SC's BBQ heritage (Myrtle Beach, Lexington, Batesburg-Leesville: home, buy, school)

[Ceezer]

Originally Posted by rubber_factory

You think so? Sumter has good BBQ.. Southern Pride is good.. there used to be a good place called the BBQ Hut. I actually love Ward's BBQ, but for some reason a lot of people don't like it.

I've eaten at Ward's a few times and it's alright. Is BBQ Hut the one on 15 right after the fork off Guignard? I actually wasn't impressed at all with that place. There's one on out 15, though, past the industrial park and everything, that was really good but I forget the name and I haven't been back in years just because it's so far out from me (I can probably get to Little Pigs on Alpine quicker than I can get there). Where is Southern Pride? Google says it's on Wesmark but I lived on Wesmark (well, Carter, which turns to Wesmark after the intersection with Wilson Hall) and don't remember ever seeing it

The best BBQ in Sumter that we've found was a guy that would haul his smoker up to the Uhaul place on 441 on Saturday mornings. You could smell him for almost a full mile... I haven't seen him in a year or more, so I don't know if he tried opening a place downtown or just stopped all-together.

Here in NC I have a Smithfield's right down the street from me, and I never go.. it is OK, maybe the 3rd or 4th best in town. They cook on gas, anyway.

No, Smithfields isn't 'gourmet BBQ'; it's fast food. But it's great and convenient when you need a fix. They also have decent shrimp, good banana pudding, and good sweet tea.

And my favorite side to pulled pork is hush puppies!

[gaflsc]

Originally Posted by btard

Sweatman's in Holly Hill. Pure bliss!

As is Carolina BBQ in New Ellenton. These are my two favorite places!

[gaflsc]

BBQ History

Interesting read on BBQ history in SC.

[PawleysDude]

That's an excellent article, thanks for sharing. My favorite excerpt: "Midwesterners or Yankees will say to friends, 'I'm going to barbeque some hamburgers tonight.' ...That neighbor is going to grill some hamburgers, not barbeque them."

My two biggest bbq pet peeves are (1) listening to transplants talk about barbecuing their brats and weiners, and (2) all the damn recipes for "oven-cooked bbq", which is nothing more than roasted pork with a heavy sauce slopped on top. There oughta be laws against both of 'em.

It might not be of much interest in this SC forum, but Bob Garner has two very good books on NC BBQ - "NC Barbecue, Flavored by Time" and "Guide to NC Barbecue" The first is an excellent history of bbq, and the second is a compilation of bbq restaurants throughout NC, along with reviews. It makes a terrific travel guide when you're trying to decide which route to take on a trip.

[Geechie North]

Pawleys,

Nobody up here says they are going to "Bar-b-que a brat."

Cook or grill are the verbs of use.

What may be of interest is that "bar-b-que" means exclusively Texas-style ribs.

We always bring back a case or two of Bessingers, and the locals are always amazed that it is considered bar-b-que.
Especially on pork.

Then there's boiled peanuts......................

[gaflsc]

Originally Posted by Geechie North

Pawleys,


Then there's boiled peanuts......................

hahaha! I could imagine the looks! What our unfortunate northern friends don't realize is that boiled peanuts are a gift from the gods!

And yes, BBQ is a noun, not a verb. Big pet peeve of mine as well.

[Ceezer]

Originally Posted by PawleysDude

That's an excellent article, thanks for sharing. My favorite excerpt: "Midwesterners or Yankees will say to friends, 'I'm going to barbeque some hamburgers tonight.' ...That neighbor is going to grill some hamburgers, not barbeque them."

Uh... no they don't. Maybe out West, but definitely not in the Midwest/Appalachia.

My two biggest bbq pet peeves are (1) listening to transplants talk about barbecuing their brats and weiners

You must have neighbors with special needs, because I've never heard anyone refer to barbecuing anything other than BBQ. Well, maybe barbecuing some chicken, but I hear that refrence from here to Louisianna.

And BBQ is dependent primarilly on your geographic preference. Here in the Southeast, BBQ usually refers to pulled pork. In the Midwest it's ribs, and in the Southwest it's beef brisket. Of course barbecuing as a whole encompasses all of these foods (and more) and none of these are isolated to the particular regions I mentioned, but they usually take center stage.

You know, now that I think about it, down in Louisianna & Texas they consider sausage to fall under the BBQ umbrella. Maybe that's who you've heard "barbecuing their brats".

[gaflsc]

Originally Posted by Ceezer

Uh... no they don't. Maybe out West, but definitely not in the Midwest/Appalachia.



You must have neighbors with special needs, because I've never heard anyone refer to barbecuing anything other than BBQ. Well, maybe barbecuing some chicken, but I hear that refrence from here to Louisianna.

And BBQ is dependent primarilly on your geographic preference. Here in the Southeast, BBQ usually refers to pulled pork. In the Midwest it's ribs, and in the Southwest it's beef brisket. Of course barbecuing as a whole encompasses all of these foods (and more) and none of these are isolated to the particular regions I mentioned, but they usually take center stage.

You know, now that I think about it, down in Louisianna & Texas they consider sausage to fall under the BBQ umbrella. Maybe that's who you've heard "barbecuing their brats".

Oh I've heard the word BBQ mis-used many times in the northeast & midwest. As for sausage in TX, it's a menu item & it is smoked, but I've never heard anyone there call it BBQ. There, brisket is BBQ (actually, it's merely smoked beef, but whatever) , ribs are ribs & sausage is sausage.

[DowntownJerseyCity]

Originally Posted by gaflsc

hahaha! I could imagine the looks! What our unfortunate northern friends don't realize is that boiled peanuts are a gift from the gods!

And yes, BBQ is a noun, not a verb. Big pet peeve of mine as well.

Dear God, boiled peanuts are the best thing since, well, Carolina BBQ!

Since we are deprived of good southern BBQ up here in Jersey, I have to order my boiled peanuts from Whitley's. They're good, but nothing like fresh and hot out of the water.

[PawleysDude]

Nobody up here says they are going to "Bar-b-que a brat."...

Geechie - I'm not sure where "up here" is, but our neighbors of nawthern descent, primarily NY/NJ are forever getting ready to barbeque some brats and maybe a few weiners on their grill. I had to explain to my poor grandson what a weiner was, he'd never heard that term. (Actually, I think he had heard a "similar" term at school and was seriously concerned about what was about to happen...) Our very first week in this neighborhood was scheduled for a volunteer neighborhood clean-up, with the HOA having a bbq for all participants. Since I didn't yet have my smoker, I couldn't wait. You guessed it, we "bbq'ed" weiners and brats.... Sorry, guess it's just me but that abuse of the term really grates on me.

"bar-b-que" means exclusively Texas-style ribs...

I don't claim to be a food historian, but I suspect you'll find quite a few who would take issue with that statement. I've read many derivations, some of them dating back to the 1600's from the Spanish word barbacoa, referring to the cooking of whole pigs on something resembling a spit over a pit. Apparently, it was a common practice in the Caribbean when Spanish explorers showed up on the scene. I think Texas-style ribs came a few years later.