South Carolina Barbecue: Explore Four Unique Sauces and the Iconic BBQ Trail
South Carolina's barbecue traditions, rooted in centuries of history, rival any in the U.S. This is one of the few places where four distinct sauces grace the same table, offering endless flavor adventures.
Follow the South Carolina BBQ Trail to discover over 250 restaurants spanning the mountains, midlands, and coast. Pair your meal with sweet tea or craft brews and spirits from the Satisfy Your Thirst Trail. Fair warning: you might find yourself craving a plate by the end.
Barbecue, South Carolina Style
In South Carolina, barbecue is a noun—and it means pork only, typically pulled pork slow-cooked in a smoky pit. Other meats like beef or chicken can be barbecued, but only pork earns the title of barbecue.
The mantra “slow and low” defines the craft: pork cooked over low heat for hours above hardwood coals, a method tracing back to colonial times. Far from fast food, this embodies Southern hospitality, drawing family and friends to generational-owned pits.
Four signature sauces have evolved: mustard, vinegar-and-pepper, light tomato, and heavy tomato. Served on the side or mopped during cooking, each dominates specific regions. Grab your SC BBQ Trail map and dive in.
SC Mountains BBQ Trail
In the western and northwestern regions along I-85, seek the heavy, tomato-based sauce with a sweet edge—often called tomato-and-sugar. Far superior to store-bought versions, it's a regional delight.
Greenville's Bucky's BBQ, from a 2000 roadside stand to four locations, shines with its sampler: 3 oz pork, ¼ chicken, two ribs, bread, and two sides like sweet baked beans, mac-and-cheese, Cajun pintos, or coleslaw.
At Anderson's Creekside Bar-Be-Cue, hickory- and pecan-smoked meats follow three-generation recipes. Opt for pork/chicken/rib plates with three sides (baked potato, collards, fried okra), or go big: Triple (pork + two meats), Big Four (+ three), or Mighty Five (pork, ½ chicken, shrimp, ribs, brisket).
Pig-themed spots abound: The Jiggy Pig (Gaffney), The Little Pigs, The Pompous Pig, The Smokin' Pig (multiple locations), and The Spotted Pig BBQ (Fair Play).
SC Midlands BBQ Trail
The Pee Dee region in the northeast excels in whole-hog cooking, echoing farm traditions with 12+ hour cooks on cinder-block or brick pits over hardwood. Mopped near finish with light tomato sauce (vinegar-pepper base with ketchup sweetness). Sides: white bread, coleslaw, beans, perloo, or chicken bog rice dishes.
The Midlands also claim mustard sauce, South Carolina's signature—introduced by 1700s German settlers. Bright yellow, often honey- or brown sugar-sweetened with vinegar or pepper kick.
Hash and rice, a beloved side, transforms lesser pig parts into a hearty meat gravy—not hash browns.
In Florence, try whole-hog at Roger's Bar-B-Q House or Woodstone Barbecue. Holly Hill's Sweatman's Bar-B-Q (since 1977) featured on Travel Channel's “No Reservations” and Cooking Channel's “Man, Fire, Food.” Antley's Bar-B-Q tweaks it with sweeter “Orangeburg Sweet Sauce.”
SC Coastal BBQ Trail
From Myrtle Beach to Beaufort, the coastal trail rules with vinegar-and-pepper sauce, delivering tangy heat.
In Charleston, 2018 James Beard Best Chef: Southeast winner Rodney Scott's Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ slow-cooks overnight with local wood, mopping proprietary red pepper-vinegar sauce. Try the rib sandwich: bones and all between white bread slices.
Summerville's Baker's BBQ (Thurs-Sat) serves innovative barbecue pie: flaky crust with pulled pork, tomato sauce, and cheese—born from a customer mix-up.
Drink Pairings
Summerville birthed sweet tea; visit Charleston Tea Garden on Wadmalaw Island, America's sole tea plantation (Bigelow-owned). Tours May-Oct. reveal leaf-to-cup processing.
Moonshine legacy from Prohibition fuels 24+ distilleries crafting bourbon, rum, vodka. Over 40 craft breweries nod history: Swamp Cabbage (Columbia), Brewery 85 (Greenville), Hilton Head Brewing.
From sweet tea to spirits, refresh anywhere. Download the free Satisfy Your Thirst map—but save room for BBQ.
