Scarlet Fire BBQ
After more than two decades in the kitchen — including 14 years as a corporate chef and concept trainer at the 99 Restaurant — Mike Fraser was ready for something different. With their kids growing older and more independent, Fraser and his wife finally had time to chase a long-deferred dream. In 2020, Scarlet Fire BBQ (scarletfirebbq.com) was born — its name a nod to the Grateful Dead and its concept rooted in real-deal, wood-smoked barbecue cooked with heart. What began as a handful of local catering gigs quickly snowballed; by 2023, Scarlet Fire BBQ was doing more than two dozen weddings a year and popping up at breweries all over the area, serving up smoked brisket, pulled pork, ribs and chicken — all cooked low and slow in the traditional Texas style. Fraser further sharpened his barbecue shops with a two-year stint at the Rusty Can in Byfield, Mass., before leaping full-time into the business in 2024. That same year, he opened a permanent kitchen inside BareWolf Brewing (12 Oakland St., Amesbury, Mass.), where he continues to offer a menu of smoked meats and scratch-made sides — find him there every Wednesday through Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 1 to 8 p.m. In addition to a consistent presence at BareWolf Brewing, Scarlet Fire BBQ maintains a busy catering schedule and operates a food trailer that serves up smoked favorites at public and private events across the region. The Scene recently connected with Fraser to talk about his journey from corporate kitchens to barbecue pitmaster, the evolution of Scarlet Fire BBQ and some of his favorite smoked dishes to serve up.
What makes Scarlet Fire BBQ unique?
I mean, I think the whole concept of doing barbecue is unique in and of itself. It’s definitely a labor of love. … It’s almost a 24-hour-per-day process, and you just have to have a certain amount of passion and love for the business to put yourself through all of that. … The little bit of uniqueness that we bring to the table is, inherently, our three concepts in general — we can provide barbecue to you in a catering buffet setting, off a food trailer, or you can just come into the brewery, sit down and have a beer and a sandwich. Between our crazy sandwiches and our tacos, we’re always bringing a couple of unique dishes along the way.
What is your favorite thing on your own menu?
Football season is right around the corner, and so our wings are easily my favorite thing to snack on and devour. … They’re all smoked first, and then we fry them up. We toss them in our dry rub, which is super popular, or what we call our SFQ sauce, which is our own wing sauce that we also use for a couple of our other chicken dishes. It’s a play on a Buffalo teriyaki type of sauce.
What is something that everyone should try?
I’m going to point everybody toward the brisket taco. It’s our No. 1 seller — we’ve sold almost 25,000 of them so far this year. … Each taco is double-layered up with melted cheese on the grill in between, so I almost think they are more like two mini quesadillas. We stuff them with our chopped brisket that’s been tossed in a little bit of barbecue sauce. We top it with pico de gallo that my wife makes fresh every day, along with pickled jalapenos, a little drizzle of chipotle barbecue ranch, and then some fresh cilantro and a fresh lime wedge. It’s really just a flavor explosion in your mouth.
Name a celebrity you would like to see ordering from Scarlet Fire BBQ.
There are two walks of life to choose from on this one. … I’m a huge Deadhead, so to have had the opportunity to have Jerry Garcia sitting out here at the brewery would’ve been awesome. … If it wasn’t Jerry, it would be Anthony Bourdain — every time I feel like I’m down and out or I just can’t do it anymore, I’ll read a couple of chapters from Kitchen Confidential or watch an episode of No Reservations to get me feeling motivated and to put some more gas in the tank.
What’s one essential skill needed to successfully run a restaurant?
I think consistency is the No. 1 thing that will make or break you, and that’s consistency across the board. … Obviously, it’s consistently putting out the same product every day and meeting guests’ expectations, but it’s also consistently showing up where you said you were going to be … [and] consistently pushing yourself to keep moving forward with every step you take.
What is your favorite thing about being on the Seacoast?
I think it’s the all-inclusiveness that’s incredibly prevalent, not just here at BareWolf, but throughout the whole town of Amesbury. The community has supported us from the get-go, which has been really great.
Featured Photo: Courtesy photo.
