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LongWayToFall

Anybody cook a whole hog?

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I was thinking about smoking a whole pig, anybody done it? I gotta have some good food to go along with my keg of IPA... hahaha.

I have a fairly large standard smoker, I think I could probably fit a 30-40 lb pig. I could also get some cinder blocks and make up a large grill of some sort if need be, as well.

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it is really difficult to do, not impossible, just difficult.

i went to our local butcher years ago with the smae idea. He REFUSED to sell me a pig - as he put it "You will just fuck it up - half burned to a crisp and half still raw"

Convinced me to buy whole loins. He got huge pork loins, cut them in half (3-5lbs pieces), tied them for me with twine and I smoked them

They came out perfect, since you have consistent size pieces of meat you can use a thermometer, and marinate them in advance, smoke them in a smoker for 5 hours or so,

Now it is a regular thing here at Skydive City -

I would still love to try a pig sometime, ,but I would want to go watch someone else do it first and learn it from them

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I guess you are right, it would be considered almost a suckling pig. I have done whole shoulders a number of times with excellent results, and can operate my smoker at a constant temp for the most part, everything seems to turn out alright. That is why I was thinking of getting the pig in the smoker, I should have better results than making a grill, spit, or digging a pit. I may end up doing shoulders again, I could always fit more stuff like a corned beef and some ribs. (smoked corned beef=pastrami)

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I've seen it done a couple of time, guessing it was a 60# pig, maybe more. It took about 8-9 hours, very low heat (charcoal), a rotating spit and an enclosure to trap the heat. So it was a roast job, not a smoking. The fat was free to drain away. The last time I saw it done the coals were on the ground, maybe 2-3 feet below the pig.

Both times it was great eating, not burnt, not raw, pretty moist. :)

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I helped do it all the time when I lived in Eastern NC. Helped because I did not own my own pig cooker. You need somethinglike this: http://www.grillmangrills.net/pull_behind_pig_cookers.html Vinegar based BBQ sauce.

It takes a long time, pretty much all day, but a very fun way to spend the day.
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

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I helped do it all the time when I lived in Eastern NC. Helped because I did not own my own pig cooker. You need somethinglike this: http://www.grillmangrills.net/pull_behind_pig_cookers.html Vinegar based BBQ sauce.

It takes a long time, pretty much all day, but a very fun way to spend the day.




Oh, Man! You've done it now. This is going to devolve into Eastern NC BBQ vs Western NC BBQ vs Georgia BBQ vs Florida BBQ vs Texas BBQ vs all the other hundreds of variations of BBQ. And I hope so. This should be one mouth watering thread,:)
Oh, and propane? Good for grilling but I don't think real BBQers like it much.:P
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

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Oh, Man! You've done it now. This is going to devolve into Eastern NC BBQ vs Western NC BBQ vs Georgia BBQ vs Florida BBQ vs Texas BBQ vs all the other hundreds of variations of BBQ. And I hope so. This should be one mouth watering thread,:)



Time for the instructional video again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

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Oh, Man! You've done it now. This is going to devolve into Eastern NC BBQ vs Western NC BBQ vs Georgia BBQ vs Florida BBQ vs Texas BBQ vs all the other hundreds of variations of BBQ. And I hope so. This should be one mouth watering thread,:)
Oh, and propane? Good for grilling but I don't think real BBQers like it much.:P



I like all kinds of BBQ, that's just the only time and place I've helped with the cooking of the entire hog :)
I did have a friend who dug a pit, encased the hog in a metal cylinder of some kind, and buried it in with a fire a few years ago. I wasn't there to see them put it on, only dig it up.
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

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i went to our local butcher years ago with the smae idea. He REFUSED to sell me a pig - as he put it "You will just fuck it up - half burned to a crisp and half still raw"




Pork Tar Tar. EMMMMM.
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

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Time for the instructional video again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY




Thank you very much. I needed that. (Exept for the part about Florida not being a Southern State. Hell, people in Jacksonville consder any body from north of the Georgia state line to be a Yankee.) :)
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

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Time for the instructional video again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY




Thank you very much. I needed that. (Exept for the part about Florida not being a Southern State. Hell, people in Jacksonville consder any body from north of the Georgia state line to be a Yankee.) :)

And from north of the GA Bama Miss SC line.. a DAMN Yankee

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That thing is big! Fortunately (unfortunately?) I am not feeding that many people, so I do not need a 150lb pig. I have seen pigs done a couple ways, but the heat source I can handle the best is my smoker, hence why I was hoping to get a small pig to throw on it. It may be just too much effort to do a whole pig, we'll see. Someday I will cook a whole pig, it is on my bucket list hahaha.

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When we were doing AFF classes for big groups of Japanese we'd always have a big banquet on their final night. (No, not before their first jump, LOL.)

One time we decided to do up a hog. A local jumper assured me he knew a farmer and we could get a good sized one for a song. When we got to the place I was expecting it to be all packaged up but the truth of it was quite a bit different.

"Sure thing, ya'all go up to the big pen and pick one out. Did you bring a gun?"

"Ah, no."

"Okay, use this," he said handing me a 357 magnum and six rounds and he warned me, "hit 'em square between the eyes or he won't go down."

As we drove up to the big pen I handed the pistol over. "This was your idea," I said, "you shoot him."

"All right, I'll shoot 'em, but you pick out the one."

So now I'm looking at five or six 400 pound hogs. I felt like that guy picking out Jews train-side. "The big one," I said, "no wait, the small one," dammit I thought, "just kill one already!"

And oh boy, it didn't go well. It took four rounds to the head and that hog squealed like a human being the whole time. By the time we hung him up back at the DZ and dressed him out I never wanted to eat pork ever again. Our quests loved it, and probably won't forget it. But neither will I. The smell of bacon makes me wretch now . . .

NickD :)

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That thing is big! Fortunately (unfortunately?) I am not feeding that many people, so I do not need a 150lb pig. I have seen pigs done a couple ways, but the heat source I can handle the best is my smoker, hence why I was hoping to get a small pig to throw on it. It may be just too much effort to do a whole pig, we'll see. Someday I will cook a whole pig, it is on my bucket list hahaha.




Just get the parts. And I doubt that it's on the pigs bucket list. ;)
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

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I have been cooking pigs since 1969. have tried every method i'm aware of. This by far is the best and i use it regular.
i can cook a 120lb hog for 7hrs and it falls off the bone. PM for details if you decide to use this method-it is just like they tell you it is-yes that easy.
We have done it at KSUPC a few times
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http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

Good luck

cheers

"You can't teach what you don't know and you can't lead where you won't go"

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Man. My buddy and I always joked around that his girlfriend (who likes pigs) could raise one for us to cook. Somehow I think it would get too personal hahaha.

Speaking of bacon, I found the most excellent recipe in a video, and decided to make it tonight. Pure genius.

Check this bad boy out! Delicious. You know a guy this happy in a video can't be wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc_37m9spG4

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If you can get your hands on a 30-40lb pig(let) they are pretty delicious. One of the awsome results of working to eradicate feral hogs from conservation land is that all hogs are to be shot on site, regardless of size. They breed so quickly that even just a couple little ones getting away means a whole pile more in just a matter of months.

I've had just as many that were poorly smoked as done correctly, but if you can figure it out it is worth the effort!
Killing threads since 2004.

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