Thanks Cowgirl...I guess I'm in the presence of greatness. I just dont want to ruin the pig. We're doing a 75lb pig. How often do you baste it during cooking? The plans Tshine posted above are what we used. Thinking of going 9 hours at 250-275 then putting foil over the loins. and ribs so they dont cook too fast.
The plans we have dont call for rotating the pig. Says to salt the back side skin with rub and salt...should I use foil? How often do you add cols and what is your reccomendation for controlling the heat. I'm thinking if it needs heat we open the dampers on the bottom to give oxygen to the coals....if it gets too hot we leave it closed.
Thanks I appreciate your advice.
Ha... definately not in the presence of greatness... I raise pigs and have cooked a plethora of piggies in various ways.
You are correct on the time and temp AND foiling the loins and rib section. You can even place bacon on the back loin to keep it from cooking too fast.
I take it the pig will be butterflied to lay flat?
I like to start the pig belly side up then turn it over half way through..
You can salt and rub the pig, I prefer to inject and then brush the pig with oil and season with dry rub.
Inject the hams and shoulders with an apple juice/soy/brown sugar mixture.
You don't need to foil the meat unless it's cooking too fast..
On my block pit I add 10 to 15 coals each hour or hour and 1/2. Outside air temperature will determine how hot your smoker is going to run too... I've cooked when the snow was flying and it took a LOT longer than I wished. lol
Most block pits aren't air tight so there is no need to add air intake at the bottom. If yours is cooking too low, or coals are going out... do open it up a bit.
The biggest problem I've heard from people is they get in a hurry and think it's not going to cook fast enough.. they add too many hot coals. It's best to keep a steady lower temperature.
Think of the pig as 4 nice sized hunks of pork shoulder (and ham)..... season them like you always do. Use your favorite rubs and injections... Concentrate on bringing the hams and shoulders up to temperature and cover the mid section to keep it from overcooking.
They are easy.. the more of them you do the easier they are. I think just the "not knowing" what to expect makes people shy away from trying it.
They do benefit from resting before cutting into... just like any smoked meat.
Oh yeah.... don't let people peek.. the more they peek at the pig cooking, the longer it's gonna take.
If you mop every hour, they can peek then.
I do like to mop with a mixture of cider vinegar, water, jalapenos, onions, garlic, salt , pepper and red pepper flakes... Just use your favorite mop.
Good luck with it and let me know if I didn't answer what you wanted to know... feel free to shoot me a message too!