There is a brand of BBQ ribs that many may have noticed in a neighborhood HEB.

Those ribs are called TXQ Rubs, and the guy who made them is from the Valley.

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Channel 5 connected over Zoom recently with Lou Castro, the man who created the TXQ Rubs brand. He talked about how he created the idea for his rubs and even shared his recipe.

“I grew up in Brownsville, and you know here in the Valley we barbecue, it’s part of our lives,” Castro said.

Many have heard the saying “home is where the heart is”, but for Castro, home is where the taste is.

“I was born a cook, and I can actually taste stuff in my head,” Castro said. “And so from a young age, I’ve wanted to do something with that.”

Castro created TXU Rubs, an idea that he got while scoring through a BBQ Facebook page.

“I was scrolling, and I saw a picture, a post of a guy, he had a bottle rub, he had his beer, he had the grill in the background, fajitas on the grill, and he said ‘representing the 956 in Iowa,’”Castro said. “I turned to my wife and I told her, ‘here’s what we’re going to do, we’re gonna do the rubs, but we’re gonna do them Texas regions.’”

Each region represents a different taste of Texas, from Austin to San Antonio, to Dallas to right back to the Valley.

“Our first rub was the 956, and we did the 956 to represent our area,” Castro said. “When you taste that 956, it should take you straight home.”

The rub was such a hit, that it caught the attention of the head of departments at HEB.

Now, people from all over are enjoying the taste of Texas.

“I’ll tell you that the community is the reason we’re successful, it’s amazing,” Castro said. “The response has been wonderful, it’s been beyond wonderful, we’re very fortune.”

Lou Castro, Made in the 956.