Maurice’s Piggie Park Offers Stunning SC Mustard-Based Pork and Hash

Following years of controversy, Maurice's Piggie Park now focuses on serving authentic wood-cooked BBQ and showcasing sports memorabilia.

This week’s guest article is written by John Tanner, founder of John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog. John is based in Washington, D.C., and has been writing about barbecue joints, events, and notable people in BBQ since 2015.

During a recent visit to South Carolina, I stopped in at the original location of Maurice’s Piggie Park in Cayce, just west of Columbia. Maurice’s is one of the many barbecue places opened by the scions of Joe Bessinger, who in 1939 opened a barbecue place in Holly Hill with his seven sons.

It seems like each of the sons went on to start his own barbecue place or chain of places. Maurice started the '“Piggie Park,” which now has multiple locations in and around Columbia.

You can’t miss the place.

Maurice’s was controversial because of founder Maurice Bessinger’s penchant for Confederate memorabilia and his political views. All of that now is gone with the wind, Maurice to his grave and the memorabilia, I suppose, to an attic. Now the Piggie Park memorabilia is focused on what Maurice’s does best — and South Carolina sports.

I actually arrived a bit before the 10 a.m. opening, parked, and got out of my car to stretch. The delicious odor of pork cooked over wood hits you immediately. The meat is cooked over wood in a sprawling operation across a parking lot from the Piggie Park. That involves a whole lot of wood. The line of pallets takes a right turn at the end of the lot and resumes behind that tall stack of wooden pallets in the distance.

No wonder Maurice’s smelled so great. I chatted for a minute with one of the forklift drivers who was moving the pallets of wood until opening time and then entered the Piggie Park.

I was greeted by the wonderful music of cleavers chopping pork. It always makes my heart sing. The workers in the kitchen were busy getting ready for the predictable lunch rush.

I looked around the interior, which has several dining areas that reflect the gradual expansion of the Piggie Park. I sat down and ordered pork, hash and rice, collards, and hushpuppies.