Doing my first pig roast

[mike033089]

Hey all first post here of many I’m sure. So this year we decided to do a pig roast maybe even 2. I will be renting a tow behind charcoal roaster and raising the pig myself. We plan on having about 60 people and are shooting for early June. Due to the pig farmers availability I’m picking a few up next week vs end of March. They will be roughly 25lbs and could possible be 130 live weight around that time frame with avg weight gain. I plan on just doing 1 pig (rest are growing out for the butcher) What I’m trying to figure out is how long will it take to cook. What temps, should I butterfly it or keep it laying up right, brine, season etc. I can process a couple days prior so that part is flexible. I don’t want to be eating at 10pm lol. Thanks

 

[Elf@shore]

Hey all first post here of many I’m sure. So this year we decided to do a pig roast maybe even 2. I will be renting a tow behind charcoal roaster and raising the pig myself. We plan on having about 60 people and are shooting for early June. Due to the pig farmers availability I’m picking a few up next week vs end of March. They will be roughly 25lbs and could possible be 130 live weight around that time frame with avg weight gain. I plan on just doing 1 pig (rest are growing out for the butcher) What I’m trying to figure out is how long will it take to cook. What temps, should I butterfly it or keep it laying up right, brine, season etc. I can process a couple days prior so that part is flexible. I don’t want to be eating at 10pm lol. Thanks

Pig Roast:
I have no clue ? But? These guys do !
Meadow Creek smokers: Lavern is their expert.
Even if you do not buy from them : A huge wealth of Info !
Hope it helps!?

 

[mneeley490]

My friends and I did one a few years ago, 66 lbs, in a temporary cinder block smoker. It was mostly running at 250° to 300°, and took a surprisingly quick 8 hours. Then covered & rested several hours until the crowd showed up. It was still too hot to touch when I went to carve it. But it was fabulous!

 

[mike033089]

I considered the cinder block smoker but the tow behind is only 150 for the weekend. And it’s got some cool curb appeal for the guest.

 

[Fueling Around]

I've done a few. 8 hours is typical, plan for 10
Fore warning. The ribs and loins will be very overdone by the time the front shoulders and neck are up to temp. if you leave it whole.
For that style of roaster, we had an a-frame rack that goes in the rib cage and belly and holds the carcass upright.

Are you thinking skin on or off? It takes about 2 hours to kill, scald, and gut a hog if you have help. There's 4 legs on a hog. Plan on at least 1 person per leg. A dead hog is dead weight.

 

[mike033089]

I’ll be doing the kill scald and prep work solo. Will use a gambrel winch to lower and maneuver the hog. I was thinking skin on. Any pros and cons to skin on or off?

 

[Fueling Around]

I prefer skin on myself. As the cracklin's render and crisp the pit master gets treats.

 

[thirdeye]

All cookers are different, my friend's Dad built this one in the '50s, and its seen plenty of use. I would hope the people you rent the trailer smoker will give you some parameters and a possible timeline.

One thing we have always done is have a couple of drum smokers on site and a bunch of whole pork loins (injected and seasoned) on hand. They take about 1.5 hours to cook, and we stagger them as needed to keep the guests happy if the hog cook runs long.

 

[mneeley490]

All cookers are different, my friend's Dad built this one in the '50s, and its seen plenty of use. I would hope the people you rent the trailer smoker will give you some parameters and a possible timeline.

One thing we have always done is have a couple of drum smokers on site and a bunch of whole pork loins (injected and seasoned) on hand. They take about 1.5 hours to cook, and we stagger them as needed to keep the guests happy if the hog cook runs long.

Love it! That's an old-school pit, for sure!