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| One of 11 heads used in traditional Lowcountry hogshead hash being made in Camp Branch, SC. Image: Carolina Hash / Folkstreams. |
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| The Festival of Discovery features BBQ & Blues — and hash. |
What Is South Carolina Hash?
Hash is a traditional stew in South Carolina that dates back to the early 1800s, according to barbecue writer and historian Robert Moss. When hogs were slaughtered for barbecuing, parts such as the head, liver, and other organ meats that didn’t make it onto the pit were used to make hash and to make sure during a rural hog-killin’ that every last scrap of a hog wasn’t wasted.
These items were cooked in a pot with water over an open fire for many hours until they had broken down and become a thick, gravy-like substance. Items such as red pepper, potatoes, and onions were often added, but the hash depends on the slowly cooked meat items for its hearty flavor.
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| Hash being made in The Hash House in Greenwood, SC. Image: Carolina Hash / Folkstreams. |
Moss describes hash as a cross between a thick gravy and a stew. It’s typically a side dish that accompanies barbecue and not a meal by itself. Outside of South Carolina, nothing resembles this dish. Hash recipes have also been included in issues of food magazines such as Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and The Local Palate. The name may come from “haslet,” an Old English word for the entrails of a butchered animal but other accounts also attribute the name to the French Huguenot population in early Charleston.
When barbecue moved “indoors” as restaurants opened, hash was a standard side dish with the stew ladled over a bed of cooked white rice (or bread). When restaurants shifted from cooking whole hog to just shoulders and hams, many began making hash from the barbecue left over from the previous day, and about half of the S.C. barbecue restaurants surveyed by the (Charleston) Post & Courier no longer today include liver in their hash.
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| Legendary in its time, The Hash House in Greenwood, SC, has closed. Image: Stan Woodward / Folkstreams. |
The S.C. Office of Tourism describes hash as “a stewlike concoction of ground meats flavored with vegetables, condiments, and spices.” Most people are ready to sample it until they learn more about the history of hash and realize that many recipes rely on liver and other organ meats for the pungent flavor of hash.
What Makes Hash Popular?
Hash remains popular in South Carolina because it’s rooted in the state’s barbecue traditions. It is a typical side dish that usually accompanies a barbecue order. Definitely comfort food, it also commemorates the humble lifestyles of the past, and many people have developed a fondness for it because of family traditions. At one time “hash houses” were located throughout South Carolina with the largest concentration in the Upstate region, although many such as this one in Troy that closed in 2014 are no longer open.
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| The Hash House in Troy, S.C., closed more than a decade ago. Photo: Hash House / Facebook. |
The city of Greenwood was one of the most active hash-making places in the state, according to the folklife documentary Carolina Hash on the history of South Carolina hash. (Learn more by watching the documentary.) Today many barbecue restaurants have hash on their menus as the map below illustrates.
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| At least 160 S.C. barbecue restaurants serve hash. Image: Southern Living. |
How Do You Judge Hash?
For events such as judging hash, there are no national standards or guidelines like for contests sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. Sometimes a contest specifies only turn-in times; however, several guidelines were announced for the Greenwood event.
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| This entry has a dominant tomato flavor. |
For this contest, hash can consist of potatoes, onions, spices, and other seasonings with shredded pork or beef, or both. Because contest rules prohibited the presentation of the hash with side dishes or with any else such as rice or bread, each entry was simply the hash. (At KCBS events, barbecue is typically presented with a garnish.)
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| Diced potatoes are the main component in this hash. |
Each entry was judged on appearance, taste, and tenderness (the three criteria of a KCBS contest) and could have earned a maximum of 180 points. The winning team was Chicka-Piga-Moo that outdistanced K&E’s Little Smokers, which finished second, by only three points. Incidentally, Chicka-Piga-Moo is a top competitor in the S.C. Barbecue Association and routinely places high in barbecue contests.
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| Mustard could be clearly detected in this hash. |
How Different Were the Entries?
Nineteen teams competed, and every entry had its own distinguishing characteristics, although the ingredients and presentation were limited. The entries varied in color, consistency, taste (some were pungent; some were sweet), texture (from stringy to clumpy), ingredients (from meat items only to all permitted ingredients), and moisture content (some were soupy, some had little moisture). One surprise of the judging activity happened when an entry being shown to a judge was tipped too low and about half a cup of hash “liquid” spilled onto the scoresheet and pants of the judge. How he scored this entry wasn't disclosed!
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| This hash seemed to have all permitted ingredients. |
What Were the Rewards?
The hash contest had a total of $1,200 in prizes that was divided among the top three places: $500 for first place, $400 for second, and $300 for third. However, more important than the money are the bragging rights for placing among the top three, particularly for the first-place winner. Imagine claiming that you are the state champion for South Carolina, which is known for its barbecue and hash traditions.
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| Chicka-Piga-Moo took home $500 for placing first in the hash contest. Photo: Festival of Discovery / Facebook. |
What Were the Other Side Contests?
At the Festival of Discovery, contests were also held for Anything Goes with 29 entries and Desserts with 26 entries. Two Kids Que contests were held; one for kids 10 and under (with five participants) and another for ages 11 and older (three participants).
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| The festival conducted two Kids Que contests. Photo: Festival of Discovery / Facebook. |
Because teams competing in the hash contest were also permitted to sell their hash to the public during the festival, appreciation for the hash wasn’t limited to only the judges.
Wrap Up
The next time you are in South Carolina, find a barbecue restaurant with hash on its menu. See if you don’t agree with the state’s traditions that it belongs on a plate with barbecue.
Finally, the following video shows hash being made:
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