I am needing some help smoking a whole hog. This is an adventurous feat for an amateur. I bought a nice reverse flow smoker. The grate is 45" x 31". I got a fantastic deal off of Craig's list. Gentleman paid 3k for it a year prior and never used it one time. I picked it up for 1.5k.
I have a 225lb hog being delivered to the butcher on Monday Aug. 27th for a kill and chill. It will be gutted, skinned, head and hoofs removed and hung to chill. I will pick it up 6 days later on Sunday Sept. 2. The plan is to fire up the smoker that night and put the hog on serve it around 2pm the following day. Mine and my wife's birthdays are Sept. 2nd and 3rd. We always wanted to through a party for ourselves and decided to do it and go big. We are have invited youth groups and leaders from our church and every friend we ever knew. Have a large pool, volley ball nets, horseshoes, lasso, cornhole, washers, etc. We will be camping out that Sunday night with a huge bonefire and large fire pit. Kids will be running around playing flashlight games and the men will be getting the hog going.
My personality is one that likes the excitement of doing this and I will research like a mad man to become an expert smoker academically. It usually works out favorably. I love forums for these kind of projects. Whether it is camera equipment, buying a tractor, rooting my android phone, etc., I can usually find a group of experts on a forum who are more than helpful. So, I plan to read ferociously and post my findings and hope to be guided towards a successful outcome. Reading previous posts, the folks wanted details. I hope I have provided enough details to get this discussion started.
I purchased a Maverick Wireless BBQ Thermometer Set - Maverick ET732. This is highly recommended on this site and seems to me to be a smart way to ensure proper cooking temps and meat doneness. This leads to two of my starting questions. One is cooking time. When should I start this bad boy. By start time I mean, putting the hog in the preheated smoker to finish with time included for the hog to rest after taking it out of the smoker and pulling it apart to be served. I plan on pulling it apart and putting it into large tin foil pans to serve it. I plan on using SoFlaQuer's Finishing Sauce. I also purchased Bear Paw Meat Handler Forks and Barbecue Insulated Food Gloves to help in pulling the meat apart.
My next question is on the concept of stuffing the hog. My understanding is the mid section of the hog will cook quicker than the front and hind quarters. I've had people tell me they stuff the carcass with chickens and or apples. This would give it more mass and allows it to cook more evenly.
Well, this is far as I have gotten. As I read I will post thoughts and conclusions. Please feel free to jump in an stop me from doing anything stupid.
I have a 225lb hog being delivered to the butcher on Monday Aug. 27th for a kill and chill. It will be gutted, skinned, head and hoofs removed and hung to chill. I will pick it up 6 days later on Sunday Sept. 2. The plan is to fire up the smoker that night and put the hog on serve it around 2pm the following day. Mine and my wife's birthdays are Sept. 2nd and 3rd. We always wanted to through a party for ourselves and decided to do it and go big. We are have invited youth groups and leaders from our church and every friend we ever knew. Have a large pool, volley ball nets, horseshoes, lasso, cornhole, washers, etc. We will be camping out that Sunday night with a huge bonefire and large fire pit. Kids will be running around playing flashlight games and the men will be getting the hog going.
My personality is one that likes the excitement of doing this and I will research like a mad man to become an expert smoker academically. It usually works out favorably. I love forums for these kind of projects. Whether it is camera equipment, buying a tractor, rooting my android phone, etc., I can usually find a group of experts on a forum who are more than helpful. So, I plan to read ferociously and post my findings and hope to be guided towards a successful outcome. Reading previous posts, the folks wanted details. I hope I have provided enough details to get this discussion started.
I purchased a Maverick Wireless BBQ Thermometer Set - Maverick ET732. This is highly recommended on this site and seems to me to be a smart way to ensure proper cooking temps and meat doneness. This leads to two of my starting questions. One is cooking time. When should I start this bad boy. By start time I mean, putting the hog in the preheated smoker to finish with time included for the hog to rest after taking it out of the smoker and pulling it apart to be served. I plan on pulling it apart and putting it into large tin foil pans to serve it. I plan on using SoFlaQuer's Finishing Sauce. I also purchased Bear Paw Meat Handler Forks and Barbecue Insulated Food Gloves to help in pulling the meat apart.
My next question is on the concept of stuffing the hog. My understanding is the mid section of the hog will cook quicker than the front and hind quarters. I've had people tell me they stuff the carcass with chickens and or apples. This would give it more mass and allows it to cook more evenly.
Well, this is far as I have gotten. As I read I will post thoughts and conclusions. Please feel free to jump in an stop me from doing anything stupid.
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