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AfterIf you’re looking for true SC BBQ at its finest, look no further than Big T’s Bar-B-Que. Larry or “Teddy” “Big T” Brown has served barbecue to the Columbia area for over 30 years.
What makes Big T’s authentic SC BBQ?
First, Big T does his BBQ as it should be. He cooks pork shoulders using wood embers burned down from hardwoods in a burn barrel.
“Travis [Big T’s son] slow-smokes hog shoulders over hot coals in low metal pits. He burns down piles of wood to coals in a large, warped burn box behind the smokehouse and then shoveled into the pits.
“Once the pork is done, it’s pulled, and mixed with a sweet, tangy mustard-based sauce characteristic of the area. Departing from typical old-school barbecue menus, there is also fried fish, fried chicken, burgers, and pork chops. But, as is the case across SC, there is also barbecue hash,” writes Robert Donovan in Eater.
As a side note, mustard-based BBQ sauce was most likely first created in Holly Hill, SC. In the 1930s, Joe Bessinger opened Holly Hill Café and served the first mustard sauce. Afterwards, Bessinger’s sons spread out from Columbia to Charleston and spread the gospel of mustard-based BBQ.
Third, you’ll be able to enjoy that BBQ with a side of hash, also an SC original. Hash, for those not from here, is sometimes described as “pork gravy.” It is a thick, meaty stew that often sits atop a bed of rice. Big T’s offers a classic SC hash recipe made of pork and offal. To clarify, we commonly call the internal organs such as the liver and kidneys offal.
If you want an authentic SC BBQ experience, Big T’s Bar-B-Que has it all: wood-cooked pork, mustard sauce, and SC BBQ hash.
Big T’s Bar-B-Que Video Feature
Finally, get to know more about Big T’s. See them in action in this video feature by SCETV hosted by Dr. Dick Pillsbury. Wait until you see how they cook their pork shoulders. True SC BBQ.
The SC BBQ Association has named this place one of the Top 100 BBQ houses in the state.
