how to order a whole pig?

[jerseydrew]

i've always seen whole pigs cooked and displayed laying on their belly. but i saw pitmasters finally on tv and saw they had the pig laid out on it's back spread wide with what looked like the ribs floating. what is the wording/lingo to order a pig prepped that way?

 

[pigman jim]

Jerseydrew,

You can ask for the pig splayed out or ask for it butterflied. The common term is butterfiled. With that, the pig will lie flat on its back. To do this, the butcher will break through the backbone all the way down. Typically when I get a butterflied pig, the legs still don't lie down completely flat. I always take stainless steel wire and wire the feet to the grating.

Good luck!

Jim
 

 

[jerseydrew]

thanks!

 

[yotzee]

The cooks actually butterflied them on Pitmasters using electric saws

 

[mneeley490]

You don't need to get that fancy. I just used a mallet and cleaver with mine.