Cooking half a hog

[magnuson]

I am cooking a 100lb half hog with a grill made out of a giant propane tank. i have never cooked something that big and need it done in about 3 hours. we are doing it for a school event and are making pulled pork sandwiches. Thanks!

 

[mapper]

Three hours is a very short amount of time to make pulled pork, even using just the butt cut, most folks who I know that cook whole pigs, it is an all day or over night process.

 

[JerryK]

Always took me over 24 hours [ started the afternoon before the party ] and one keg of beer....... after that, I don't remember much...

 

[mapper]

Attended a wedding some years back where a pig roast was attempted, they started in the morning with the afternoon for the celebration. The pig was probably less than 100#, it was black on the outside and raw on the inside, in between it was tough.
Pulled pork requires long slow cooking to dissolve the connective tissue and combine it with the fat to give that tender moist texture.

 

[dadster4]

Charcoal along the sides (replenish often) and foil pans under the pig, you will have a couple gallons of melted fat to deal with. I think you will need at least 6 hours cooking time and a good hour to get it served. Silicone gloves work great for handling the hot pork...good luck!

 

[bamboozled]

Not going to happen in 3 hours. Start the night before.

Or you can cook it the weekend before and just reheat it in crock pots the day of the party. Which is the way I do it when I don't have all day to cook.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

It takes about 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours to cook a slab of babybacks at 250 degrees F.

 

[DrRod]

I have to wonder if you really need a half hog for this event. Unless everyone is going to stand around admiring it I would go with a lot of big chunks and slow cook them in the oven. You could even take a chunk and put it on the fire to create the atmosphere and sell the whole BBQ pig thing. As long as its tender it will be good and once the sauce is on it will make little difference where it was cooked.

Host/hostess rule #1 is never try a new recipe when guests are coming over. And a 100# hog is a tricky thing -- that's why there are people who make a living doing large scale BBQ. You could be heading for a tough time unless you've done this a few times before.

 

[Andy in Gap]

Why such a short time limit? What you want to do is not possible. If you want pulled pork, buy a case of pork butts and cook them in the oven the day before. Throw them on charcoal for an hour or two and no one will know the difference. If you want to cook half a hog, you will need at least 8-12 hours.

 

[stuckmotor]

I suspect the hog would cook faster if you cut it up.

 

[teejk]

Why such a short time limit? What you want to do is not possible. If you want pulled pork, buy a case of pork butts and cook them in the oven the day before. Throw them on charcoal for an hour or two and no one will know the difference. If you want to cook half a hog, you will need at least 8-12 hours.

I agree. Parts of the hog will get done in that time but not many. The front shoulder (butt and picnic) and the back (ham) are pretty thick and will never get close to cooked in 3 hours unless you crank up the heat to the point where the good stuff will be inedible. I think the rule on pork is "low and slow"...low temp, long cooking time. USDA now says 140F internal temp is ok for pork (instead of the old 180F rule that my mom used to insist on that made me hate eating pork for awhile). Funny thing about cooking meat...if you can keep your heat source at the level of doneness you want, you could put it on today and come back next week and it will be just fine. As for pork butts, oven first then charcoal? From what I know you would want to reverse that if you want any smoke flavor to it. Cooked meat will not take much smoke.

 

[teejk]

I suspect the hog would cook faster if you cut it up.

Agree...2-3 hour "smoke", cut it up and go from there. The loin and belly will probably be done. On pulled pork my friends resort to the "Nesco" but never seen it done in 3 hours.

 

[oosik]

Ha,ha. Last year my son was having a luau in his back yard. Fortunately, he started a WEEK before by digging a massive "fire pit" in the lawn. Lots of rocks, lots of wood, charcoal briquets, palm leaves - the whole nine yards. He started the cooking Friday morning for a Saturday afternoon affair. By Sat AM he was smoky, tired, half crocked(they had a keg) and everybody realized the 50 pound pig would not be ready by that afternoon.

He dug it up, cut it up, threw the pieces in his & the neighbors ovens and after it was done and slathered with sauce nobody knew the difference.

The grass still does not grow well where the fire pit was. I ask, quite often, when will we have Luau #2, he just growls.

 

[tow653]

Used to live in Louisiana,got introduced to a Cajun microwave,do a google search. Not sure even it would do it that fast,although it sure was shorter than the traditional 12 or more hour slow cook. Maybe someone from Louisiana will chime in.

 

[teejk]

Ha,ha. Last year my son was having a luau in his back yard. Fortunately, he started a WEEK before by digging a massive "fire pit" in the lawn. Lots of rocks, lots of wood, charcoal briquets, palm leaves - the whole nine yards. He started the cooking Friday morning for a Saturday afternoon affair. By Sat AM he was smoky, tired, half crocked(they had a keg) and everybody realized the 50 pound pig would not be ready by that afternoon.

He dug it up, cut it up, threw the pieces in his & the neighbors ovens and after it was done and slathered with sauce nobody knew the difference.

The grass still does not grow well where the fire pit was. I ask, quite often, when will we have Luau #2, he just growls.

Used to fish in northern Sask with a friend of my dad. He always talked about cooking fish with some method he called "ponash" (or something like that). A few years ago I heard about a Swedish tradition of burying raw fish for a few days/weeks, then eating it...sounded like the Swedish equivalent of haggis (only to be consumed as a ritual with mass amounts of alcohol).

 

[s219]

Have to agree -- 3 hours, no way jose. But an entire pig or half pig is not the best for pulled pork anyhow -- I'd say get some butts and plan on cooking them for about 5-6 hours. They will give the best meat for pulled pork.

If you absolutely need to cook the pig, plan on 7-8 hours cooking time. Doesn't really matter if it's half a pig or whole pig BTW -- cooking time is about the same.

 

[atomchaser]

I make pulled pork by marinating a pork butt overnight in a solution of kosher salt, molasses and cayenne pepper. In the morning, I smoke it on my Green Egg for about 5 or 6 hours and then into the oven at 225 deg F for about another 4 or 5 hours. In the oven, I use a baking pan with a tight fitting cover or tin foil. It's an easy method that fool proof.

 

[prichard]

We did the same thing. We dug out the pig and it was still only 1/2 cooked. Luckily a friend who's a butcher showed up right about then. Knives and pig were flying as the cut it up and directed us were to put it. We 2 or 3 grills and the oven going. We finished off enough to feed guests in about an hour or so.

We found our flaw though, or at least think we did, we ain't trying again. We built this massive fire and burnt it down to coals. It was so hot you'd think you were at the gates to ****. We look at this little pig wrapped in banana leaves and imagine it going up in a puff of smoke. So we wrapped in burlap over the banana leaves. Then decided it needed more burlap because surely the out layer of burlap will burn away as soon as we throw it in the pit. Well it turns out burlap doesn't burn and we very effectively insulated the pig from the heat of the fire.

 

[mapper]

Used to fish in northern Sask with a friend of my dad. He always talked about cooking fish with some method he called "ponash" (or something like that). A few years ago I heard about a Swedish tradition of burying raw fish for a few days/weeks, then eating it...sounded like the Swedish equivalent of haggis (only to be consumed as a ritual with mass amounts of alcohol).[/QUOTE]

That sounds like ludefisk which is cod buried in wood ash or lye, then boiled to reconstitute it into sort of a fish paste. I am of Norwegian and Scottish origin and have no desire for either haggis or ludefisk, stuff that our ancestors ate because there was nothing else to be had does not mean it is something I should like :vomit:

 

[magnuson]

Thanks! i can try to cook it earlier and may be able to cook for 5 hours.