Cooking a half pig...any advice?

[Beltzington]

If you have cable or dish television, look for the Kingsford BBQ Championship. This Memorial Day, I'm embarrassed to say, I watched the finals where each team had to cook a whole hog over a pit. It actually was very informative 60-minute show that covered prepping and cooking a "whole hog," you should be able to learn all you need in 30-minutes. Good Luck!

 

[Bill 55]

I've cooked several pretty much like you are planning. We don't build am A frame over it though. We just lay a sheet of plywood over it. If it gets too hot just pull the plywood off. I would plan on keeping a water supply handy to douse flare ups. We turn ours once an hour, and check the temp with a meat thermometer, It is easy to get one end hotter than the other so if one end is cooking harder than the other we just spin it end for end. We always use a good dry rub and foil the pig before we wire the racks together. Yours is going to be very nearly done before you turn it the first time if you don't have help for seven hours so I would really monitor the heat closely so you don't scorch it. Have fun and enjoy!

 

[whistlepig]

I've never done a hole hog but thought this was interesting reading:

Sunday's Guest of Honor Q-View Whole Hog

 

[tungularafishcamp]

I do whole hind quarters of deer for big getogethers or shoulders for smaller ones. Rub in the seasoning or marinade you want then wrap the quarter in tin foil couple layers. Dig a hole then put half of your coals from a BIG fire in the bottom, cover coals with sand/dirt put the quarters in on top spread out over the sand covered coals then more sand then fill the hole and relax. Dig em up 8 hours later for smaller quarters, 10 for larger, and for pork I would do 12 hrs. All the juices and flavor have been trapped in by the foil and even though well done it is so moist and tender:licking: And you dont have to spend all day cooking and watching it.

 

[Qapla]

You might try visiting this forum and asking the guys there about roasting/smoking half a pig. It is all about BBQ. They are very helpful and informative.

 

[sfloggie]

Woodlandfarms is correct on a good fun way to roast pig.
When I was in Panama a hole would be dug, hot rocks/charcoal was added, water was poured on the hot rocks, very fresh palm leaves were soaked with water and covered the hole (leaves over the rocks, the pig was lowered onto the leaves, the leaves were folded over the pig and then a layer of dirt was added.
Eight hours later you opened the hole and extracted the now fully cooked pig!

We did the same in survival training with rabbit. We smoked goat in a tepee (saplings)affair with a wood shelf of twigs that the strips of goat meat set on. A parachute was used to cover the tepee with an opening left in the top. We saved the goats blood so it congealed and became our "salt" or "soy" flavoring.

A chicken kill was a process. We would take the chicken and push it's head down to the ground. Then one guy would use a stick to slowly draw a straight line in the sand from the chickens nose out about a foot or so. Then slowly bring the stick around behind you. Next you could release the chicken and it remained pined to the ground as it had fixated on the line. Then you clean chop it's head and prepare (strip feathers and guts). Next you put a sharp stick thru it, placed it under a #10 can and completely cover the can with about (if I remember right) three to four inches of pine straw or equivelant. Set this on fire and leave until the fire stops and the embers are not shown. The chicken is cooked.
End of memory............

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Any tips, advice, recipes, etc?

I can't add any tips, advice, or recipes. But I can add to the "etc" part!

Invite all TBN members within 30 minutes of your location:thumbsup:.

You said it was for "schools out" party. My wife teaches and my son will do his student teaching this fall (history at East Burke)...

David

 

[AGRIMAN]

We have also done this for many years. Obviously, cooking time varies depending on temp which has a lot to do with your set up and how well you can maintain the heat. I personally like it around 250 F. We have always been old school and never used anything other than hot coals from a oak fire. We shovel them from the fire underneath the meat.

For many years we did it in a hole in the ground. Last year we built a custom cooker (above ground) based on the same principle. It just allows us to move the party from place to place. We still use oak wood coals. I personally don't like marinating my meat, I will add vinegar either to the meat and in a pan to help keep some moisture.

I don't have a picture of our new cooker, but I will try and post one.

Our receipt:

whole hog spit down the middle.
Good truck load of green oak wood.
Big fire for the coals.
Few cases of Bud light.
At least a gallon of shine :thumbsup:

 

[schoolsout]

Someone say School's Out?

I like it at 220 degrees F
Never inject anything into it...never saw the reason for it
I use cherry wood and prefer it over hickory

sugar based rub or spice will caramelize and give you more "bark."

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Agriman sounds like he does it right...used to shovel hot coals from cherry, oak and pecan when at my buddy's tree farm. Last time up there, the barrel we used for the coals finally fell apart and it was difficult getting the coals scooped up from the bottom. That ended up being a 24 hour cooking process!

 

[brin]

Someone say School's Out?

I like it at 220 degrees F
Never inject anything into it...never saw the reason for it
I use cherry wood and prefer it over hickory

sugar based rub or spice will caramelize and give you more "bark."

--------------------

Agriman sounds like he does it right...used to shovel hot coals from cherry, oak and pecan when at my buddy's tree farm. Last time up there, the barrel we used for the coals finally fell apart and it was difficult getting the coals scooped up from the bottom. That ended up being a 24 hour cooking process!

School ...I disagree with you....you put sugar based anything on the outside when you start cooking and you won't have bark ...you will have burned pig..pure an simple and if you advise against injecting anything...then I question if you have ever BBQ'ed anything....