Greetings Brethren! I'm fielding suggestions, well wishes, good karma and free advice for smoking my first (half) hog this Friday. Dressed weight expected to be around 190-200 making my half about 100 LBS. I'm having the butcher split the half into quarters (2 pieces) so I can manhandle them, but I don't want to move the meat after it's on the smoker unless it's absolutely necessary. So here's the big question: Skin side up or down? I'm sure there are two equally divided camps on this, as with most things Q-related, so I'm looking for some input as to why one way would be preferred to the other.
The cooker is a trailer mounted beast with an offset FB and could probably fit 2.5 whole hogs of this size, so no worries there. Planning to start early AM with a target time of 6:00 PM for the finished product, including an hour rest (for the pork!). Best guess is 12-14 hours at approx. 250* with BIG cooler ready if needed to hold.
Thanks in advance for any helpful posts or letting me know if I'm way off on my timing! Will post pix along the way as practical.
The cooker is a trailer mounted beast with an offset FB and could probably fit 2.5 whole hogs of this size, so no worries there. Planning to start early AM with a target time of 6:00 PM for the finished product, including an hour rest (for the pork!). Best guess is 12-14 hours at approx. 250* with BIG cooler ready if needed to hold.
Thanks in advance for any helpful posts or letting me know if I'm way off on my timing! Will post pix along the way as practical.