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10 South Carolina BBQ restaurants you must try this summer

A combination butcher shop/meat market/restaurant, Midway is renowned across the Upstate for chicken stew and beef hash, and the restaurant’s pulled pork is fantastic, served with your choice of sauce.
A combination butcher shop/meat market/restaurant, Midway is renowned across the Upstate for chicken stew and beef hash, and the restaurant’s pulled pork is fantastic, served with your choice of sauce.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – If you are going on a road trip this summer, you know that there's no shortage of fine barbecue establishments to whet your appetite for pulled pork, ribs, stew and anything else that comes off a hog. Lucky for you, South Carolina has specialties you wouldn't want to miss out on.

Along with ribs and pulled pork, the best-known red tomato-based barbeque sauce can be found statewide. But, unique to Carolina is the golden-mustard based barbeque sauce, which can be found as you drive closer to the coast.

We've compiled the best there is in South Carolina and put them in a list for you. Next time you're on the road, drop into one of these joints and get your grub going.

Belly's Southern Pride

2508 Augusta Highway, Lexington

Directly across Augusta Highway from Lexington High School, Belly's has limited dining space and a booming business. Its traditional Midlands barbecue, excellent sides, and what one independent judge called "the best ribs in South Carolina."

Sarah and Octavius "Tay" Nelson, owners of Bobby's BBQ in Fountain Inn.
Sarah and Octavius "Tay" Nelson, owners of Bobby's BBQ in Fountain Inn.

Bobby's BBQ

1301 N. Main St., Fountain Inn

Tay Nelson first formulated a seasoning blend, drawing on his father's recipes. Then he fell in love with Central Texas-style barbecue. At Bobby's, Nelson uses those spice mixes to turn out wildly popular brisket, pork, ribs, sausage, and turkey, and even offers barbecue Jackfruit at this popular spot.

Henry's Smokehouse

240 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville (flagship of multiple locations)

Henry's has expanded to Woodruff Road and Simpsonville, but the Wade Hampton Boulevard location still draws a crowd. The award-winning pork and ribs are the main features, and are now available in Henry's new food truck, dubbed the "Hog Hauler."

A tray of pulled pork sits on a table at Henry's Smokehouse on Thursday, April 19, 2018.
A tray of pulled pork sits on a table at Henry's Smokehouse on Thursday, April 19, 2018.

Hite's BBQ

240 Dreher Road, West Columbia

In the Midlands of South Carolina, David Hite once said he's never seen a high school football game. He's too busy cooking whole hogs the old-fashioned way at this meat market/barbecue joint. You'll have to call and reserve a rib cut, you can order skins "off the hog" and he's open from Friday morning "until it's gone." On a holiday weekend, that's EARLY.

Hite's BBQ in West Columbia
Hite's BBQ in West Columbia

Midway BBQ

811 Main St., Buffalo

Midway is legendary in Union County and beyond. A combination butcher shop/meat market/restaurant, Midway is renowned across the Upstate for chicken stew and beef hash, and the restaurant’s pulled pork is fantastic, served with your choice of sauce.

Pig Out

1945 Drayton Road, Spartanburg (one of two locations)

Tucked beside the Drayton Post office, the newest of two Pig Out locations has a bigger menu and a more visible location. The original, at the intersection of New Cut and John Dodd roads in a former service station is as old-school as barbecue gets. Venture in for Friday lunch, and you'll often find workers on break and captains of industry sharing a table (and passing the sauce).

Rodney Scott's BBQ

1011 King St., Charleston

National acclaim and a James Beard Award-winning pitmaster have brought a ton of attention to Scott's restaurant, and for good reason. It's seriously good, and ultra-traditional, featuring whole-hog barbecue cooked over coals in cinderblock pits.

Chase McCroskey prepares smoked chicken at The Smokin' Pig's new location on Evergreen Road, off of State Highway 81 North in Anderson, which opened February 28, 2019. The new location is the fourth, with locations in Pendleton, Williamston, and Easley.
Chase McCroskey prepares smoked chicken at The Smokin' Pig's new location on Evergreen Road, off of State Highway 81 North in Anderson, which opened February 28, 2019. The new location is the fourth, with locations in Pendleton, Williamston, and Easley.

Smokin' Pig

6630 Clemson Blvd., Pendleton (flagship of multiple locations)

Every ESPN Gameday trip to Clemson seems to include Smokin' Pig, and commentators marvel over the brisket, ribs, chicken, and pork. There are locations in Easley and Williamston, but the Pendleton location is where the magic starts. Pro tip: get the banana pudding, and say yes to the pork skins before your meal.

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Thin Cue Line

13241 Asheville Hwy., Inman

With a former Sheriff's Office detective as owner/pitmaster, Thin Cue Line has an intensely loyal following. There's also a menu that goes deep beyond the basics, including smoked steak specials and BBQ lasagna.

Wise BBQ House

25548 US-76, Newberry, SC

Absolutely no-frills barbecue buffet. Turn into the low cinderblock building, walk through the line, and pick from pulled pork, hash and rice, ribs, pork skins, slaw, baked beans, and warm mustard sauce. That's it, and that's all you need.

Best of the rest

Gameday BBQ, Duncan

165 W. Main St., Duncan, SC

Former Boiling Springs football coach Bruce Clark turns out excellent pork, ribs, chicken, and brisket. The sides alone are worth a trip, as is the homemade banana pudding.

Southside Smokehouse, Landrum

726 S. Howard Ave., Landrum, SC

A menu featuring Cajun and Creole specialties and local favorites, as well as an extensive bourbon list, features fantastic barbecue. Served with a sauce close to a Lexington-style dip, it's not to be missed.

Mike & Jeff's BBQ

2401 Old Buncombe Road, Greenville, SC

An open fire and a low and slow approach make this nearly hidden destination in Greenville worth finding.

The Pompous Pig

3320 N Main St., Anderson, SC

Dry-rubbed meats slowly smoked and a menu that reaches wider than most traditional South Carolina barbecue destinations.

Brown's Bar-B-Que

809 N., Williamsburg County Hwy., Kingstree, SC

Local restaurant featuring a vinegar-based sauce and a cherished buffet with traditional items aside from pulled pork, if anyone is ever so inclined.

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Duke's Barbeque

1178 Main Hwy., Bamberg, SC

A well-known name in South Carolina barbecue, Duke’s has spawned other locations in the Lowcountry, and it’s celebrated for its “Orangeburg sweet” mustard-based sauce.

Maurice's Piggie Park

1141 Lake Murray Blvd., Irmo, SC

Wood-fired since 1939,” Maurice Bessinger’s namesake barbecue joint is a standing tradition of pork and mustard-based sauce that’s weathered controversies brought by away-from-the-pit activities of its founder.

McCabe's Bar-B-Q

480 N. Brooks St., Manning, SC

Old-fashioned pit-cooked barbecue at its finest.

Rogers' Bar-B-Que House

2004 2nd Loop Road, Florence, SC

Traditional buffet offerings of barbecue dressed with “secret sauces” and seafood selections, all true to the Pee Dee.

Sweatman's BBQ

1427 Eutaw Road, Holly Hill, SC

Family business that’s served up fine barbecue since the 1970s with wood selected for smoke and its own take on the mustard-based sauce that’s unique to South Carolina.

Ward's Bar-B-Que

1087 Alice Dr, Sumter, SC

It’s not as renowned as other places that have received more publicity, but it can stand with any barbecue, and the locals swear by it.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: SC BBQ: The 10 best barbecue restaurants to try in the state