"SouthCarolinaHash" news and stories

A kettle of hash. Photo: Uptown Greenwood Development Corp.

Southern stew maven Stan Woodward will be rooting for the kettles at Greenwood, S.C.'s annual hash cook-off this week.

Carolina hash, an iconic Southern one-pot meal typically comprising chopped meat, potatoes and seasonings, is meant to be made in a black iron pot. But Woodward says apprehensive legislators and frantic health inspectors have conspired to endanger the open kettle tradition.

"I think it's sliding out from under view quietly," says Woodward, whose documentaries include "Brunswick Stew," "Burgoo," "Joe Gunn's Sheep Stew" and "Carolina Hash." "There used to be hash houses all over South Carolina."

Hash is one of the few dishes that seems to rigidly obey state boundaries: It's rarely found on menus over the South Carolina line. In the Palmetto State, though, the plantation-era concoction is a cherished barbecue accompaniment.