In South Carolina, when people say they want barbeque, it’s usually not ribs, chicken or anything else that’s cooked on the grill. They’re talking pork. Pulled, shredded or chopped, and more importantly, flavored with the right sauce: vinegar and pepper, mustard, light tomato or heavy tomato. They all can be found in South Carolina.
The state is generally divided into four distinct barbeque regions. Vinegar-pepper sauce, popular in the Pee Dee and part of the coastal region, can be found at Brown’s Barbeque in Kingstree. At Jackie Hite’s Bar-B-Que in Batesburg-Leesville, customers can smother their barbeque with mustard-based sauce. Tomato-based sauce, served at Henry’s Smokehouse in Greenville, is popular among those in the Upstate and western SC.
Exactly how these sauces became a part of South Carolina’s culinary tradition is no mystery. According to the South Carolina Barbeque Association’s history of the four types of barbeque, vinegar and pepper has been around for hundreds of years and is considered the original barbeque sauce.
Scottish settlers who resided in present day Williamsburg County are the most famous preparers of vinegar and pepper barbeque. South Carolina mustard sauce has been traced to German settlers who lived in Dorchester, Orangeburg, Lexington, Newberry and the northwestern part of Richland County.
In fact, the names of many restaurants that serve mustard sauce have German names. These include Shealy, Sweatman, Meyer and Zeigler. Around the turn of the 20th century, tomato ketchup became available and people added it to the vinegar and pepper concoction to create light tomato sauce. The younger of the sauces, heavy tomato, has only been around for about 60 years.
But, you don’t necessarily have to drive all over the state to discover which one you love the most. Some barbeque joints like Hudson’s Smokehouse in Lexington, SC, have a variety. Owner Robin Hudson said because South Carolinians like all types, he has them available.
Loyal customer Joe Rogers eats lunch at Hudson’s every Friday and likes having the option to choose which sauce he’ll pour over his hefty barbeque pork sandwich. “I like the fact that he serves his barbeque without the sauce. My favorite changes from week to week,” Rogers says as he waits for his lunch.
Phil Teague grew up in North Carolina and joins Rogers for lunch at Hudson’s weekly. “I grew up on the vinegar-based. I have changed over to the mustard-based.”
Others like Lexington resident Ken Ray, who got a taste of Hudson’s barbeque when Hudson only did catering, prefer to mix sauces. “I like the vinegar-pepper with a hint of mustard. It blends well together.”
Hudson says some customers simply “like it just like it is,” without the sauce. Hudson’s pork is made from pork shoulders and cooked slowly using a combination of wood and propane gas. When it’s all done, Hudson said, “You won’t find gristle. You won’t find fat. You won’t find it floating in grease.” Hudson’s pork is shredded and seasoned just right.
“I think most barbeque people don’t care what it looks like. It’s all about taste,” Ray notes.
Hudson started out selling dinners in a little red trailer on the side of the road. Much of the prep work would be done at his house and the food kept hot in the stand. He later moved to the current location on Sunset Boulevard, operating as a small take-out eatery. Hudson didn’t initially expect his love for cooking to grow into all that it has. Now business has gone hog wild. At times his staff can cook about 4,000 pounds of meat per day. “This thing started out as a hobby that got out of hand,” says Hudson who runs the business with his two sons Clint and Clay Hudson. “We’ve grown from a little hole in the wall to about $2.5 million in sales.”
Hudson’s Smokehouse has blossomed into a full-service restaurant, serving barbequed pork, chicken, and ribs with all the fixings. Fried catfish and chicken and Angus beef burgers are also on the large chalkboard menu that’s in sight as soon as you walk through the door. Hudson said about 50 percent of their business is catering, primarily in the tri-state area – South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. Hudson’s Smokehouse caters in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Hudson flies out to Denver, Co., once a year to serve his award-winning barbeque to the crew for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” Turner South has named Hudson’s Smokehouse Barbeque one of the four best barbeque joints in the South. Hudson will open a second location, Hudson’s Smokehouse Express on Knox Abbott Drive in Cayce, SC this July. The new location will be smaller, carry-out restaurant seating about 50, with drive-thru service and a less extensive menu.
Now that you’ve had a history lesson on South Carolina’s barbeque sauces and you know what others are saying about them, come try some for yourself. Besides, Lake High, president of the South Carolina Barbeque Association declares, "You can't consider your barbeque quest to be fulfilled until you come to South Carolina."
Hudson’s Smokehouse is located at 4952 Sunset Blvd / Lexington, SC 29072 (803) 356-1070 / info@hudsonssmokehouse.com