Pit cooking whole hog (kinda)

[tsubaki]

Sorry we haven’t taken pictures in the past but this is what we got.
When we cook a pig, the usual procedure is to reserve a half hog split down the backbone skin on, feet on and head off. It is getting harder to find a butcher that does this in our area but there is one in Ridgeland SC that still supplies.
The half hog will weigh between 65 and 90 lbs.
The cooking will be done with oak or hickory nut. The wood type is not as important as the way the coals will perform. We want the coals to stay intact and not turn to ash.
The cook top we use came from an old landscape trailer tailgate, 3 x 5 foot.
The best way to prepare the cooking area is to dig a pit about 12 inches deep and lay the grate over the hole.

For a little more ease we resorted to sitting concrete blocks on the ground and the grate over it completely encircling the edges except the front. What the pit and blocks does is keep the heat from the coals localized.

We burn the wood till they drop coals and no longer smoke or soot up any thing. A grate of some sort to drop the coals from is needed. A bench grate, barrel with rebar to hold the whole pieces of split wood or even this rim designed specifically for the purpose.


The split side should be seared to seal the juices and then turned to the skin side to cook.


The basting juice will be about a gallon of whatever vinegar you like mixed with a bag of lemons cut and squeezed and about 4 ounces of black pepper. This douche should be applied at the rate to evenly use it up in an 8-12 hour process.
Cooking at about 180 degrees for 8-12 hours is expected. Cook too fast the meat will be tough, the slower cooked the juices will stay in the meat and it will fall apart and cutting the meat will not be possible, hence the tern “pulled pork”.
When the ribs start separating from the backbone, that is the first stage of doneness. The rib section is usually reserved for the cooks to eat till the rest gets done.
At this point any BBQ sauce is for people that don’t know no better. The best method of eating is on white bread with Tabasco or Texas Pete and maybe coleslaw added as a sandwich.

[Blue_Runner]

So just grab the legs and flip it over?

Nice tutorial. OK Now I'm hawngry. I think I'll go watch "Babe." ;D

[tsubaki]

If you leave the feet on, their called "handles" to turn it with! :D
And they are as good a eatin as the rest of it.

[Blue_Runner]

How much can you expect to pay for a half hog ready to go like that?

[tsubaki]

Had to make a phone call to get price. $1.19lb and 60-80lbs average weight.

[Blue_Runner]

Cool deal. That's about what I was thinking. I believe its about the same around here.

Here piggy piggy....good piggy.

[bassarama]

That looks yummy.

I like your simple method too.
One of the dishes served at my sis-in-law for Thanksgiving was roasted piglet , 30" +-long >> 130 bucks, it was delicious to say the least.

I really like the pig but the price was steep. one of these days I finish building my large smoker.