In the barbecue world, sauce preference is as divided as the epic pork vs. beef debate. . And in South Carolina, where Rodney Scott first opened in Charleston in 2017, sauce preference is practically a declaration. As Scott writes in his book, ($29.99, Clarkson Potter, 2021), 鈥淛ust look up a map of South Carolina barbecue sauces. You鈥檒l see that the regions are divided by sauces. Some are mustard-based, some have a lot of ketchup, some have a little ketchup with vinegar and peppers, and some are like mine, mostly vinegar and pepper.鈥
When Scott first opened his barbecue spot in 2017, he drew a line in the sand: His family鈥檚 vinegar and pepper sauce was the only sauce he served. 鈥滻t鈥檚 universal to everything,鈥 he explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my go-to or my game changer if I screw up or something needs a little pop.鈥 There were times when customers pushed back, Scott recounts a time when a family from Kansas City ordered, took a look at the vinegar sauce, and went across the street to buy a bottle of KC-style BBQ sauce from the grocery store. They put it on the table and merrily made their way through the meal. 鈥淚 stood there and stared at it, and said 鈥榳e鈥檙e gonna fix this someday,鈥欌 he says. Now several years in, and with six locations spanning South Carolina, Alabama, and soon to be Tennessee, Scott serves four sauces, but none are more precious to him than the original.
As simple as the recipe sounds鈥攚hite vinegar, lemon, black pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes, and sugar cooked over heat鈥攖he mixture acts like an elixir in the sense that it both seasons and aids the cooking process. 鈥淲e take the vinegar sauce鈥攚e call it Rodney鈥檚 Sauce鈥攁nd baste [the whole hog] and let it cook through. If you want more of it, it鈥檚 on the table,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he goal is to have the vinegar cook all the way through. It鈥檚 tenderizing and doing its magic while cooking.鈥
Scott, who cooked his first hog at the age of 11, grew up making this sauce at his family鈥檚 store in Hemingway, South Carolina. 鈥淚 was the sauce stirrer,鈥 he laughs. 鈥淢y dad or mom would add the pepper while I was stirring and I鈥檒l tell you what, if you didn鈥檛 stir, that burner would scorch. You had to keep that spoon or whisk going around to make sure that pepper was always moving. If not, there was gonna be trouble.鈥 The Scotts made the sauce in a massive stockpot right next to the barbecue pit, but you can make it in a saucepan on the stovetop.
A word to the wise: Depending on how much heat you like, you can adjust Rodney鈥檚 Sauce to your liking. Cook it per the recipe, let it cool completely, and then store in jars. Then, Scott says, 鈥淚f you let it settle and skim off the top, it鈥檒l be milder, or you can shake it and get all the heat.鈥