Pit Smoking???

[jakesmith]

Anyone tried actual pit smoking. I've done it twice with mixed results. First time was three full hogs and they came out a little over done. Obvious conclusion would be the coals were too hot.

Second time I tried to let the coals cool off a little more before hanging the hogs and they came out not done enough. Guess I'm wondering if anyone has some pointers. I'm thinking of doing another one but would like to have it come out right this time.

Here is how I do it: I have a 6 ft deet hole dug. Probably it is 10 ft x 10 ft. I fill it with a lot of oak and let the fire burn over night. The next morning I put the hogs on poles and hang over the pit. Then I cover the pit with hog confinement fence and then put blanets on top and then straw over the blankets. I leave a little hole (second time I used a piece of chimney pipe) to vent and then let the hogs cook till the afternoon the next day (approx 24-30 hrs). Well thats how I do it. Any suggestions?

 

[cowgirl]

I do it a little differently...
I burn the wood to get the hot bed of coals, place the seasoned pig in wetburlap or foil, lay a sheet of metal over the hot coals, put the hog on next,
Cover the whole hole with another sheet of metal and bury it with dirt.

I make sure the edges of the metal top are covered well with dirt so that no smoke or heat escapes... no air gets in..
Large hogs cook overnight, smaller ones 8 to 10 hours.

 

[jakesmith]

Hmmm, maybe venting is the wrong thing. I've been allowing a little air to get out and that was probably the wrong thing to do.

 

[cowgirl]

I've always been told to keep the pit sealed so no air can get in and cause flair ups.

I've had great luck with doing it that way.

You do need to make sure you have a deep bed of hot coals going....I usually burn enough wood to get about an 8 inch bed of hot coals.

 

[hey_beerman]

I usualy do it similarly to a clam bake.. in the wood pit I line the bottom with large had sized stones and build the fire on top of that.. the stoned will help regulate the heat over the longer cooks so theer is not as much fire required keeping the hawg burnin to a minium

but still like spit roast hawg

 

[jakesmith]

Well lining the pit with stones would take an awful lot cause it is a pretty big pit. I can smoke three full hogs at once.

For the coals I guess I'm not exactly sure how deep they are. I fill the pit up completely with wood and then let it burn for about twelve hours before I put the hogs on.

I think the problem I had was the vent pipe. I should know better considering we try to keep to a minimum of opening up our smokers when cooking, the same should apply to a pit.

Thanks for the help, Q-view will come but not for a while we were planning a hog feed in August sometime.