Scott's Bar-B-Que

“The cradle of SC whole hog, unchanged since 1972”

Scott's Bar-B-Que in Hemingway is the most important barbecue in South Carolina and, by many accounts, the most significant whole-hog pit in America. Roosevelt Scott started cooking whole hogs here in 1972, and the tradition has never wavered. This is where Rodney Scott learned his craft before carrying it to Charleston, and the cinder-block pit house, the hand-tended live-oak fire, and the vinegar-pepper sauce remain a living link to a tradition centuries older than the building. There is no more authentic whole-hog experience in the country. The hogs cook over live oak for twelve hours and more, turned and tended by hand rather than by machine. The vinegar-pepper sauce is the original recipe, and the cracklins — crisp skin pulled straight from the hog — are transcendent. Hash and rice and rib tips fill the plate. Thursday through Saturday only, and it sells out early, so this is a pilgrimage to plan around, not a lunch stop to squeeze in.