Elliott Moss Named One of Five Pitmasters Shaping the Future of Southern Barbecue by Southern Living
Southern Living, the South's most iconic lifestyle publication, has recognized Elliott Moss of Elliott's BBQ Lounge in Florence, SC as one of five pitmasters poised to become the next legends of Southern barbecue.
The feature highlights Moss's distinguished career trajectory, from fine-dining chef to James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast (2017) during his tenure at the celebrated Buxton Hall BBQ in Asheville, NC, and his return to his home state of South Carolina, where he has opened Elliott's BBQ Lounge inside Seminar Brewing. There, Moss fires open brick pits with pecan wood to produce standout dishes including Pee Dee-style chopped whole hog, chicken bog, and fish stew.
“Moss’ new Florence operation is inside Seminar Brewing, a sprawling complex with a full bar (with Seminar beer on tap, of course) and a game corner with pool tables and pinball machines.
Next door stands his recently constructed pit house, where he fires the open brick pits with pecan wood rendered down to coals in a gigantic burn barrel. He turns out everything from direct-heat-cooked ribs to tender smoked salmon, but the stars of the show are the Pee Dee-style chopped whole hog and regional specialties like chicken bog and fish stew.”
The article also underscores Moss's growing influence as a mentor and culinary ambassador. Protégé Joel Easton, now operating his own Easton Barbecue Co., credits Moss with teaching him the craft of whole-hog cookery. Moss's cookbook, Buxton Hall Barbecue's Book of Smoke, has had far-reaching impact as well, as Austin pitmaster Evan LeRoy of the acclaimed LeRoy and Lewis attributes his hash recipe directly to Moss's work, a testament to his influence beyond the Carolinas.
“Moss is something of a hash evangelist, in fact, having stirred up big cauldrons of it at festivals around the South. He’s introduced it to diners in formerly benighted, hash-less regions, including Texas….
“One of the many chefs Moss has mentored is Joel Easton of Easton Barbecue Co. in Hollywood, South Carolina, who got his start at Buxton Hall. He began cooking on the line in 2019 and soon worked his way up to tending the pits. “Elliott took me on pretty quick, because I was just so excited about everything and he saw something in me, I guess,” Easton recalls. He learned from Moss “how to judge how far along you are in the cook, how the hog’s looking, how it’s feeling, how it’s smelling—all that good stuff.””
Moss also taught him his method of making hash and rice, South Carolina’s signature barbecue stew. That was a “pretty involved” process, Easton says. “We were using a lot of leftover stuff from the hogs and rendering fat and using what we called ‘hash bits,’ which are little crispy bits that couldn’t be served on a plate. It would all go in the hash pot.”
Southern Living positions Moss alongside a generation of barbecue innovators who are not only mastering their craft but teaching others, preserving regional traditions, and pushing the culture of Southern barbecue forward.
