Whole Hog

[Dog Hunter]

Let's give the dos and don'ts to cooking a whole hog. Getting ready to do one in June and looking for positives and negatives from everyone's experience.

[pstrahin]

I have cooked a bunch on charcoal. I just built a pig cooker out of a 275 gallon oval oil drum and am going to cook some butt this weekend to help get it seasoned. I will be cooking a whole hog on the 19th of May.

I have my hog butterflied so it will lay flat on the grill, head removed. The night before, I salt it down and keep it on ice. I light my charcoal, bring the grill to 250°. Put the hog on skin side down and salt it again. I cook it for 10+/- hours. I keep the temperature between 200° and 250° degrees the entire time. I keep a fire on the side to add hot coals as needed to maintain the temeprature.

[big ike]

here's some whole hog cooking videos you might find interesting !

http://vimeo.com/9923940

http://vimeo.com/1535389

[shakey gizzard]

Dont do it on a windy day!

[nkbigdog]

I'm thinking of buying another smoker to add to the crew. Its called a China Box. Look it up little cost and great results.

[Tnwoodman]

The china box is more of a roasting device, (think charcoal fired crockpot) you won't get much smoke if any. So you'll need to rely on your rubs and finishing sauce to bring out your flavor profile.