Pig in the Ground

A Brethen Sister known as Cowgirl has that mastered.
Drop her a PM. :thumb:

Here's her detailed thread with pics... http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73481

Got no useful information on your questions. Just make sure you take pictures of the entire process. Always wanted to try a whole hog. Maybe this is the year.

Did one several years ago in California. Dug pit with back hoe about 6 feet deep, 4-5 ft wide. Loaded with orange tree stumps etc and burnt the wood until nice bed of coals. forgot how long 2-3 hours, Had pig i n a metal gurney for bodies and wrapped in burlap. Placed pig in and covered and let cook about 18 hours. Major problem the soil had some moisture and it killed the fire after the pig was covered. We did not know about the moister until chow time. Fortunately there were other BBQ pits around and the pig did get cooked in smaller pieces and later than planned. Good thing we had lots of kegs. About 100 people.

cinmur said:

Planning on doing a pig bbq in the ground for my 1st time. Is there a problem of it becoming overcooked? Was going to put it in the ground around midnight, but would not eat till around 4-5 the next day, thus it would be in there for around 16 hrs. We could put it in early in the morning, but I do not want to babysit fire all night waiting for coals. Also what do most put inside the pig? Thanks

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You should be fine. Not sure what size of pig you are cooking but if you have the pit sealed so no air can get in, the hot coals will slowly die out and cook the pig low and slow all night.
Thus the need for a DEEP bed of hot coals to begin with. (use hardwood so the coals will burn longer too)
By the time you're ready for the pig, the coals should be fairly dead.
If air gets into the pit, your drippings will catch on fire.
Bury the pig then watch for smoke escaping, throw more dirt on if needed.

You can stuff a pig with anything, I like onions, apples, jalapenos, garlic, and seasonings. If you lay the pig in the pit on it's back, the skin holds in the juices.
Sometimes the pigs I've cooked are TOO big to lay that way, so they get placed on their side.

Good luck with it!

BBQ Bandit said:

A Brethen Sister known as Cowgirl has that mastered.
Drop her a PM. :thumb:

Here's her detailed thread with pics... http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73481

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Not mastered but I've cooked more than I can count. The more of them you do the easier it gets. You know what to watch out for and what to expect.

Thanks Bandit....

We did one a few years back, after digging the hole with a backhoe, we burned a major fire for 12 hours which left lots of coals, then added a pickup load of volcanic rock, and the pig wrapped in chicken wire and wet burlap bags MAJOR mistake, LOL!!
Add the rock BEFORE starting the fire.
The pig come out half raw, good thing we had a few gas grills near-by and lots of alcohol to keep the crowd under control.

Good luck and please share you pics!!!

I can just imagine asking the wife to allow that addition to all my pits - Backhoe

back-Ho

but then just think of the counter argurment when you want a new smoker.. "but babe, you said no to the $75,000 backhoe. a Jambo, in comparison is pennies on the dollar...".

neuyawk said:

I can just imagine asking the wife to allow that addition to all my pits - Backhoe

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lol If you've ever dug a pig pit by hand, you'll understand why I opted for the use of a backhoe! I'll never go back. :mrgreen:

This method needs room for a foot-deep bed of hot coals, the pig and another foot or so of space above the pig. So you figure at least 4'.

Many people don't realize that the closer you get to the pit with the pig, the smaller the pit really IS. lol

Same thing happens with my horizontal wood burner. I end up hacking off legs and the head to make it fit! :doh:

No backhoe, but does a $65,000 tractor count?

Trust cowgirl on this one.