While brisket is often served in SCBBQ restaurants today, no one would suggest that brisket is historically common in SC BBQ restaurants.
For South Carolinians, barbecue is pork, preferably pulled and served with one of four basic sauce types: vinegar-pepper, light tomato, heavy tomato, or a sauce that originated in SC, a mustard sauce.
Brisket certainly breaks with tradition, but that certainly doesn’t mean we don’t love it. (By the way, if you’re looking for a great brisket in SC, you can do no better than Lewis Barbecue in Charleston.)
Michael Ott, who originally grew up in Orangeburg County, the heart of Dukes BBQ country known for their “Orangeburg Sweet” mustard sauce, provided us this recipe for brisket.
“I have a recipe for a really good brisket sauce. It’s so ridiculously simple that it’s embarrassing,” Michael said. “I was trying to copy Rudy’s in San Antonio, and this is what I came up with.”
“People love it and put it on everything, not just brisket.
“Had a guy text me this weekend that he mixes it with mustard sauce and cooks it on BBQ chicken.
“There is a lady who tells me she can drink it. I’ve told her the recipe, but she still says it is better when I make it. Guess it’s a mental thing.
“Anyway, there is nothing original in this sauce, and I have no idea why people like it, but I don’t mind sharing. There are only 5 ingredients and 2 are optional.
“Brisket done right is certainly good without, but some people like an extra little zing. If you serve it traditionally on a grilled tortilla with fresh green onion, sliced lengthwise, and a side of charros, I think it’s better with a little sauce.”
Enjoy…

Brisket Mojo Sauce
Brisket is great on its own, of course, but here's great suace to make at home to add a little zing to your next brisket dish.
Ingredients
- 12 oz Mojo Criollo marinade, about 1/2 bottle
- 12 oz BBQ sauce
- 15 oz Red Enchilada sauce
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil, optional
- 2 Tablespoons bourbon, optional
Instructions
- Mix and serve. That's it.
Notes
You can find Mojo Criollo sauce in the Latino area of most grocery stores. It is also, of course, available on Amazon. (see below).
As for the BBQ sauce, Michael writes "Anything but the cheap stuff, no Bull's Eye or KC Masterpiece. I like a Memphis-based sauce, but anything you like works."
As for the Enchilada sauce, Michael notes that sauce "from the can is fine."
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 50Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 569mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 1g
Check out these Dukes BBQ recipes we’ve published on destination-bbq:
And we’ve published the following sauce recipes in the SCBBQ Recipes: Going Whole Hog cookbook (read more about that here):
Sauces and Rubs:
Vinegar-Pepper Sauces
- Jay Phillips’ Whole Hog Sauce Recipe
- Dad’s Mop Sauce Recipe
- Eastern SC Vinegar-Pepper Sauce Recipe
- Moore Family’s Little Fisher Hog Sauce Recipe
- Lowcountry Vinegar Sauce Recipe
Mustard Sauces
- Swig & Swine’s Mustard BBQ Sauce Recipe
- Dukes BBQ-Style Sauce Recipe
- Dukes BBQ Sauce – “Actual Recipe”
- Simple South Carolina Mustard Sauce Recipe
- Bessinger’s-Style Gold Sauce Recipe
Tomato-Based Sauces
- John Padgett’s Kansas City BBQ Sauce Recipe
- Honey-Hickory Barbecue Sauce Recipe
- Bullies BBQs Thin Basting Sauce Recipe
- Cherrywood Signature BBQ Sauce Recipe
- “Carolina Red” Light Tomato Barbecue Sauce Recipe
- Basic Tomato Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Other Sauces
- Home Team BBQ Alabama White Sauce Recipe
- Moe’s Original BBQ’s Alabama White Sauce Recipe
- Brisket Mojo Sauce Recipe
- Roller Family Hot Sauce Recipe
- Salsa Verde with Avocado for Pulled Pork Recipe
Rubs
- Sticky Fingers’ Basic Dry Rub Recipe
- JB’s Smokeshack-Style Spicy Dry Rub Recipe
- Sticky Fingers’ Texas Rub Recipe
- BlackJack Barbecue Dry Rub Recipe
- Sticky Fingers’ Sweet Rib Rub Recipe
- Home Team BBQ Dry Rub Recipe for Chicken Wings Recipe
- John Lewis BBQ-Style Brisket Dry Rub Recipe