Whole wild hog smoke W/Q-view

[patcap]

I recently killed a small wild hog and I am going to cook him whole this 4th of July weekend.  Dressed and cleaned he weighed in at 19 pounds.  I'm going to crack the ribs and flatten him out to cook and put some vidalia onions and mushrooms in the flattened cavity.  My plan it to cook him to 165 degrees and then wrap him with some type of sweet liquid and braise for about an hour or two afterward.  I also plan to spritz every hour after the first two hours up to 165 degrees.  My concerns are drying out the meat.  As young as this hog was I'm not concerned about tenderness, but he is very lean, so i don't want to make the same mistake I made with a roast recently and dry him out.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[abigail4476]

*bump* for Patcap

 

[patcap]

Okay.....please forgive my ignorance....bump??????

 

[mrsb]

Shes giving your thread a "bump" to put it back towards the top of new posts.  So hopefully someone will see it that can help you out

 

[smoke 2 geaux]

Pat,

I think you are on the right track.  I smoke wild hog shoulders and I usually inject and wrap.  I don't see why the same wouldn't hold true for a small whole pig.  I also suggest you add a little apple cider vinegar to your spritz.  That vinegar ping is a nice flavor  with the wild pork. 

 

[pineywoods]

You could inject it or even marinade it. You could also buy the cheapest fattiest bacon you can find and lay that over the top of the pig. Personally I split them down the spine and smoke the two halves that way they are easier to handle and lay flat on the grates. A word of caution watch when you go to take the foiled pig out of the smoker I dropped a half a pig once doing it

 

[patcap]

Ahhh.. I see. Thank you for that little bit of help Abigail!!  Much appreciated!!

 

[patcap]

I do plan to inject with just some off the shelf injection marinade.  Thanks for the info....

 

[smoke_chef]

I use straight apple juice on my whole hogs. I use Jeff's rub and it has a little kick to it so I find the sweetness of the apple juice is a perfect combo. Like Sunny and Cher. Bonny and Clyde. Bo and Luke Duke. You get the idea. I think they work well together. I also like Pinny's thought on the cheap bacon. Maybe do both? Either way... be sure to take some pics. I would love to see q-view of that smoke!!

 

[smoke farmer]

Here is how I did some wild hog and antelope recently:

Cooked half a Black Buck Antelope and half a Wild Hog on my big side box smoker rubbed them both down with a rub and smoked at 325 for 2 hours and then cut them up put in aluminum pans with some BBQ sauce and apple juice covered with foil and keep them in the smoker for 4 more hours between 250 and 300 then put them in a cooler for 2 hours and pulled them just before dinner was served.

 

[patcap]

Okay I've started the process.

Here's the little guy defrosted:

The injection marinade with a little local honey added

The hog injected and rubbed with Jeff's rib rub

---

He's getting happy in the fridge right now and will be smoked with a combination of apple and pecan wood very early tomorrow morning!!  Gonna be goooooood!!!

 

[lownslow]

this is looking really good.  Now I want to find some wild hogs, think I will post some question to that effect.  I bet your hog will be great.

 

[Bearcarver]

C'mon Pat,

Quit teasing us & "Git er Doooone"

Bearcarver

 

[patcap]

this is looking really good.  Now I want to find some wild hogs, think I will post some question to that effect.  I bet your hog will be great.

I find them out in the piney woods with my Ruger .308 rifle!!!

 

[bayouchilehead]

Get that little Piggy on the smoker will ya!! I've heard there's a lot of good wild hogs over on the western side.

 

[pops6927]

Just make sure the hams and shoulders are at 165° at the thickest parts to kill any parasites and larvae; wild hogs are subject to the garbage they eat.

 

[Bearcarver]

I find them out in the piney woods with my Ruger .308 rifle!!!

.308 ??

Ahhh, my rifle too, except mine is an old Winchester #88.

Figured if it was good enough for the Army M14, it's good enough for me.

Bear

 

[patcap]

Just make sure the hams and shoulders are at 165° at the thickest parts to kill any parasites and larvae; wild hogs are subject to the garbage they eat.

thanks for the advice Pops!!  I always bring it up to 167 just to be sure...and from the looks of this guy's stomach contents he wasn't eating anything but my corn!! 

 

[patcap]

.308 ??

Ahhh, my rifle too, except mine is an old Winchester #88.

Figured if it was good enough for the Army M14, it's good enough for me.

Bear

darn hard to beat that round!!!  LOL

 

[patcap]

Well, I just put the pig on at 0645 and looking forward to a day of tending it.  This is a first for me so I'm praying that it turns out great!!  Thanks to everyone's advice and I'll post some more photos as I go!!