Scott's B.B.Q. in Hemingway is only open for business Thursday to Saturday, but for pitmaster Rodney Scott, slow-cooked pork is a seven-day-a-week obsession.
“It starts with the wood,” says Scott, who works Monday through Wednesday cutting the oak, hickory and pecan trees he’ll use to cook his hogs “low and slow.” On Wednesday afternoon, Scott stacks the wood in a homemade burn barrel and begins making coals for the pit—the first of many laborious steps in the 10- to 12-hour process that turns whole hogs into what many consider the world’s best barbecue.
The ramshackle store on Highway 261 has been in the family for nearly 40 years and using recipes and techniques handed down from his father and great-uncle, Scott cooked his first hog at the age of 11. His skills around the pit were well-known to barbecue enthusiasts in Williamsburg County, but Scott’s B.B.Q. became an international sensation after being featured in The New York Times in 2009.
“After that article, I’ve had people in from Australia, England, Canada; you name it,” Scott says, as he swings a mop drenched in vinegar and pepper sauce to keep his cooking hogs moist. “I’ve even had a plane full of guys fly in from Texas just to have lunch. Is it crazy? Yeah! But I love it.”
All great chefs have their secrets, and Scott is no different. Ask him to share what makes his barbecue so tasty, and he flashes a huge, friendly smile.
“Simple. It’s love. I know how it sounds, but trust me, you can’t do this for a living without love,” he says. “It’s way too hard unless you love it.”
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Rodney Scott
AGE: 40
HOMETOWN: Hemingway
OCCUPATION: Pitmaster, Scott's B.B.Q.
CLAIM TO FAME: His slow-cooked barbecue—described by a prominent blogger as "the Holy Grail of hog"—has been featured in national magazines and on The Food Network.
LITLE-KNOWN FACT: He's the subject of a 13-minute documentary by Joe York and the Southern Foodways Alliance. Cut/Chop/Cook follows Scott through the overnight process of cooking barbecue.