Question about suckling pig smoke

[shellbellc]

OK pig people, hubby is doing a back yard male comp this weekend, he's got a couple different things in mind, but last night I brought up about doing a suckling pig. We called the butcher this morning and he leaned against it...Said he did one about 30#'s and it had hardly any meat on it and wasn't that good. Does anyone have any opinion about this???? He said he could get one in, but said it wasn't worth the money and time. We did order shoulders, $1.59#...

 

[gypsyseagod]

i've done wild hog(javelina)from 10-50 lbs and there's not much to them cause they're really lean to begin with. a 50lb fed about 4 of us so i'd go w/ the shoulders. good luck on the comp.

 

[msmith]

The pig I smoked was 72lbs and there was plenty of meat on it even had quite a bit left over. It cost me $165.00 at the meat market.

 

[wild boar trapper]

I trap numerous wild piglets. I love them. I usually split them down the backbone and smoke the half. They are much more tender than hogs.

As to yield, a 50lb piglet on the hoof will yield a carcuss weight of about 22lbs. Of that about 6 lbs will be bones. So you will end up with 15 to 16 lbs of cooked meat. Think of it like a large turkey or brisket.

Here is a pic of two 60lb piglets (on the left). I smoked them and 2 briskets for a party. Fed about 40 people and didn't use half the meat. They were outstanding and very tender. These are wild pigs, not pen fed, so they are much leaner than the ones you buy, yet they still smoke up real tender.

 

[crewdawg52]

Thanks for the post WBT! Done a little pig shootin around the Kaufamn, TX area when I get down that way (got a good friend with some acreage). Didn't think of just gettin the young'ins. Makes sense though.

 

[cheech]

I just spoke to my cousin who raises around 2000 hogs. From time to time there are some that are crippled so they will have smaller ones that will need to be placed on someones smoker so they are going to call me next time! I am so excited.

 

[Dutch]

Shell, When I was in the meat business, we always suggested a hanging weight of 65-80 pounds. Bear in mind that this is a boiled and scrapped piglet. If you go with a skinned piglet in that weight range you'll have a little large piggy. But in my opinion, boiled and scrapped is the traditional way to go for suckling pig.