Happiness is....

....piggies on the pit...

Neighbor got me a couple 70lb pigs...idling along at 225 degrees....smoked pig greatness in 20-30 hours....

Might have to head back down there in a couple of days. Looking good

Hell yeah. I'm always happy when I have meat on the smoker.

Looks amazing. Sure beats being in the field, right now!

give us the payoff picture!

Will do...they won't come off the pit until this afternoon or later...

Do you roll it or sauce it at any point? I've always wanted to cook a whole hog. Can't wait to see the final product.

Just fold them up and stuff em in....no seasoning, rub, or sauce....just slow cooking in their own juices...

Making progress...

What did you use to smoke/cook that pig.....Coal?

Mesquite...

Looking good!!


Do you singe them before putting on the pit?

So just gut them and leave the hide on?

Was the hair burned off or removed somehow?

Yes...use pear burner to remove hair. Rinse well. Cut the head off and gut it. Put it on the pit.

Yup....run the fire across it and then wipe charred hair off with an old leather glove. Takes 4-8 passes to get all the hair off and down to the skin. Have to be careful and not blister the skin by leaving the fire in one spot too long. Took me maybe 15 minutes total for each pig to burn off the hair, rinse, gut, and rinse....then on the pit.
A whole lot easier than skinning or scraping....the skin acts like a pot to cook them in.

Dang that looks great Jes!!!

Is it done yet?

I bet he is doing work right now Mo. That is going to be some damn fine eating right there.

yer killin me.

Just broke them open....wish y’all could smell and taste this....





SpitFire couldn’t wait...

Use insulated gloves to remove the meat...


One ham and half a backstrap...


Slow cooked in their own juices....


One done and one to go....

The meat falls off the bones...


You can see how the hide makes a pot so they cook in their own juices....


Number two broke open....

Good eating right there!

Wow that looks great. Thanks for the awesome pics, step by step.

Oh heck yes

A more detailed description from an previous post.....

I cook (smoke) mine in a pit (smoker) with the skin on. First I hang them head down and cut the throat the bleed them out. Then I take a hand held propane torch and old glove to burn all the hair off...wave the torch over the hair then rub with the glove. You have to repeat several times to work your way down to the skin. Be sure to keep the torch moving as to not scorch the skin. This removes all the hair, dirt and external parasites. Then I cut the head off, gut it (if not previously done) and rinse thoroughly with water.

Then I stuff the pig in the pit on its back. Light a fire and get it rolling good then cut all the air off to the fire box and close off the exhaust damper so it "cooks" low and slow. I try to keep the temp about 150-250 and smoke it for 24-36 hrs. I check (add) wood about every 6 hours otherwise keep everything closed up tight. The skin will turn hard and black almost like a cast iron skillet. The fat layer on the pigs back insulates the meat and the oils and fluids from the meat are contained inside the skin which keeps the meat moist. Use you finger to poke the skin to determine when its done. If it is hard and firm when you push with your finger keep smoking. When your finger pushes in 1/2" and it "feels" soft inside then its ready.

Open up the pit and start pulling the pig apart. I use aluminum turkey pans for the meat. You will need thick insulated rubber gloves to remove the meat. I separate the meat from skin, bones, fat and gristle. Then I take the meat into the house for further cleaning and storage prep. I take large sheets of aluminum foil an place a double handful of meat at one end and the roll into a log about 2" thick and 8-10" long. I freeze these for future use. The meat tastes like brisket and is wonderful on a tortilla with a little red pepper jelly!

That looks outstanding Sir!!!

Yup!

Looks good!

Wow!

Looks amazing Sir, thanks for the step by step breakdown

It's so easy it should be a crime.....torch the hair....field dress it....put it on the pit...24-30 hours later...

I put it on the pit about 3pm Friday....refilled the fire box about 11pm...again Saturday morning around 6am...about 2 pm...and at 11pm...hit it once more at 4am Sunday morning then pulled it off about 10 am Sunday.

Just about 15-20 minutes to burn off the hair, field dress, and rinse them then filling the firebox every few hours...lazy mans way to easy cooking....

The fire would hit about 300 degrees just after loading the fire box then settle in to 225 for a few hours then slowly cool off to about 180-200 degrees then reload and to it again...

Because the meat is protected by the hide and fat layer you have a lot of latitude in cooking time....really hard to over-cook one...

These after 30 hours had the bones pulling out clean....just remove the bones, gristle, and fat...fully cooked meat ready to eat....

That looks ridiculously good.

Looks great Jess

Going to have to try that sometime