Greetings from Denmark.

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

stefan kryger

Newbie
Original poster
Apr 10, 2014
3
10
Hi there fellow meat lovers, warm greetings from the southern part of Denmark.

My name is Stefan, i'm a soldier and mechanic in the danish army. I started doing whole roasted pigs over open fire 3 years ago on a grill i build for the occasion.


I've done around 10 pigs this way for family parties and our annual grill party at work, but since it's

pretty weather sensitive i started looking for alternatives, i looked at reverse flow smokers but in the end i decided 

to try out a design of my own and ended up building a vertical smoker in a 1200L water tank with 3 rotating grates

for the meat and firebox in the bottom. The chimney is made out of a 105mm shell casing from a Centurion Tank :)

    
So this is where i'm at now, and why i joined this forum. I need some advice on smoking a whole pig around 40-50kg and some inspiration

on how to season it and what wood to use for fuel to get the best taste and what temperatures i should aim at.
 
Hello Sefan .  Welcome.  I see this is your first post.  Please take some time and swing over to Roll Call and introduce yourself so that we may give you a proper "Hello".  All info you can provide us with such as smoker type, location and so on will help us answer any questions you may have
 
Hey Stephan

Welcome to the Smoking  forum.   You’ll find great , friendly people here, all more than willing to answer any question you may have.  Just ask and you’ll get about 10 different answers—all right.  LOL.   Don’t forget to post qviews.

Gary
 
Hi Stefan, I have a few questions. Are you going to hang the pig or cut up and place on the shelves. What have you been using on the open pit pig cooks such as wood, seasonings and why you think they may not work in the smoker. Not sure many of us will be familiar with local woods. But if you give us a list we will try. My first concern looking at your unit is have you made provisions for the grease that will cook off a pig. A grease fire dampens a pig roast. Your talking 100-110 LB pig in a 307 Gal. tank so room should not be a problem. Let us know what you been using.
 
Hey Stefan, Glad you joined us, good looking pig and smoker.

Gary S
 
Im gonna have to split the pig in two, one half each shelve, inside diameter is 3' so bigger pigs wont fit inside in one piece.

I have been using a mix of elm, birch and beech as the smoke flaworing of the open pit isn't that significant as it will be in the smoker. So wood choice untill now haven't been of much concern to me as long as it was hardwood. With my limited knowledge, i've been planning on using beech only for the smooker.

For seasoning i only use saltwater injected 12hrs before cooking and then a salt rub to make crisp pork rinds, I spray occasionally with dark ale beer, but not much.

I have made a drip pan that will be placed under the shelves to avoid the fat to run into the firebox, an option is to fill it with water if needed.
 
Hi Stefan, At the top of the page is a search engine that can lead you to lots of information. I put in wood and found this you may find interesting. There is also a smoking class given on-line that you will be asked to take if you wish. I think you need to fill out a profile and you will then be contacted.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/50439/woods-for-smoking

I have never cooked a hole pig but when I do pork loins I inject with salt and apple juice. I use the frozen concentrated cans of apple juice that reseal so as I only need to mix what is needed. To be precise I use a salty apple juice for an injection. The outside I rub course salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and sometimes a little sugar.

Sent us some pictures and updates as we like Q-view.
 
Last edited:
I have kept from commenting.

If you note the link provided, you will see that Elm is not a recommended smoking wood.  Not sure how that would apply to an open pit?  Something I would think about?

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Yes i read that too, great post btw. I'm not gonna use elm for the smoker, havent had any problems with bad taste related to the smoke on the open pit so far tho.

Gonna see if i can get my hands on some hickory to mix with beech which i have plenty of, and use that in the smoker. The more exotic wood is a bit harder to find around here, sadly.

Interesting idea with applejuice and salt for injection, i'm gonna try that next time i do a pig. 
 
Stefan
Welcome brother. Try using a spray of honey and fruit juice every 1/2 hour on your pig for a nice crispy skin...
Nice pit
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky