs, salmon, chili,” as well as chicken, burgers, pork, steak and wings.

Proof? Morin’s Maple Leaf Red Bootleg Juniors recently earned a second-place and a third-place win at the Wingzilla contest in Berlin, N.H. “It was Bootleg Juniors’ debut as a wing sauce.” People loved it, he said.

Although it was Morin’s first competition, he says “I wasn’t intimidated by the big guys!”

He happened to show up with the smallest grill and used the slowest cooking technique in the competition (because he prefers to cook with apple and cherry woods, believing it to be both the most natural and most flavorful method). He was highly pleased with both wins and, with a laugh, shared his new competition slogan: “Small grill, big sauce.”

Morin credits Dennis Sherman and his wife, Patty, of DennyMikes fame — the barbecue sauce company out of Westbrook — for being mentors in the process of developing his family sauce hobby into a three-sauce business.

In less than a year of production, he said, Maple Leaf Red sauces are now sold in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and — in Maine — from Fort Kent to Lewiston. Locally, Maple Leaf Red can be purchased at Forage in Lewiston, the Minot Country Store in Minot, and Erin’s Cafe and the Foothills Grill, both in Bethel.

Morin appears hooked on the taste of success he’s had with his sauces: He is currently working on producing another recipe from Uncle Roger — a well-loved chef salad vinaigrette. Look for it next spring.

In a large bowl beat 2 eggs and add:

3 slices multi-grain bread cut into 1/2 inch cubes (or any other stale bread)

1/2 pound ground chuck

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground chicken

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup water

1 garlic clove minced

1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

1/2 tablespoon clove powder

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon savory (optional)

1/4 tablespoon nutmeg

1/8 tablespoon cinnamon

Mix together by hand and let sit while preparing the following glaze:

Allspice Honey Glaze

This tomato ketchup glaze uses honey and allspice. Morin says if he were using traditional Acadian spices, in place of the allspice he would use clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. The French translation is: Epices de Jamaique.

In a sauce pan add:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1/2 tablespoon dried tarragon

2 to 3 dashes hot sauce (optional, such as Tabasco)

Whisk and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Mix meatloaf one more time and spoon into a 6-cup traditional muffin pan.

Place in preheated 325-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Spoon glaze over loaves. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and your choice of vegetable.

Serves 6

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Place your favorite pizza dough on a 14-inch pan or stone and slather with 1/3 cup of spicy, traditional BBQ sauce, or use Maple Leaf Red Traditional Dipping Sauce.

Top with the following, in order:

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded

3/4 cup sliced Spanish onions

4 garlic cloves minced

Lightly sprinkle with paprika powder. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 15 minutes. Slice with pizza cutter. Serves one teenager.