Whole Pig Roast

[Bobby Strange]

I am doing a whole pig roast - starting tonight. I am looking for injection recipe ideas. The rub I am using is brown sugar based. Thanks!

 

[SmokinGame]

Cannot offer any suggestions, but want to see the results!

 

[tbern]

one recipe found online at how to bbq right.com says to inject with a minimum of 2 gallons of this mixture. the ingredients given were 32oz apple juice, 32oz of water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup lt corn syrup, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup of " Killer Hog's The bbq rub", 1 Tbs worcestershire, 1 Tbs Soysauce
will also be watching to see how it turns out for you!

 

[Bobby Strange]

one recipe found online at how to bbq right.com says to inject with a minimum of 2 gallons of this mixture. the ingredients given were 32oz apple juice, 32oz of water, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup lt corn syrup, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup of " Killer Hog's The bbq rub", 1 Tbs worcestershire, 1 Tbs Soysauce
will also be watching to see how it turns out for you!

I love me some Malcom Reed

 

[912smoker]

Sounds like fun Bobby. What size is the pig ?

Keith

 

[Bobby Strange]

Sounds like fun Bobby. What size is the pig ?

Keith

she is 135 pounds!

 

[tbern]

what temp do you roast at and how long does it take?

 

[Brokenhandle]

Using a rub...so I gather skin off?

Ryan

 

[Bobby Strange]

Using a rub...so I gather skin off?

Ryan

rub for the inside. Salting the outside.

 

[Bobby Strange]

what temp do you roast at and how long does it take?

i try to stay at around 270-285 - usually takes about 15 hours...this is my 5th one.

 

[tbern]

i try to stay at around 270-285 - usually takes about 15 hours...this is my 5th one.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Bobby Strange]

Thanks for the info!

it is important to note that i am using a gas powered cooker - same one that is in my avatar - so it stays at a consistent temp, hardly any fluctuation...and it has a closed lid which also helps shave a little time off the cook.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I've participated in many whole hog roasts and we never injected, but we really didn't know anything about that then. We just put salt & pepper on the meat side. Burned wood in a 55 gal. drum with a rebar grate near the bottom and a shovel size whole cut out of the side below that. When the ashes fell out the bottom, we shoveled them under the hog. Mop was always butter, vinegar, and pepper. Always started late in the afternoon and it was usually ready by afternoon the next day. Once we pulled the meat, we would raise up the temp and crisp the skin. The only person I know still doing it that way is Rodney Scott in Hemingway, SC...

 

[Bobby Strange]

I've participated in many whole hog roasts and we never injected, but we really didn't know anything about that then. We just put salt & pepper on the meat side. Burned wood in a 55 gal. drum with a rebar grate near the bottom and a shovel size whole cut out of the side below that. When the ashes fell out the bottom, we shoveled them under the hog. Mop was always butter, vinegar, and pepper. Always started late in the afternoon and it was usually ready by afternoon the next day. Once we pulled the meat, we would raise up the temp and crisp the skin. The only person I know still doing it that way is Rodney Scott in Hemingway, SC...

love it! Rodney Scott is a whole hog god - i actually am thumbing through his book right now!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

love it! Rodney Scott is a whole hog god - i actually am thumbing through his book right now!

Yes he is. Netflix did a documentary on him a couple of years ago for Chef's Table: BBQ. If you haven't seen it, check it out some time...

 

[SmokinEdge]

it is important to note that i am using a gas powered cooker - same one that is in my avatar - so it stays at a consistent temp, hardly any fluctuation...and it has a closed lid which also helps shave a little time off the cook.

Do you apply smoke? If so how?

 

[Bobby Strange]

Do you apply smoke? If so how?

i use a grizzleit - burns pellets through.

 

[tbern]

i use a grizzleit - burns pellets through.

Do you keep the tube(s?) going the entire time that you are roasting? What wood pellet do you use on the pig?

 

[Marknmd]

I've done 8-10 pigs but only in the 50-80# area. I used to turn them on a spit over a cinderblock fire pit in my younger days, but now use a La Caja China box. The La Caja China box is awesome and cooks really fast, like four hours, but won't work for a 135 lb pig. I've never injected that I can recall. I always put the pig in a strong salt brine. 4 parts salt, 1 part sugar. Stab the meat inside the carcass with a long fork but don't pierce the skin. Let him sit in there in a tub of brine for three days. Then cook it. The whole pig tastes like bacon and gets devoured to the bone. The skin crisps up perfectly and can be eaten almost like a potato chip. Everybody goes crazy for it. I think once somebody ate the eyeballs. Once they even started eating the brain. I was drunk and had a nibble, didn't care for it. A couple times I did it with no brine and no injection (1st time I was young, 2nd time I was in a hurry) and it was very unexciting both times. A brine or injection is a must. Good luck.

 

[Hijack73]

It's been 12-15 years since I've messed with a whole pig but the few I've been a part of were all on gas. Last cooker used had a really neat little welded up grate that was built to hold a split (about the size of my forearm or a little bigger) at a 90 degree angle to one of the burners. Designed to just lay the end of a split about an inch or 2 over the open flame until it caught and (if needed) to keep being pushed towards the burner. Owner had a real good knack for setting it and forgetting it to just smolder away the entire time without having to manipulate the split much. 1 split generally lasted many hours and really imparted a lot of flavor. So much better than straight gas. No injections and mop was about half and half apple juice/cider vinegar with a very generous dose of red pepper flakes and used pretty sparingly compared to how Rodney Scott applies it. He mixed up a gallon and had plenty left over at the end. By the time we got done picking it I was always so full of belly and skin I couldn't walk straight. Drunk on pork!

When I was a wee lad I had an aunt and uncle that went all out once or twice a year and did real 'dig a hole in the ground like the old timers' whole hog. Now you want to talk about good.......