A pitmaster shares the biggest mistake people are making at barbecue joints

• Pitmaster Rodney Scott says the biggest mistake people make with barbecue is blindly loading on sauces.
• He says it's important to taste the sauce and the dish separately before putting them together.

Rodney Scott grew up in the world of barbecue. His parents owned Scott's Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, South Carolina, where the now-chef and restaurateur grew up learning the craft. Now, with a lifetime of wisdom accrued and a barbecue joint of his own, he's sharing some of the tips and tricks he's learned along the way.

Scott told Insider in an interview that the No. 1 mistake he sees people making when they order barbecue is blindly loading on sauces. Sauce can be great — it can bring some heat, add needed acidity, or even mellow things out — but it can also ruin your meal if you're not careful, according to Scott.

"Beware of the sauces," Scott said. "Some of them may not be to your liking."

He told Insider that diners shouldn't just add sauce to whatever is on their plate, or place their orders with sauce anywhere other than on the side, because there are countless varieties of condiments out there and you never know if you're going to like one until you try it.

Scott also says there may be some cases where the protein or side you're about to add sauce to is actually really delicious on its own.

"One thing that a lot of people may not recognize is sometimes your protein on the side by itself is better than sauce being added to it," he said, adding that sometimes the two can be great apart, but not tasty together.

Once while at an event, Scott said he had an experience proving just that. "I tasted the sauce and it was good, and then I tasted the meat and it was OK. And when I put the two together it was not a great combination," he said.

In a separate interview with Insider, James Beard Award nominee and Black Food Fridays founder KJ Kearney also warned against saucing without caution. He said it's hard to get the real flavor of the meat or side dish after you've already drowned it in condiments.

"I always advise people, no matter what you do, eat the meat first, then sauce it," Kearney told Insider. "Because if you just dump sauce on it, you don't know if it's good or not."