South Carolina Barbecue by Sauce Region: Four Styles

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The state tourism office says South Carolina is the only state where all four basic barbecue sauces are found: mustard, heavy tomato, light tomato and vinegar and pepper. The table says where each is found. Barbecue is the official state picnic cuisine.

Styles4mustard to tomato
MeatPorkwhole hog tradition
TrailOfficialSC BBQ Trail
RankingsNonewe do not rank restaurants

The Four Sauce Styles

Style	Where	What it is	Source
Mustard	Midlands and a band stretching toward the coast	Mustard-based sauce; SC PRT says it traces back to German settlers and calls it often credited as the state's unofficial sauce.	source
Vinegar and pepper	Along the coast	Thin sauce of vinegar and pepper; SC PRT says it dates back hundreds of years and 'may be the oldest sauce in the nation'.	source
Light tomato	Pee Dee and the upper middle part of the state (as SC PRT states it)	Essentially vinegar and pepper with ketchup or tomato added.	source
Heavy tomato	Western and northwestern South Carolina	Thick tomato sauce; SC PRT says it is most like grocery-store brands.	source

What The Sources Say

SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism publishes the SC BBQ Trail as a barbecue guide organized into three regional trails: Mountains, Midlands and Coastal. source
The SC BBQ Trail covers more than 220 family-friendly restaurants 'from the mountains to the coast' (page wording). source
The SC BBQ Trail is published as a free downloadable PDF, the 'SC BBQ Trail Map', with a digital version on the state's media portal. source
SC PRT says South Carolina is the only state where all four basic barbecue sauce types are found: mustard, heavy tomato, light tomato, and vinegar-and-pepper. source
SC PRT says the whole-hog tradition grew from farm life: after a hog was slaughtered the whole animal was smoked over fire and people gathered at the pit to eat once the meat was tender. source
SC PRT says a whole hog for a pig picking is typically slow-cooked overnight and some pitmasters cook pigs up to 12 hours; guests traditionally bring sides and white bread is served for soaking up juices. source
SC PRT says whole-hog cooking has long been a way of life in the Pee Dee region, and that it is less common today, now mainly a specialty at a small number of restaurants. source
SC PRT says sauce choices have blurred over time and many restaurants now offer several sauces; the BBQ Trail Map shows which regions traditionally serve which type. source
State law: 'Barbecue is designated as the official State Picnic Cuisine of South Carolina.' Code Section 1-1-683, 2014 Act No. 231 (S.1136), effective June 2, 2014. source
SC PRT's state-symbols page says that under South Carolina's definition, barbecue is pork, 'nothing else'. source

The Official Barbecue Trail

The official SC BBQ Trail is a guide by the SC Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT), listing more than 220 restaurants in Mountains, Midlands and Coastal trails. It is published on discoversouthcarolina.com/barbecue as a free downloadable PDF 'SC BBQ Trail Map' (source_url: https://discoversouthcarolina.com/barbecue). No restaurants listed here by design.

What We Could Not Confirm

Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.

Note this differs from SC PRT, which puts light tomato in the Pee Dee.
South Carolina Barbecue Association: searched for sauce-style / whole-hog pages; no usable official page found.
Shrimp baiting 2026 exact open/close dates: no SCDNR 2026 announcement found. The rule (noon on last Friday on or before Sept. 15, 60 days) is stated by SCDNR; 2026 dates would be inferred, so not given. Also 2026 commercial shrimp opening date not found (2025 only).
1976 grits designation: the actual act/resolution text was not found on scstatehouse.gov; only the 2014 resolution's recital.
Sweet tea: statute text says 'South Carolina grown tea'; PRT says 'sweet tea'. Summerville birthplace claim is the town's tourism claim; independent historical support not verified (a Charleston City Paper piece from 2013 questions it, but not an approved source and not read).
Charleston Tea Garden hours, factory tour price and trolley price: charlestonteagarden.com did not load for us on every fetch. unofficial summary only (Mon-Sat 10-4, Sun 12-4, free factory tour, trolley from $16 adult) – NOT verified, do not publish without re-fetch.
Peach county list (Edgefield, Saluda, Aiken, Lexington, Spartanburg, Cherokee): no read official page lists current main peach counties. SC Dept of Agriculture Market Bulletin PDF (Aug 2, 2018) could not be read. Only Edgefield (Ridge Peach Meeting) and Spartanburg (1935 figure) appear in read pages.
Peach season months: Clemson HGIC says mid-June to mid-September in the Upstate; SC PRT says May through August; the two differ by region and source.
Peachoid official Gaffney/Cherokee County page not found; only SC PRT description used.
SC Peach Festival 2026 full day-by-day dates: not on organizer page; only July 19, 2026 concert. 2027 dates not stated.
Ridge Peach Festival (Trenton) and Johnston Peach Blossom Festival: only a 2020 listing on visitold96sc.com; no organizer page found, no 2026 dates.
Pelion Peanut Party 2026 dates: organizer page (Facebook) gave no date; only a 2023 newspaper report.
Green peanut season: SC Dept of Agriculture says summer and fall; Clemson specific maturity guidance came from unofficial summary only and was not read.
Collard greens and peach second-in-nation figures: SC PRT's collard 'second nationally' claim not checked against USDA.
State Farmers Market exact open/close hours: official page says only 'Monday through Sunday, vendor hours may vary'.
Carolina Gold rice history, she-crab soup from Charleston CVB (charlestoncvb.com pages not read), pimento cheese: no official SC source found.

Sources

Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.

Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “South Carolina Barbecue by Sauce Region”, itssouthcarolina.com/things-to-do/food-and-drink/south-carolina-barbecue-by-sauce-region/ (updated 2026-10-26). 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.