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Short answer: South Carolina barbecue is pork with four sauces: yellow mustard in the Midlands, vinegar and pepper on the coast, light tomato in the Pee Dee and heavy tomato in the Upstate, per the state tourism office, with hash over rice on the side. Below: places that cook it, road trips with real road times, and the yearly festivals and cook-offs.
- 22Places listedeach from its own site
- 10Yearly festivalsfrom organizer pages
- 2Road tripswith road times
- 4Stylessauces, mustard to heavy tomato
How we checked: the places’ own websites, the state tourism office’s SC BBQ Trail and barbecue articles, South Carolina law, festival pages, the South Carolina Barbeque Association contest calendar and our own events calendar. All read on November 4, 2026. Hours, prices and dates change, so confirm with the place or organizer before you drive. Anything we could not read is marked Not confirmed where it appears. We rank nothing: no source we used ranks these places, and we did not taste, rate or compare them. Nobody paid to be listed.
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How South Carolina Barbecue Works
South Carolina barbecue is pork. The state’s own tourism office (SC PRT) says it is the only state where all four basic barbecue sauces are found: yellow mustard sauce in the Midlands and a band toward the coast, a thin vinegar and pepper sauce along the coast, a light tomato sauce (vinegar and pepper with ketchup or tomato added) in the Pee Dee and upper Midlands, and a heavy tomato sauce in the west and northwest. It also says sauces have blurred, so many places now offer several. State law names barbecue the official State Picnic Cuisine.
Two more things mark South Carolina barbecue. Hash, a slow-cooked gravy-like stew of pork, goes over white rice beside the barbecue, per SC PRT. And whole hog cooking, which SC PRT ties to the Pee Dee and to farm pig pickings, survives at a small number of restaurants. Read the sauces side by side on our sauce region page, which also compares five other Southern states.
This section turns that into a plan. Where To Eat Barbecue groups places by sauce, each linked to its own site with the days it says it is open. Barbecue Road Trips turns the styles into drivable days with road times between stops. Barbecue Festivals lists the yearly festivals and cook-offs with the next date only when the organizer or the state barbecue association has published one.
Next Barbecue Events
| Event | When | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEWE Lowcountry Social (oysters, BBQ and bluegrass) | Sat, Feb 13 | Charleston · Lowcountry | See event site |
Add to your calendar: SEWE Lowcountry Social (oysters, BBQ and bluegrass) (Feb 13). Times and tickets are on each organizer’s page.
Map of Barbecue Places
Not pinned (no confirmed location yet): Shuler's Barbecue.
More Barbecue Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the four South Carolina barbecue sauces?
Per SC PRT: yellow mustard (the Midlands), vinegar and pepper (the coast), light tomato, which is vinegar and pepper with ketchup or tomato added (the Pee Dee and upper Midlands), and heavy tomato (the west and northwest). Our sauce region page has the detail.
What is hash and rice?
Hash is a slow-cooked pork stew served over white rice next to the barbecue. SC PRT describes it as a South Carolina barbecue side, and its whole hog article says guests at a pig picking traditionally bring rice and hash.
Is there an official South Carolina barbecue trail?
Yes. The state tourism office publishes the SC BBQ Trail, a guide to more than 220 restaurants split into Mountains, Midlands and Coastal trails, with a free downloadable map. Our restaurant page explains how we used it.
When is the Festival of Discovery?
The South Carolina Festival of Discovery in uptown Greenwood runs in July. Its own page gives July 8-10, 2027 for the next one, read November 4, 2026.
Sources
- SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SC PRT), Want Great Barbecue? Come to South Carolina, read November 4, 2026 (the four sauces, hash and rice)
- SC PRT, The Time and Tradition of Whole-Hog Barbecue, read November 4, 2026 (whole hog, pig pickings, rice and hash)
- SC PRT, South Carolina Barbecue and the SC BBQ Trail, read November 4, 2026 (the official state barbecue trail)
- South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 1 Chapter 1 (Section 1-1-683, barbecue as the official State Picnic Cuisine), read November 4, 2026 (state law)
- South Carolina Barbeque Association, 2026 and 2027 contest calendar, read November 4, 2026 (cook-off dates)
- Uptown Greenwood, South Carolina Festival of Discovery, read November 4, 2026 (Greenwood festival)
How we check: editorial standards. Spot a mistake or a closure? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina Barbecue: Sauces, Places, Road Trips and Festivals”, itssouthcarolina.com/barbecue/ (updated ). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.