Cooking whole hogs in underground pit

[moltenone]

thanks for the info,please let us know if you do the temp thing.


Mark

 

[monty]

Cowgirl,

I am going to sticky this thread. All I can say is excellent work and thank you for sharing so much great info!

Cheers!

 

[cowgirl]

You're sure welcome Mark and I'll keep you posted.

Wow! Thank you srmonty.

I wasn't sure if it fit on this forum but there seems to be some interest in the method. I hope folks give it a try.

 

[goat]

We still have wool sacks here. For those who said "WHAT". Wool sacks are long burlap sacks where the wool fleeces when sheared from the sheep are placed in to take to the Wool House. Also around Uvalde, they raise a lot of onions and they are placed into burlap sacks. Still available in this neck of the woods.

 

[cowgirl]

Hey goat...my neighbor has some of those large wool burlap bags. Wonder why I didn't think of those before. I know I can get some unused ones.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

 

[goat]

It is not my intention to hijack this wonderful thread, but I will tell a short fish story. One night we were fishing for white bass on the Pecos River. Around midnight they started biting. We were placing our catch into a burlap sack. That sack had a hole in it and the smaller ones swam out. We still ended up with a sack full before the night was over.

 

[cowgirl]

I like a good fishing story. Thanks goat!

 

[blacknbluedog]

Hi. Great post. I recall seeing burlap in the garden section of our Home Depot.
I hail from Hawaii and we have a similar method of cooking pig as someone stated earlier. We call the oven an imu and the pig is kalua pig (or turkey, pork butt etc). Other Pacific islanders have similar methods. If you are intersted I can tell what I know of this method. I must warn you though that I am not an expert nor have I ever done it before. My father and his brothers would make it for Christmas and New Year parties. I only watched and ate.

Brian

 

[cowgirl]

Mmmmm, I'd love to hear about it Brian!
And you have a beach...sigh.

 

[moltenone]

hay cowgirl,one question(for now)how deep is the pit?

mark

 

[cowgirl]

Mark, It varies depending on the size of the hog. You have to plan on 6 to 8 inches for the coals....then measure enough to be able to lay the wrapped hog or meat in it and still get a sheet of tin over the top without touching the meat.
It's kind of a start digging, measure the pig and go from there deal. It's better to have it too deep than not deep enough.

Hope I didn't make this as clear as mud!

 

[deejaydebi]

Ah kalua pig! Very ono-licious! I used to live it Waipahu near the sugar mill when it was still running. Cheap rent because of the God awful sickeningly sweet smell when they'd burn the sugar cane ergh! Back then Waipahu was like living in the boonies. Nothing but local old timers and this one dumb haole' would live there!

 

[geek with fire]

Hmmm....this post gets me to thinkin' (which most times isn't safe for those around me). A whole hog is just too much meat for my lazy self to work with, but I'm wondering if the same thing couldn't be done with a boston butt? I suppose you'd need something a bit more stout to shield the heat since that thick hide is gone, but other than that I think it would work.....yea? Smaller hole means less digging.

 

[gypsyseagod]

same principle just size... yer a geek so go calculus on the size. actually for a 10lb butt- 2'x 2' & 3' deep- line w/ lava rock or coals under & over....

 

[gypsyseagod]

ai ya da kama aina kine eh debi....oh talk pidgin again...... it's ono( i miss that saying) - thats hawaiian for it's great.thanx for taking me back debi....

 

[cowgirl]

I've done hams, turkeys, briskets in the same hole together. They turn out great.
A boston butt would work fine, some of the pigs I've done are skinned instead of scalding and leaving the hide on. You could even start it in the morning for an evening meal....a boston butt wouldn't take as long as a large hog. Don't forget to throw a pot of beans in there too.

 

[blacknbluedog]

Sorry for the delay. I tried posting twice last night but got logged off and the posts were lost. I guess I write too slowly. If anyone can add details or corrections please do so. This is what I can recamember. First dig the hole/depression about two feet deeep and a little longer than the oinker. In the depression put kiawe wood and river rocks. Kiawe is similar to mesquite. The right kind of rocks (found in streams) will not pop or explode when heated. This is very important as the wrong rocks will cause injury. Light the fire and let burn till the rocks glow cherry red and only coals are left. Add some of the rocks to the open belly section of the prepared pig. Wrap the pig with chicken wire. Place banana stump (trunk of the banana tree) banana leaves and ti leaves over the coals. Place pig over leaves. Cover pig with more leaves and then burlap. (Some people use blue tarps instead of burlap.)

 

[blacknbluedog]

Cover it all with dirt. If any smoke escapes cover the area that the smoke is escaping from with additional dirt. When unearthing the pig the chiken wire serves as a handle and also keeps the pig from falling apart. My brother in law who now lives in Washington state has used this method of cooking pig and has substituted corn stalks for banana stump and leaves. I dont know how he identified the right type of rocks to use. I have heard of people using fire bricks instead of rocks. That is about all I know bout making kalua pig... now as for eating it I am really an expert.
Brian

 

[cowgirl]

Thank you for posting this Brian.

Next time you attend one, could you get some pictures for me? Or better yet.....invite me over!

 

[deejaydebi]

Nice post Brian!

I lova dat kalua pig wid som lomi lomi salmon! Ono-ilious bradah! da pig melts in you mouth like budda man! Mmmmmmmmmm! Trow in some bananna mango pie for desert and you be in heaven! Shaka bradah!!