More Barbecue in Greenwood, SC

A part of the prize money is reserved for the people’s choice contest. Rather than certified judges picking the winners, the festival attendees are in charge. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

One of my favorite locations for judging barbecue contests sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society is Greenwood, SC. The city and its residents fully support this contest, known as the BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery. It is the premier event sponsored by local development officials, and the music scene and other entertainment activities are amazing. 

Although blues music was playing at several venues during the festival, the big attraction was barbecue. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

Begun in 2000, the festival celebrates local history, culture, arts, crafts, music, and food — and barbecue takes over Main Street, the main thoroughfare of the city’s business community, throughout the weekend. 

Food vendors arrive early to prepare for the crowds. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

Cooking teams as well as mobile food vendors congregate on this main artery, which is closed for the weekend, as crowds stroll by to observe the cooking teams, enjoy good food available for sale, and listen to groups performing on several stages. 

The winning team was from Pennsylvania. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

This year 76 competition teams vied for $19,850 in prize money. Chunky BBQ of Harrisburg, Pa., was the runaway winner and took home the check for $3,000 for being the grand champion. In second place was QMeisters from Evans, Ga., which also easily outdistanced the other competitors. 

The turn-in table was well-staffed with volunteers from the city's Fire Rescue Department. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

At the table where I was a judge, we were impressed by all the entries that we sampled, particularly the pork ribs. One of the benefits of being a competition judge is to be able to bite into the best barbecue — whether it’s ribs, pork, chicken, or brisket. 

 

The sound of silence can be heard throughout the room as the judges concentrate on their tasks. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.  

Although judges are prohibited by KCBS rules from taking pictures during an event when they are judging, evidently those rules don’t apply to the organizers. Several pictures of the judging activities are included in the album of photos taken by Laura Brown Photography for the festival that is on Facebook.

Greenwood is the only event where I've been photographed during judging (third from left). Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook. 

This year’s event was the third time that I had judged in Greenwood. The other contests in 2019 and 2022 were equally well organized. Because the festival is such a premier event, it’s easy to understand why teams and judges want to be in Greenwood and participate in the cookoff.

Bubbles the Seahorse is one of the many topiaries that adorned the downtown area of Greenwood. Photo: Laura Brown Photography, 2023 Festival of Discovery album on Facebook.

Judging Hash in South Carolina

One of 11 heads used in traditional Lowcountry hogshead hash being made in Camp Branch, SC. Image: Carolina Hash / Folkstreams.

A special experience in barbecue judging is the opportunity to judge a youth contest or an ancillary dish. Sometimes young, aspiring pitmasters compete in “Kids Que” contests. In “Anything Butt” (or “Anything Goes”) and deserts-only contests, family favorites compete for special recognition and prizes. Barbecue cookoffs often have contests for side dishes like the one for hash at the BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery in Greenwood, SC. You might ask, What is hash?

 

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.

 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.) 

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. 

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!

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. 

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). 

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.

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Finally, the following video shows hash being made:

Returning to Greenwood, SC, for BBQ

Ari the Lion is one of the distinctive topiaries in Greenwood.

When barbecue is smoking on Main Street and the musicians at the center stage are playing the blues, Greenwood, SC, must be the scene. The city has played host to the BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery every July since it began in 2000 (except when canceled by the coronavirus pandemic). 

BBQ and Blues Festival of Discovery 

The festival has a lively street scene throughout the weekend as the region celebrates culture, history, food, arts, crafts, and music. The downtown area vibrates with the sounds of the blues as musicians perform on stages and at other restaurants. To recognize the region’s food traditions, a barbecue cookoff sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society is also held. In addition, the festival holds a separate contest for hash, a South Carolina specialty. 

Blues music is continually played at several locations during the festival.

Perhaps the total of $19,850 in prize money attracted so many cooking teams to compete—92 teams vied for top honors. The prize money is the largest amount of any tournament that I’ve participated in recently and almost double that of the last event where I judged. Because so many teams were competing, about 100 judges were needed. 

A long line of judges forms as they wait on the start time to sign in.

A part of the prize money was reserved for the people’s choice contest. Rather than certified judges picking the winners, the festival attendees were in charge, and their tastebuds determined the best BBQ. More than 20 teams competed. 

This team was ready to smoke its meats.

Barbecue Cookoff Judging 

The five other judges at the table where I was sitting were the most light-hearted group that I’ve been associated with. Perhaps being at a cookoff again after the pandemic has mostly ended has improved everyone’s spirits and the comradery is appreciated even more. In addition to South Carolina, these judges were from Georgia and Florida. 

Judges mingle in the Arts Center before the judging activities begin.

One of the big surprises at the table where I was judging is that we had to disqualify an entry for pork. At KCBS contests, one reason to disqualify an entry is “incorrect meat.” After we had judged ribs, the second category scored, we received entries for the next category, which is pork. To our amazement, in the box of one entry was … ribs. Although ribs are obviously from a hog, at a sanctioned contest they don’t constitute “pork,” which is defined as “Boston butt, Boston roast, picnic, collar (aka cellar), or whole shoulder.” How disappointing for the team because the ribs looked wonderful. 

Teams set up along Main Street in downtown Greenwood.

Later I learned that five entries had been disqualified – three ribs and two pork. I have observed disqualifications before, but five at one event is very surprising. However, some teams may have been participating in their first competitive event. Being disqualified has to be very upsetting for a team, but each contest is a learning experience. 

The center stage is on Main Street among the cooking teams.

Greenwood, SC, As Contest Venue 

Greenwood continues to be a superior contest venue, and the city’s extensive support of the cookoff makes sure that everything happens on time and perfectly. After judging pork, the judges were treated to small servings of lemon sherbet to cleanse our palates. Such a simple touch is typical of the extra effort that the Greenwood organizers make. 

Greenwood is a fun place to be during its festivals.

The downtown area of Greenwood was adorned with 30 topiary displays. Although they were initially designed as the centerpiece attraction of the Festival of Flowers, an event held a month earlier, they still are still show-quality and are very much admired by the BBQ and Blues Festival attendees. My favorite is Barbie-Q the Pig, but so many others are also very creative.

Barbie-Q the Pig is one of the creative topiaries.

This year’s contest is the first one that I was able to attend since 2019, when I judged in Greenwood for the first time. The Festival of Discovery is such a great event that I hope to attend again.

Back in Summerville, SC

Cooking teams set up at campsites on the shore of Shrine Lake in Summerville, SC.  Smokin' Gringos (foreground) won third place in ribs and brisket.

The difference between the last contest sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society that I attended to the current one couldn’t be greater. My last KCBS contest was the American Royal, the world’s largest barbecue cookoff. Now I’m in Summerville, SC, for the Brew & Que on Shrine Lake, which is one of the smallest contests that I participate in.

The turn-in area is quiet before the judging activities begin.

This year 15 cooking teams again participated (compared to 468 at the open contest of the Royal). Although Brew & Que limits the number of teams that can compete, quite a few judges always apply each year. The close proximity of Summerville to Charleston (with its sight-seeing attractions) probably influences a lot of them to register. At the table where I judged, they were from Florida, Iowa, and Georgia.

Trophies are ready for the awards ceremony.

At Brew & Que, which is organized by the Dorchester Shrine Club as a fundraiser to support Shriner Hospitals for Children, the teams competed for $4,000 in prize money. Again cooking teams were very competitive and included two teams — Smoke Central BBQ and Muttley Crew BBQ — that had competed at the Royal.

Muttley Crew BBQ, which competed in the American Royal, came in second in pork at Brew & Que.

Although small in scope, Brew & Que is an excellent contest for teams to end the competition year. Because it's also a popular choice for judges, the cookoff will continue to be a favorite for everyone.

Barbecue with Blues in a Small South Carolina City

In Upstate South Carolina, Greenwood holds several events each year to attract locals and visitors to its Uptown area. The premier event is the three-day S.C. Festival of Discovery that combines barbecue (and other food), blues music, arts and crafts, history, and a dynamic street scene.

Judges await the start of their meeting in the Arts Center.

Now in its 19th year, the festival continues to impress and attract top barbecue cooking teams for a major regional cookoff. Because 93 had registered (although only 83 competed), 16 tables of judging officials — each table with six judges and a table captain — were organized. Even though a lot of judges are needed, registration usually ends on the day in January that it opens. Lindsay Burns, the organizer, recommended to the judges at their meeting that they apply immediately for the contest next year when registration begins because the contest is so popular.

Cooking teams set up along Main Street in Uptown Greenwood.

In addition to the standard meat categories — chicken, ribs, pork, and beef brisket — of a barbecue cookoff sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, the festival holds contests for hash, “anything goes,” and dessert. For this contest, hash is made with potatoes, onions, spices and other seasonings with beef or pork, or both. Entries in the “anything goes” category include at least two products (sausage, ham, beef franks) of Carolina Pride, the primary festival sponsor.

All judging activities were held in the Arts Center.

So many teams were inspired to compete because the sizable prize fund is usually large for a BBQ contest. The festival awarded more than $23,000 in prizes — $1,200 in the hash, anything goes, and dessert contests each — with the remainder presented to the successful barbecue teams. The top prize of $3,000 with a trophy for being grand champion was awarded to Smokin’ Gringo’s BBQ, which aced out Palmetto Pitmasters, the reserve champion, by less than one point.

The center stage featured entertainment on each day of the festival.

The festival also includes a people’s choice contest with the winning team being the one that receives the most votes. In addition, young people from ages six to 15 show off their grilling skills in a Kids Que contest that requires them to use ground beef and bacon in dishes that they prepare.

The Blues Doctors entertain on Friday night, one of their three gigs at the festival.

A popular component of the festival is the blues cruise, with regional performers as well as others from as far away as Indiana, Mississippi, and Washington, D.C. It included 21 ensembles (solos to quartets) performing on the main stage as well as at 12 locations, such as the Arts Center, where judging activities were held on Saturday.

I found Adam Gussow playing as part of The Blue Doctors — I had used his materials in a class that I taught.

One month before the cookoff, Greenwood hosts another major event known as the S.C. Festival of Flowers. The entire city that has slightly more than 22,000 residents dresses up for the occasion, several homes and gardens are open for tours, and more than 40 topiaries decorate the Uptown area. Fortunately for barbecue and blues fans, the topiaries are still on display during the second weekend in July, when the Festival of Discovery is held.

A topiary of a Jeep anchors one corner of an intersection.

I’ve made a note to apply as a judge as soon as registration begins next January. The Festival of Discovery is a delightful event to attend, and I hope to return.

Look closely to see the alligator topiary in the foreground on Main Street.

Returning to Smoke on the Harbor

Smoke on the Harbor BBQ Throwdown in Mount Pleasant, SC, is a perfect way to close out barbecue judging for a year. Set on the banks of the Cooper River across from historic downtown Charleston, the cookoff is popular among cooking teams vying for final awards and points as the year ends. It is one of the last sanctioned national events with the Kansas City Barbeque Society.

Teams set up near Lookout Pavilion on Patriots Point.

The cookoff is also the last event for determining the champion in the Palmetto BBQ Series, which links six events in South Carolina to select an overall winner. As a result, the cookoff attracts the top cooking teams in the state. For the seventh annual throwdown, 25 teams competed for a share of the prize money that totaled $9,100. In addition, the grand champion is automatically eligible to compete in the American Royal World Series of Barbecue and the Jack Daniel’s World Championship. This year the cooking team Pig on Fire won the grand championship.

The team Pig on Fire took home top honors as grand champion.

The Smokehouse Mafia, which placed fifth overall in the cookoff, scored enough points to win the Palmetto BBQ Series when their score was combined with their points from other events this year. Second place in the series was won by Old Colony Smokehouse, which benefited from the points earned by finishing fourth in the throwdown.

The points won by Old Colony Smokehouse advanced it to second place in the Palmetto BBQ Series.

The throwdown is hosted by the scenic Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, which creates a large competitor and vendor village centered around Lookout Pavilion in a park-like setting known as Patriots Point. Judging activities were held again on the top floor of The Fish House restaurant that overlooks the harbor.

Several food and beverage vendors set up in Lookout Pavilion.

Schedule conflicts had kept me from attending Smoke on the Harbor after 2015. Because the cookoff this year was rescheduled for the third weekend in November (previously it was the second weekend), I was able to participate and was very happy to be a judge again at this event.

A sign on Patriots Point directs judges to The Fish House where they met.

Smoke on the Harbor is the best place to end the barbecue competition for a year. The scenic location and top-quality cooking teams make this event the place to be in November. I hope to return again next year.

The constant presence of smoke let you know that serious cooking is underway.

Revisiting Hemingway, SC

So much has happened concerning the appreciation of Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, SC, since I visited four years ago. It still occupies the old variety store in a town of fewer than 600 residents. The business begun by Roosevelt Scott, when he was 30, continues the family tradition of cooking whole hogs and serving the area’s favorite pork barbecue sauced with peppery vinegar.

A new sign was added after my visit in 2014.

However, Scott’s son, Rodney, has gone on to fame and fortune far beyond that ever imagined by his parents. This second-generation pitmaster has branched out from his family’s business in rural South Carolina and launched his own eponymous restaurant in busy downtown Charleston, only 80 miles away.

Scott's Bar-B-Que is now a certified heritage site.

The contrast between the two locations couldn’t be greater. Because I had just visited Rodney Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Charleston, I wanted to see what changes had been made in Hemingway at the family business. Fortunately for me, the only significant changes were a marker designating the store as a certified heritage site in eastern South Carolina and a new metal structure that encloses the pits.

The relationship of Scott's Bar-B-Que to South Carolina barbecue culture and the four regional sauces (or "mops") is explained in a new sign by the pits.

A simple menu board still hangs above the serving windows, the menu is as limited as ever, the lineup of customers wanting to take home their next meals never ends, and the whiff of smoked barbecue permeates the country variety store as before.

Although a menu board is above the serving window, most customers know what they want to order before they enter.

When I ordered a barbecue dinner to go, I was pleased to see that it is still served in a Styrofoam clamshell and comes with sliced white bread. I also appreciated coleslaw and baked beans as sides with the barbecue; however, the expansion of sides to the level of Rodney’s restaurant in Charleston clearly hasn’t been considered even with all of the success in the big city.

My plate of pulled pork (and sauce in the lower left corner) came with coleslaw and beans in a Styrofoam clamshell.

After son Rodney has been profiled in national publications such as Time magazine and The New York Times and received the award as Best Chef: Southeast from the prestigious James Beard Foundation, it’s reassuring that the family business continues with few changes, unaffected by all the glitter and publicity. The residents of Hemingway would be shocked if Scott’s Bar-B-Que wasn’t still preparing and serving barbecue like it has for the past four decades, and the out-of-town visitors would be disappointed if the trip back to nostalgia ever ended.

A new metal structure now encloses the pit area.

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Note: This post fittingly is the 100th one that I have added to this blog. The barbecue journey that I’ve been on couldn’t have timed a better return to Hemingway, SC, to appreciate the work and legacy of the Scott family.