Well,I was going to say whole hog, but "cojones" gets your attention. Is smoking a whole hog worth the effort? Can it REALLY be done? I am really really inlined to do it.


Know what I mean?
A guy thing.

But, what about equipment.

Gosh, maybe I should chicken out.

If you like to BBQ then doing a whole hog at least one time is worth it.
Need to decide on the # of folks you are going to feed and find or build a cooker to get the job done.
Be glad to help with advice if you want to do one.
Jim

Good to see you around Jim. Hope you're doing well.

I2, here's a whole page devoted to Whole Hog and it's a pretty simple "pit" to build.

It won't come out like Jim's did at Memphis in May (it was awesome, a lot of work for them and a REAL please to taste).

Whole Hog

Smokin'

Howdy,i2.

It is a lot of work for pros with the right experience.

If you decide to get wild and crazy,let us know and maybe we'll come up and participate.

I am well trained at sippin',laughin',and bein' laughed at.

There is a supplier down in Sanford that supplies whole hogs for all the MIM cookoffs in our area.

Joby and the DixieBoys are HQed there in Ocala and they do them most weekends.

The last time I talked to him ,he was looking for team members and you could learn- next week up in Dillard,GA.

Beware of his jar of Cherry Smashes though.

Thanks to one and all. I'll study on it...very carefully.

I2,

Tom's right it does take quite a bit of work. You have to cook it quite a while and have to build or make a pigsmoker or use someone's whole hog smoker.

I did see one cool pig cooking contraption at the last Pop Warner Football campout. The guy is cuban american who built it and this was his latest smoker design.

What he did was get aluminum panels (about 1/4" thick) and piano hinged them all together to form a metal box approx. 4' long and 2.5' wide by about 3.5' tall. On one of the panels he made an access door down towards the bottom and hinged that so that he could service the coals and wood (door was about 16" X 16"). Then on the end panels of the box he cut 2 vertical slots (2" wide) on each end down to about 10". What was great was at the end of the cook he just folded it up as all the panel ends were hinged together and threw it in the back of his truck.

So with this rectangular box he put a couple big bags of Kingsford and got the fire going (I do not beleive he used the famous Jim Minion method of charcoal starting). He also kept the charcoal piled up on the sides of the cooker to alleviate grease fires.

Then for the pig, he got 4 rebar (or pipes) and 2 sheets heavy gauge grill material. He took a square sheet of the grill sheet and wired the 2 rebar to it so that the rebar extended beyond the grill mesh screen on both ends(so you and another person can pick up the screen and hog like picking up the handles of a wheelbarrow). He repeated that for the other sheet too.

He then placed the whole hog on the first rebar/sheet and then took the other rebar/sheet and sandwhiched the hog by placing the second sheet on top. He wired both sheets very securely together and wired the handles together too.

Then he and another person lifted up the screens and hog and placed it in the box and slid the handles down the slots.

He then covered the top or the box with a sheet of metal. The heat in the box was hot enough so that the metal top could heat up the various hot dishes that folks brought to the pig roast.

He cooked it overnight and we ate it the next day...it was quite good as he used a Mojo Criollo marinade.

He flipped the pig/screen framework about halfway through the cook. One thing I would do is make a rotisserie type of gadget to make flipping the hog easier.

The only thing I do not care for in whole hog is I don't like the critter looking back at me! ha ha...

Anyway some ideas on whole hog cooker...

regards,
PrestonD

Dang, Preston, are you an engineer? MIT man? What a contraption.

Well, maybe next March when the Presbyterians come out to the farm, I should try a whole hog.

I read two books today. One said, skin the hog. The other said, don't skin the hog. Instead, use the cooked skin for serving dishes.

Good start, no?

Got a better contraption for you engineers:

Ugly Brothers Whole Hog

Another site for inquiring minds:

Whole Hog

If you look at the Ugly Brothers site, under sauces, look at the raspberry/chipotle sauce.

Some relatives left us a couple jars of homemade preserves and we made this for pork loin and yardbird quarters.

It was interesting,but you wouldn't want to serve real sweet sides with it.

Smokin: Those Whole Hog links are a riot. Scary, but funny.

That's my job...make the forum Laugh once in a while...

...just thinking about you doing a Whole Hog, should make you laugh...

Keep us informed.

Smokin'

I2,
Actually I am a bonafide rocket scientist...

(Smokin is the best!)

Regards,
PrestonD

I2,

Hey I almost forgot...my brother in-law in Palatka FL has hogs if you want a whole hog.

He has them processed at Nettles Sausage in town (Palatka). Various weights and sizes...aren't you in the vicinity of Gainesville?

If you are interested let me know...that goes for anybody else too. His hogs have their agricultural certifications and are corn fed.

PrestonD

Yep, Palatka's just next door. Was over there for the Blue Crab Festival. Ate about one hundred and 23 cajun-cooked blue crabs.
(Betcha Andi don't know about that one...)

Okay, so we got hogs for sale in Palatka and Ocala. Surrounded by hogs. Just need to cojones to pull this off.

I bought the new book by Dotty Griffith. She says to remove the head and feet of the hog. Dainty lady? The Mississippi boys say keep the head, put an apple in it's mouth and a Ole Miss cap on its head, and a Gator cap on the other end!

Damn good book. The introductory chapters are nicely done. Says BBQ is equivalent to jazz as an authentic American art form.

Cool...

I2
You might check with some of your local rental places. Some of the places around here rent pig cookers and big pits. Good Luck and let us know when to show up. We'll bring the beer!
Richard