Recipes and Stories from Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ

By: The Local Palate

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Charleston barbecue expert Rodney Scott shares heartfelt stories and a range of recipes in his first cookbook

The thing that Rodney Scott knows better than the back of his hand is how to barbecue whole hogs. Since age eleven, he’s been chopping wood, tending fires, flipping pigs, and pulling meat with a craft-master’s eye toward continuing perfection. But Scott’s story, which takes him from small-town pit cook to big-city barbecue chef, reveals layers of learning and growth along the way. In his debut cookbook, Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ, the first by a Black pitmaster, Scott and co-author Lolis Eric Elie take readers from his days cutting tobacco and growing his family’s Hemingway, South Carolina, business to standing on stage to accept the James Beard award for Best Chef: Southeast. There are, of course, very thorough and specific instructions for your next whole hog roast at home, but also recipes from his restaurant, like King Street Corn rolled in pork skins, quick-fried wings, and a smoked chicken salad inspired by his wife. Here, he offers a few summer recipes that we’ll be making on repeat.