Tomato-based barbecue sauces are the most dominant selling sauces on the market, but historically, South Carolinians have favored a different option. South Carolina has 4 distinct regions where particular types of BBQ sauces have long been favored: vinegar-based, mustard-based, light tomato-based, and heavy tomato based. See the map below: Clearly, the smallest of these regions […]
What is a mop sauce? A mop sauce is a thin vinegar-based barbecue sauce that is spiced with salt and black and/or red pepper. This sauce is used to baste meat on the grill and on a larger scale, to provide flavor and moisture at the end of cooking a whole hog, as is the […]
Who makes the best barbecue in South Carolina? It won’t be long before all your friends are saying that you do, once you start using the authentic recipes in our SC BBQ Cookbook. In SCBBQ Recipes: Going Whole Hog, 1st edition, we have assembled all of our most delicious recipes into one convenient and comprehensive […]
If there were a Mt. Rushmore for SCBBQ, Rodney Scott’s ever-smiling visage would be permanently etched into the mountainside. Having gotten his start at the age of 11 cooking his first pig for his father Rosie at Scott’s BBQ in Hemingway, their converted gas station/convenience store, Rodney is now among SCBBQ royalty. In fact, Scott’s […]
The Bessinger family of Holly Hill is arguably the most important family in the history of SC BBQ, and that is a long and storied history. Originating in Orangeburg County in the late 1930s, when patriarch Joe Bessinger opened his Holly Hill Café, the Bessingers became the first family of SCBBQ. From Joe, his boys […]
South Carolina — arguably the birthplace of barbecue — is home to four native barbecue sauces: a heavy tomato, a light tomato, a vinegar-pepper, and a mustard-based sauce. Recently, however, an interloper has crossed the border, and we find ourselves with a fifth sauce: the Alabama White sauce. Alabama White is, obviously, a mayonnaise-based sauce […]
The Smoked Chicken Wings at Home Team BBQ in Charleston are legendary. Many people claim their wings are the best item on a menu packed with great dishes. For example, Anthony M.’s review on Yelp makes it clear: “I agree with Michael B. Though, these are the best wings overall I’ve ever had in my […]
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 […]
Eastern South Carolina barbecue is made special by many things, especially by the various vinegar-pepper BBQ sauce recipes that can be found throughout the Pee Dee region. Now you can make it at home. I’ll never forget my first bite of real BBQ. I was a Cub Scout, maybe 7 or 8, and we had […]
South Carolina is blessed when it comes to BBQ. In SC, barbecue is often defined by the sauce it is served with. South Carolina — arguably the birthplace of BBQ — can brag about having four distinct sauce regions. In the map below, you will see how the state divides according to the sauce […]