How to do whole quartered hog?

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lennyluminum

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jul 19, 2008
637
19
ST. Petersburg, FL
I have a quartered up 60lb hog that I shot and I want to smoke it all at the same time. I'm thinking pulled pork so van I just put it all in the smoker like I would a butt?

Its the 2 front shoulders and the 2 back hams and the 2 loins.
How should I do it?
 
I think I'm gonna put it all in foil pans and smoke it that way. The shoulders are only a few lbs each and the loins are pretty small.
Can I foil before 165 to make sure the meat falls apart?
 
You can foil at any time really.  I always say to get 4 hours of smoke for butts.  The loins will be done way earlier obviously, but you can probably foil at 150-160 if you want.  The pulling is done by taking the IT to 200-205 so wrap whenever you would like.
 
Thanks for the reply!

I pulled them at a bout 3 1/2 hours and a IT of 155° and foiled them and through them in the oven to finish.

I'm gonna check them after 2 hrs in the oven
 
Just checked em and the front shoulders are at about 205 but the meats not real tender yet. The hams are around 180 I didn't test them for tenderness.

You thing the front shoulders need more time?
 
Just checked em and the front shoulders are at about 205 but the meats not real tender yet. The hams are around 180 I didn't test them for tenderness.

You thing the front shoulders need more time?
You can pull it now and give a 1 hour+ rest, longer the better, in a cooler or let it ride longer if folks were waiting to eat it out of the oven. Both work. The breakdown of connective tissue, Collagen, is more Time dependent than IT dependent. You can Nuke a Butt up to an IT of 210° in under an hour and it will be tough as leather. Or go 24 hours at 195°F and you could just about pour it onto a platter. You will have to mix all the meat together for the best eating. The loins will most likely be lean and dry. The hams may be a little dry if the hog was lean and the butts should be juicy. Pulling and mixing the meat makes it all tasty and juicy. A Finishing Sauce will help as well. Below is my fav...JJ

Tangy Pulled Pork Finishing Sauce

This is more of an Eastern North Carolina style Finishing Sauce...

2 C Apple Cider Vinegar

2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste

1/4C Brown Sugar

1T Smoked Paprika

2 tsp Granulated Garlic

2 tsp Granulated Onion

2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper

1 tsp Celery Salt

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Red Pepper Flake. Add more if you like Heat.

1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice

Combine all and whisk well. This is a thin sauce, bring just to a simmer and remove from heat. Adjust sweetness by adding Brn Sugar or additional Vinegar as desired...Makes about 2 Cups.

For a Lexington Style Dip  add, 1/2C Ketchup and 1-3tsp Red Pepper Flakes...JJ
 
Last edited:
Just checked em and the front shoulders are at about 205 but the meats not real tender yet. The hams are around 180 I didn't test them for tenderness.

You thing the front shoulders need more time?
You can pull it now and give a 1 hour+ rest, longer the better, in a cooler or let it ride longer if folks were waiting to eat it out of the oven. Both work. The breakdown of connective tissue, Collagen, is more Time dependent than IT dependent. You can Nuke a Butt up to an IT of 210° in under an hour and it will be tough as leather. Or go 24 hours at 195°F and you could just about pour it onto a platter. You will have to mix all the meat together for the best eating. The loins will most likely be lean and dry. The hams may be a little dry if the hog was lean and the butts should be juicy. Pulling and mixing the meat makes it all tasty and juicy. A Finishing Sauce will help as well. Below is my fav...JJ



Tangy Pulled Pork Finishing Sauce



This is more of an Eastern North Carolina style Finishing Sauce...



2 C Apple Cider Vinegar


2T Worcestershire Sauce or more to taste


1/4C Brown Sugar


1T Smoked Paprika


2 tsp Granulated Garlic


2 tsp Granulated Onion


2 tsp Fine Grind Black Pepper


1 tsp Celery Salt


1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Red Pepper Flake. Add more if you like Heat.


1/2 tsp Grnd Allspice



Combine all and whisk well. This is a thin sauce, bring just to a simmer and remove from heat. Adjust sweetness by adding Brn Sugar or additional Vinegar as desired...Makes about 2 Cups.



For a Lexington Style Dip  add, 1/2C Ketchup and 1-3tsp Red Pepper Flakes...JJ

Thanks for the reply and the recipe!

I went ahead and let em go for another hour and a half and it all turned it great. I pulled it all and miked it all together in the same pan I cooked it all in. That way I saved all the juices and mixed it all into the meat.
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Looks like it all came out great...JJ
 
Ya for what it was I think it turned out pretty good. I usually smoke my butts without foil the whole time. But with these little guys I knew they would cook faster and might not be as tender. So that's why I opted to do them in a foil pan and wrap them in foil. I also wanted to catch all the juices to add to the finished meat.
 
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