This Legendary Charleston BBQ Spot Serves Authentic Carolina Barbecue That Locals Swear By

When it comes to whole-hog barbecue, the exceptionally distinctive regional style that South Carolinians swear by, you're talking about going all in. It takes 12 to 24 sweltering hours to prepare entire pigs weighing 70 to 120 snout-to-tail pounds, and a lifetime of pitmastery, to finesse the epicurean equilibrium between fire and heat required to serve pork that's smoke-scented, luxuriantly tender, lined with crackling crisp, and kissed with a tinge of spice and vinegar.

Just ask Rodney Scott, owner of his eponymous legendary Charleston BBQ spot, Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ, who tended his first hog at age 11. He dedicates literally half a day of patience and passion to each butterflied hog, shifting smoldering charcoal every 10 to 15 minutes at about 250 degrees so all key portions of the shoulder, neck, and belly are evenly cooked. His other tools of the trade? An ear for the fat drippings and steam hisses that signal the heat is on point, a secret recipe dry rub he calls "some other love," and the fiery and tangy sauce concocted by his parents in 1972 at their original and still-standing location in Pee Dee, a scenic, flavorful South Carolina region known for unique barbecue.

And that's why, right in the heart of downtown Charleston, one of the five U.S. cities recognized for the best barbecue, long but fast-moving lines of locals, tourists, and barbecue pilgrims come to pay homage. Scott's pork is hand-pulled from all over the hog, with crunchy golden skin chopped in. Each shimmering strand is sluiced with the trinity of smoky aroma, piquant zip, and tangy zest that reviewers have described as "heavenly" on Yelp and "pork heaven" on Tripadvisor.

The way to this soul food temple, where chow comes in red plastic baskets and sides are piled into white cardboard boats: Follow the perpetual, pork-fragranced smoke. Whole hogs are cooked on the pit around the clock on one of the world's most charming main streets in this historic coastal city. But it's not only pulled pork – served Carolina style, or shoulder with sweet barbecue sauce — hogging the spotlight. The smokehouse's entire repertoire, even beyond porcine pleasures, is equally adored and savored, from spare ribs, pulled chicken, and cornmeal-battered fried catfish to a Southern comfort spread of mac and cheese, crinkle-cut fries, baked beans, collard greens, coleslaw, potato salad, cornbread, and hush puppies. And what's barbecue without chasing it with banana pudding, layered with vanilla wafers and whipped cream? 

More than a veritable institution dishing America's most storied barbecue style, Rodney Scott's joint thrums with feel-good vibes. Jaunty playlists – Philly soul, disco, '90s hip-hop – set the tone for happy meals at a communal table where everyone makes room: Young and old, blue- and white- collar, locals and tourists, families, and solo diners. When Scott became only the second pitmaster to win the revered James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2018, it was a stunning achievement for both whole-hog barbecue – little known outside the Lowcountry — for an African-American chef in a field long dominated by white fine-dining maestros.

Most of all, it's a tip of the tongs to a rich Southern foodway passed through generations. Rooted in Native American cooking techniques and plantation-era customs, it now inspires hipster chefs as far away as New York City to fire up this larger-than-life tradition.