Hash vs BBQ

I am still very much a student on the topic of bbq, having been presented time and time again as I grew up with boiled ribs soaked in sauce and shredded beef mixed directly with sauce (neither of which ever saw a wisp of smoke) and being told it was/is bbq.

I know better now, no worries on that account......

That said, in[url='http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12499']another thread[/url] (an active one as I type this) in this forum, someone said

quote:

Originally posted by Someone

********'s is a joke but makes a great hash...don't care for his bbq. My wife will sit, giggle (terrible thing for lady of her years to do) and ask "Who ate that first" when looking at my hash plate.

I try not to let my politics stop me from eating hash at ********'s. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Great hash...crap BBQ, but then again I live thirty five miles from Lexington, NC.

Since I didn't want to derail that thread with my off topic question nor get embroiled in the somewhat socio-politically-infused discussion, I decided to ask the question this statement brought up in me

What exactly is the difference between "hash" and "bbq" in this context?

Now locally, if you say "hash" people understand you are referring to a mix of finely diced potatoes, onions, and meat - usually corned beef or roast beef. In the BBQ context, tho, my understanding is that hash is simply finely chopped mixed bbq, which to my uneducated mind means it is still BBQ, or more specifically a subtype or style. But definitely still BBQ.

Help a neophyte bbq lover out here :-)

Yes hash is made with leftover bbq, or least we use it for that. But, it is hash, not bbq. The hash I've seen in SC is not lke bbq, or even our ideas of hash, it is more like a soup. The stuff we saw was very nasty looking to be quite frank. In fact we were told that several of the judges even refused to even taste it to judge it. Yet, the locals bought it all up in about 30 minutes.

Can you provide more details about the hash itself?

In my experience there are 3 basic types of dishes referred to as barbecue hash. The first is what you would expect, leftover chopped bbq pork fried in a skillet with potatoes and onions, much as you would make corned beef hash. The second is more like Brunswick stew without the vegetables - beef, pork, chicken boiled with onions tomatoes and seasonings, commonly served over steamed rice. The third is similar to the second but also contains pork livers, tongues and assorted other entrails ground or finely chopped and added to the "stew". I ate a Maurice's only once, years ago, but did not order the hash, so I could not say which type is served there.

As some folks have indicated, these may or may not appeal to everyone, but they are certainly part of the folk tradition in upstate South Carolina and the Low Country. Hope this helps!
Bunny

How hungry must one be to eat that third type of BBQ hash? Whew! I like lotsa different stuff, but the unknown quality in that makes me a wee bit squeamish.

Thanks BS - great post with lots of good detail :-)

Now.....if V960 would care to elucidate about what the hash is like in terms of the three types listed above - or add a 4th option - that would go far towards answering my question

I can't say about Maurice's hash, but the best hash in the Columbia area is actually all beef. It's like thinly cut roasts stewed with minimal onions until thick and tender. Mildly seasoned. The denizens of that area dearly love their rice as a side dish. My theory is that hash is something to dress up the rice on a plate of Q and slaw. Many BBQ restaurants in that area sell a plate of hash over rice as a standalone dish. Hash recipes do vary from place to place.

Stew beef over rice is a staple at meat-and-three's in central SC. Again, beef chunks stewed with a very few onions.

I've never tasted Beef hash in a BBQ place and I live in SC. I've eaten hash all my life. It's just pork that's been ground up very fine and mixed in with a BBQ sauce that's watered down a bit. It's basically a BBQ gravy for rice. Some people mix some liver in for a little bit of flavor, but most don't.

It's just like brunswick stew but without the corn and other veggies.

Do you like gravy on your rice? That's what hash is. Just not made with flour and oil.

Maurice's serves the 3rd type - the ground up liver. entrails - it is served over rice and is like a very meaty gravy that tastes heavily of Maurice's mustard BBQ sauce -

I loved it as a child and often wondered why it wasn't everywhere.

As an adult, I read a BBQ book and realized what is was. And was horrified.

I called my mom "why did you let me eat that?
She said, "i thought you knew - You know, I never touched the stuff- it's guts in gravy. Icky!"

Thought I recognized those wonderful words in the original post. Hash in SC (now keep in mind I am a Tarheel{NC native} not a ...whatever a SC native is...Sand Piper?) is usually only available in Columbia and east of there. It is made w/ everything that cannot be sold under another name. Liver used to be part of it but now that goes into livermush. Hash in a BBQ place in SC (only place you will find it) is nothing like what my Irish background expected.

The presentation is HORRIBLE. My oldest daughter can't stand to watch me eat it. I usually stop on the way to the beach, hop out of the car, let my wife take her and the kids to another place while I eat hash. They come back, pick me up and we head for the coast.

Quite honestly, hash DOES look like someone ate it before you...it looks like the morning after a frat party...but it is wonderful. I think everyone should try the mustard based BBQ in SC ONCE. Gives a frame of reference, it sucks. The hash is great however. I travel through eastern SC about once a month and ONLY eat the hash at the Q places.

Years ago when the restaurants got the whole hog and broke it down themselves almost everything except the squeal went into it. Now it is usually left over Q, some potatoes for body, and trimmings. It should be served over room temp rice w/ a few hush puppies.

The best hash I have ever had is served at Watford's in Bishopville, SC. Their phone number is 803 484 6223. This guy even puts his home phone number on the sauce bottles...got one in front of me right now...but you're going to have to buy a bottle to get it. The place is only open Wed or Thur through Sat. Just five minutes off the interstate.

Hope this helps.

Thanks V960

Isn't the word "hash" used in other bbq regions to designate a finely chopped and mixed (inner, middling, bark bits) bbq?

Think of a style of Brunswick stew, with a finer consistency,
served over rice. I've got an article on my home computer I did
for my old bbqboard.com, I'll post it when I get home.

Found it on another board...



This is a dish served mainly in South Carolina and Georgia, although it can be found in North Carolina and other southern states. It is somewhat akin to Brunswick Stew, which is served more often in North Carolina. There is also a legend about making hash only during the full moon...I'll tell you more about that later.

The variations of recipes are about as numerous as the cooks. In other words, travel a hundred miles, and get a hundred different recipes. It's hard to nail down a precise recipe that is used as a standard. For this article, hash is a thin, reddish brown stew that is served over rice or grits. It is sometimes eaten as a sandwich, kind of a South Carolina sloppy joe. It is made of a couple of meats and vegetables, which can include pork, chicken, onions, potatos, tomatos, corn, sometimes carrots, and I saw a Georgia recipe one time that included beef.

The history of hash goes back a long way, and the old timers will tell you it has to be made overnight in a giant black kettle or wash tub.

The basic process in making hash starts with browning the meat and onions and letting them break down some if they aren't already cooked. I would imagine that this dish originated from left over smoked pork and chicken,
so that's what I use to make it.

After the meat is browned, water (and often tomatos) is generally added and the meat stews for over an hour. Diced potatos are added, and it all cooks for another hour or so. Everything should be broken up or "loose". If not, stir, mix, or even blend the combination to a pudding like texture. Some hash's are stringy, but if you use a stick blender, it will be a different texture. The flavor is still good though.

BBQ rubs and sauces have been added. Other spices I've run across in hash recipes include Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, oregano, hot sauce, mustard, vinegar and of course, salt and pepper.

Of course, there are many arguments about who makes "real hash." In some parts of South Carolina they even make a mustard based hash. Here's the recipe I use, and it's closest to the ones I remember having when growning up.


South Carolina BBQ Hash

2 pounds of shredded or chopped pork butt bbq
2 pounds of chicken meat, shredded or chopped, any type
2 pounds of onions
1 28 oz can of tomatos
5 white potatos, peeled and diced into chunks
3 tbsp salt
3 tbsp black pepper, freshly ground
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup cider vinegar


Since I use cooked meat, you don't have to brown the meats. In a skillet, cook the onions until just translucent. Add all the other ingrediants, and then cover with water. Simmer for about an hour, or until the potatos start to break up. If it's too chunky or the potatos are tender, use a whisk and stir vigorously, and let it cook a little more. You may have to add more water.

Serve over hot rice. This can be eaten as a side dish or a main course.
Hash is one of those dishes that even better the next day. However, hash is also one of those dishes that will sour in the fridge. Make sure it has cooled down before putting it in the fridge. You can speed up the process by stirring and seperating the hash into small containers.

Oh, and the legend of making hash by the light of the silvery moon...well
many folks in South Carolina don't do much at all unless the moon is full or near it. That includes gathering crops. It's said that if you gather your crops under a full moon, you'll get more. Same with hash...under the full moon, your hash pot may overflow if you're not careful! But cook under a dark moon, and that pot will surely be near empty by the time it's ready.

Hey, don't ask me, ask the bbq gods.

That's SC...full moon and all. BBQ hash doesn't have any vegies at all except for potatoes which disappear as they are cooked so long. Brunswick stew has lima beans and corn which...well to be perfectly honest you will see in the toilet bowl the next morning...they aren't even digested by a cow much less a human.

I make a great Brunswick stew but my hash is only so-so. Brunswick stew benefits from some good stuff being included but hash seems to benefit from only long cooking. It looks so nasty that I simply don't care to cook it.

PS...never seen it in NC. And I put about 35k a year on the Volvo in NC, SC and E Tn.

My dear wife of almost twenty five years wished/commanded I include the comment that the hash in SC bears a striking resemblance to the slop we feed the pigs.

I agree.

The hash we saw in SC looked liked something you find squirted in the toliet the next day. The smell was not pleasing either. Or maybe they were using nothing but the organ meats.

Hey Raine, I won the Smoke on the Beach comp yesterday in Myrtle Beach...First place in Anything Butt and First Place in Barbecue!!!

quote:

Originally posted by marshrat
My theory is that hash is something to dress up the rice on a plate of Q and slaw.

Marshrat,
Thank you for saying that; I've thought similarly for years and wondered if I was the only one.
Here in Northeast Georgia, our hash is usually the BBQ-remnant variety. I also like the Central South Carolina version with liver in it, but I'll eat just about anything similar.
You realize that rice eating is big in S. C. because once upon a time the state grew a tremendous amount of it. This is why the liver pudding in your area (Harvin's, especially) uses rice as an adjunct ingredient rather than the corn used upcountry in the Upstate and in the Piedmont of North Carolina.
Dadgummit - I gotta get a better car as soon as I can, 'cause you're making me want the road awfully bad! I could use a transfusion of both vinegar-based and mustard-based BBQ sauce.
Wishing I Were On 'Cue, Ort. Carlton in Tol'able Athens, Georgia.
P. S. What place Columbia-abouts is it where the hash contains beef? I'd like to try that. I've gotta go to Batesburg/Leesville and Aiken; I might as well come on to Columbia while I'm at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan

Hey Raine, I won the Smoke on the Beach comp yesterday in Myrtle Beach...First place in Anything Butt and First Place in Barbecue!!!

Hey !
I wanted to go, but I had to work, and it was raining so bad, I was wondering if they were going to still have it!
SHoot!
Have you opened your place yet?
I'm still waiting to taste your Q!
Tara
Oh, BTW, Congrats!!!!!!

Tara, the place is still in the works....I think it just got moved back up to the front burner!

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan

Hey Raine, I won the Smoke on the Beach comp yesterday in Myrtle Beach...First place in Anything Butt and First Place in Barbecue!!!

WELL DONE! Captain Morgan, Sir!

P.S. I really like your coconut rum with cherry coke.

MikeS.

I can't say that I've ever heard of the SC hash as described herein. I have on several occasions made a normal or typical hash with leftover BBQ pork shoulders or butts, onion and potatoes.

MikeS.

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan

Tara, the place is still in the works....I think it just got moved back up to the front burner!

Cool.. I was so bummed that I had to work. I asked for the day off to get down there, but just couldnt get it.
I guess your win's are a feather in your cap now.. Nice way to open a new place.. you can toot your own horn!
Just keep me posted!!!

Ort et al, the only place I would eat hash more than once was Little BBQ Hut on Rosewood. I lived near there during college and early career days. Their buffet was terrific. Great Q and ribs also.
They have since moved to Alpine Road and are now called Little Pigs BBQ. Their hash at the Rosewood location, along with my wifes" Uncle Berts" recipe were what I was referring to regarding beef.
I haven"t visited the Alpine location, but from what I"ve read, I intend to the next time I"m in Columbia. They have a website and are mentioned on the SC BBQ site also. Alpine Road is in the northeast area of Columbia off I-20. I think they took over a defunct BBQ establishment"s building there.
PS My wife"s father, a central-S.C. native, would not sit down to a meal without rice on the table.

Farout! Congrats Capt. on the win! Really great to hear your name called, isn't it?


Stop in and visit again real soon, and give us an update your venture.

quote:

Originally posted by marshrat
Ort et al, the only place I would eat hash more than once was Little BBQ Hut on Rosewood. I lived near there during college and early career days. Their buffet was terrific. Great Q and ribs also.
They have since moved to Alpine Road and are now called Little Pigs BBQ. Their hash at the Rosewood location, along with my wifes" Uncle Berts" recipe were what I was referring to regarding beef.
I haven"t visited the Alpine location, but from what I"ve read, I intend to the next time I"m in Columbia. They have a website and are mentioned on the SC BBQ site also. Alpine Road is in the northeast area of Columbia off I-20. I think they took over a defunct BBQ establishment"s building there.
PS My wife"s father, a central-S.C. native, would not sit down to a meal without rice on the table.

Marshrat,
Thank you profusely! Your knowledge will plummet me into new depths (or raise me to new peaks) of mustard-based BBQ sauce exploration and delve me yet deeper into the hash-versus-stew question. All I now need are a dependable vehicle, a little money, and some available time - all of which I will have coming shortly... the hunger factor is a near-automatic.
Not 'Cockily, Ort. Carlton in Awfully Arf-Arf Athens, Georgia.
P. S. There is a small place upriver from Columbia named Peak... it has a four-hour post office. I can't help but wonder if there are any decent local BBQs up thataway....