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Whole Hog-need advice

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markdtn

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My oldest son is about to earn his Eagle Scout rank. For the award banquet (a Saturday evening in November) he has asked me to cook a whole hog. There will probably be 50-75 people for dinner. I have never done this, but always wanted to. There will be lots of relatives and family friends in town that day.

As I see it, there are 3 common methods to cook a whole hog.
1) On a spit. I would like to do this, but I want to be able to spend time with guests that day.
2) In a box or smoker. I have a 20x50 Backyard Chef, so I could do a small-medium hog. Again, it will require time on Saturday tending it.
3) In the ground. To me this is the most appealing for this occasion. I can leave work early on Friday, do the prep, and get it cooking and I will have time on Saturday to visit until close to time.

Does anyone have any advice or thoughts on this plan?
 
outwest said:
Congrats on the eagle scout. I would use a block pit.
Click to expand...


Thank you. I am the Scoutmaster so I am very proud of him.

How much tending is required with a block pit? I normally don't mind tending the fire, but this time is a little different. I look at Cowgirls blog on cooking a pig in the ground and it doesn't look too hard. I was just wanting to do most of the work the night before before family came so I could spend more time Saturday with the ones that came from far away.
 
Block pit is super easy!

Plus you can break it down and use it again and again!!
 
A big congrats to your son, that is quite the accomplishment.
I'd go block pit as well.
 
I've cooked a few pigs in my 20x50 BYC ranging from just under 60# to probably a little under 70# & wouldn't want to go much bigger than 70 due to the size of the pit. That'll feed around 70 folks but yeah, you'll be working a little feeding the fire and spinning the pig a few times. I did 'em racer style and they all turned out really well. They all took in the neighborhood of 10 hours to cook and I let 'em rest about an hour.

All methods mentioned are well known to yield great results, but what I personally like about cooking in the BYC is being able to easily see and monitor how the cook is going.
 
I've done a few pigs. If it's your first time do two 30lb suckings which would only take like 3hrs or so. I've seen places rent motorized spits and you just need to keep charcoal on the 4 corners
 
markdtn said:
Thank you. I am the Scoutmaster so I am very proud of him.

How much tending is required with a block pit? I normally don't mind tending the fire, but this time is a little different. I look at Cowgirls blog on cooking a pig in the ground and it doesn't look too hard. I was just wanting to do most of the work the night before before family came so I could spend more time Saturday with the ones that came from far away.
Click to expand...

The block pit needs to be tended every 30 to 45 minutes. Add coals at each end under the hams and shoulders. You want to keep the heat fairly low and steady throughout the cook. I like 225 to 250F.
block pit... http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2013/06/prepping-and-cooking-pig-on-cinderblock.html

Getting the underground pit ready takes several hours. Burning the wood to get a good bed of hot coals takes awhile. 4 to 5 hours or so. You must use hardwoods so the coals will last through the night.
Getting the coals ready is a party in itself. :-D
I like to get the pig in the ground around 10 pm then check it before noon. If anything is wrong I have time to add more heat before party time.
Underground pit.. http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2009/12/cooking-whole-hog-underground.html

Underground pits are great but you have to have that deep bed of hot hardwood coals and cover the pit air tight. Any air entering the pit will cause flair ups.

Good luck with what ever you do!
 
I've cooked about 50 hogs over the past 20 years.... all on a spit. I started with rental spits, and then just went ahead and made one with a friend of mine. Making a cooker might actually be a good scout project if you can find an old 500 -550 gallon oil drum somewhere. You can cut the drum with a sawzall to form the lid and base. Unless you know how to weld you can then buy the spit (actually I use a stainless steel cage to hold the hog securely so it doesn't spin as it cooks down), and motor on-line. Its a fun time and the pigs turn out great. Someone does have to keep an eye on the cooker, but it is not a lot of work. Just adding some coals every 45-60 minutes to keep the temp steady.

Congrats to both you and the new Eagle Scout, Dad.
 
cowgirl said:
The block pit needs to be tended every 30 to 45 minutes. Add coals at each end under the hams and shoulders. You want to keep the heat fairly low and steady throughout the cook. I like 225 to 250F.
block pit... http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2013/06/prepping-and-cooking-pig-on-cinderblock.html

Getting the underground pit ready takes several hours. Burning the wood to get a good bed of hot coals takes awhile. 4 to 5 hours or so. You must use hardwoods so the coals will last through the night.
Getting the coals ready is a party in itself. :-D
I like to get the pig in the ground around 10 pm then check it before noon. If anything is wrong I have time to add more heat before party time.
Underground pit.. http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2009/12/cooking-whole-hog-underground.html

Underground pits are great but you have to have that deep bed of hot hardwood coals and cover the pit air tight. Any air entering the pit will cause flair ups.

Good luck with what ever you do!
Click to expand...

Thank you. This is the direction I am leaning on this particular cook. I can dig the pit during the week, then get off work at noon on Friday and prep the pig, start the fire about 5:00 and put it on at 10:00. All that sounds do-able.

I want to try the other methods, but just not this time. Normally the tending fire is the part I enjoy, but this time I just want to be able to be as flexible as possible on Saturday to visit with family. They won't be there on Friday, so I maximize my time this way.

Just so I understand the big picture:
-dig a pit about 3' deep and 1' bigger than the pig
-line the bottom with firebrick or rocks
-create a bed of hardwood coals approaching 1' deep
-place a metal grate just above the coals. I have a few pieces of floor grate I was planning to use for that.
-wrap prepped pig in foil, then burlap, then chicken wire
-wet down the burlap and place pig on grate
-immediately cover hole with a metal plate that completely cuts off air to hole. (no galvanized) So if you use roofing it can't have any nail holes? Can you use aluminum siding for this? Could you use untreated plywood? This seems like the hardest part for me to find. I don't have anything for this part.
-cook 12-14 hours (~100 lb pig)
 
markdtn said:
Thank you. This is the direction I am leaning on this particular cook. I can dig the pit during the week, then get off work at noon on Friday and prep the pig, start the fire about 5:00 and put it on at 10:00. All that sounds do-able.

I want to try the other methods, but just not this time. Normally the tending fire is the part I enjoy, but this time I just want to be able to be as flexible as possible on Saturday to visit with family. They won't be there on Friday, so I maximize my time this way.

Just so I understand the big picture:
-dig a pit about 3' deep and 1' bigger than the pig
-line the bottom with firebrick or rocks
-create a bed of hardwood coals approaching 1' deep
-place a metal grate just above the coals. I have a few pieces of floor grate I was planning to use for that.
-wrap prepped pig in foil, then burlap, then chicken wire
-wet down the burlap and place pig on grate
-immediately cover hole with a metal plate that completely cuts off air to hole. (no galvanized) So if you use roofing it can't have any nail holes? Can you use aluminum siding for this? Could you use untreated plywood? This seems like the hardest part for me to find. I don't have anything for this part.
-cook 12-14 hours (~100 lb pig)
Click to expand...

The pit needs to be big enough for the bed of hot coals, the pig and at least 6 inches of space above and on the sides of the pig.
I've not used rocks or bricks in my pits but they would help hold the heat in longer.
Holes in roofing are fine if you can cover them so the dirt doesn't fall into the pit. They might be small enough holes that it wouldn't matter.
Siding works if it's not painted or treated.
I've not used plywood, the pit gets pretty hot, not sure if I would trust it.
I have placed 2x4s across pits and covered with tin to reinforce it.... Works pretty well.

After digging the pig up the next day, it still needs a rest time just like any meat.
Another thing.... place the pig on it's back of possible. The skin will hold in the juices as it cooks. An underground pig's skin isn't crisp like a roasted one but it helps protect the meat and keeps every thing moist.

I'm leaving for a campout either today or tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know in case I disappear from the forum. I won't have computer access for a week or so.

Good luck with the pig, I hope all goes well for you!! :-D





Hope you have great luck with it!
 
OK, Thank you. The cook is not until late November so I have almost 2 months to prepare. I wanted to start finding what I need now so it won't all pile up at the end. I will just have to find some ungalvanized siding somehow.
 
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