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History: The history of Uncle Al’s is somewhat elusive, with the recipes and their ownership changing hands multiple times throughout the decades. As the stories go, a man named Al Beesbrook created a fry mix he sold under the name Fin & Fowl in the Mishawaka and South Bend areas, possibly as far back as the 1950s. His recipes eventually ended up in the possession of Harvest Moon Foods, an Amish bulk food store in Rochester. In 2017, former CT technologist Mary Beth Morrow and her farmer/entrepreneur husband, Doug, were operating a pub and restaurant in Converse when they began using the breading for pork tenderloin. The pub has since closed, but the Morrows bought Uncle Al’s recipes from Harvest Moon and started Uncle Al’s Breading across the street.
Growth: The Morrows have since upgraded their production facility and gone through a major branding and packaging overhaul. They also added a side business called Auntie B’s Custom Blending.
Products: Uncle Al’s Breading offers five varieties of breading mixes in one-pound bags that can be used to coat everything from pork tenderloins to fried fish and chicken: Captain’s Catch (original recipe), Bayou’s Best (mild Cajun), Mama’s Chicken (homestyle), Island Zest (lemon pepper) and Cajun Moon (spicy Cajun). It also carries two seasoning and rub mixes: Dakota and Cajun Moondust.
Where it’s made: In the tiny town of Converse, about 60 miles north of Indianapolis, using locally ground and milled flour and corn. Every batch is mixed and packaged by the four-member Morrow family and a few employees.
Where to get it: Local specialty retailers, some groceries, sporting goods stores, meat markets, bait shops, Amish bulk stores and
farmers markets. It can also be purchased online.
Fun fact: The Morrows literally found out about Uncle Al’s Breading from a man who walked into a bar. They owned Marty’s Pub. When the man came in, he gave them a few bags of breading and asked them to try the product. They’ve been sold ever since.
Website: www.unclealsbreading.com
—Compiled by Jeff Newman
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