BBQ piglet on a char-griller????

[chargrilled]

I farmer friend of mine has been asking for a couple of days now if I wanted a piglet to Q. I keep puttin him off as I believe that is a bit over my head not to mention Im not sure if its possible.

That got me thinkin. He's talkin about a 60# piglet, dressed it would loose about a third of the weight. Not sure if I could smoke that thing on a char-griller SP?????? It would be dressed w/o head and skin.

Another thing to consider is he could dress it with skin scald and shaved. I told him for a better smoke we should skin it but now the question is how do we hold the thing together. I was thinking chix wire but I believe that stuff is galvanized and would need to be burned off. He foils his pigs before putting the chix wire on but Im more interested in meat to smoke contact.

I will also search whole hog on the forum and do some research. Just pondering I guess and thought I would submit a quick thread. Thanks for readin and good Q to all.

 

[geek with fire]

I hear what you're saying about wanting smoke penetration, but I'm tellin' ya, the best pig I ever had was wrapped in a wet burlap sack and hung by chicken wire over a fire. The meat just renders down to nothing and the skin steams the meat. I say, why mess with a great thing.

I know Cowgirl has had her hands full lately, but if she stops by, I'll be she has an answer for you.

 

[waysideranch]

Hey Chargrilled,

We once cooked a young goat and the meat was to mushy for my liking. No experience w/ pig but sounds to young to me. I'm sure the pros will be along for the answer.. You mentioned on another post you did goose. We have done that and it was delicious. Good luck w/ piglet. Please post a view if ya get a chance.

 

[chargrilled]

Josh,

Thanks for the info, it's makin some sense now as all hog roasts that I have been to have had the pig with skin on and some sort of securing of the meat. Probably for that purpose of "seaming". I also thought the best pork I have ever had was from a hog roast. I was just thinkin in terms of smoke but maybe can't do both, skin and smoke.

 

[chargrilled]

If,..and I mean a big IF, this goes down I would have plenty of pics from start to finish. The "boss" is not even aware of my scheme yet and this would have to pass through the "front office" before a drag a piglet to the back deck!! The only approval I have gotten so far is from my 2 labradors. They are the kind that give that pre-approval.

As far as being too young good point, never thought of that. I was thinking in terms of weight vs. fitting on that pit of mine. The farmer brings his hogs in to process at 300#.

 

[lcruzen]

Chargrilled,

Roasted a few pigs in my days so I can help some. Done both skin on and skin off. I prefer skin off. Skin on causes an incredible amount of fat dripping and may cause flare ups but will for sure drip a lot of fat. I've had them skinned and left a thin layer of fat on and it worked very well. Good smoke taste, juicy and tender.

Now, the smallest I've ever done was a 100#er and there was no issue with mushy meat. Everyone loved it.

My thinking is if it will fit on your chargriller it should work fine. I'd put the last part out of the barn(A$$)nearest the firebox as that is usually the hottest spot on the smoker. I'd put it belly down spread eagle and low and slow. Really not much different than doing a few butts. Some might recommend starting it on its back first and that might be the way to go but this is how I've done them.

If you do it keep us posted and lots of Q-view.

 

[bostonbbq]

I know this may not help you but Andrew Zimmer who has a show on the Travel Channel called "Bizarre Foods" recently went to Spain where a store specialized in baby pigs. They were cooked via a wood fire.

So the answer to, "can a baby pig be cooked and taste ok?" is a definite yes. Pulling off the feat is another story, good luck. :)

 

[paulmarx]

I hunt feral pig and have cooked every size they come in.I've also been to that place in Spain .They cook 5- 8 lb. suckling pig and it is awesome.The little ones don't have a whole lot of fat and are rubbed we lard and salt and cooked slowly in a wood fired rock oven.Go to 3MEN.com that site will walk you thru it.Done properly you will be glad you cooked the skin.Can you so cracklin ?

 

[packplantpath]

Skin on for sure. Crisp it up at the end and chop it to bits with a cleaver and mix a bit in with pulled pork. DELICIOUS!!!!!!

As for piglets, I've had some that I though were pretty good, and some that were not so good. I think the problem is fat. Young pigs are kinda lean, and the flavor is just not there sometimes.

Going back 60 years, here in NC, the pigs cooked whole hog were mostly in the 100 to 120 lb range, and were often not cooked slow. Those suckers were burned up around 325 to 350 ish with pecan wood. But, they were fatty European heritage breeds. Completely different animal compared to this pork we have now.

I say just split it up the belly and lay it out. You may have to cut the hooves off. If necessary, cut the legs off at the thighs and keep them for later. Or, maybe once cut off they won't be in the way of the door and you can just lay them on the grill.

 

[waysideranch]

Char,

You better let the "boss" know up front. She may be like mine, an animal lover. They love all the meat as long as its not something from a cartoon or a book. I think we have a book here about some little "Piglet". Proceed w/ caution.

 

[chargrilled]

She will have NOTHING to do with this Q, if it ever happens. But when it's done and doesnt look like Ms. Piggy anymore,.....look out!!!!!

Going to talk to the farmer in about 20min. before we leave work. I will keep you all updated.

 

[tmw611]

I dont know about how to do it on the smoker but low and slow just like a multi butt cook should work. I do know that the size shouldn't pose a problem with taste. I have a vacation home in the Philippines and this is the size they do regularly for what they call lechen. They gut, shave, stuff with herbs, and then cook it on a spit over open coals. A little unrefined for most but boy it sure tasted good.

Pre-cooked and the hound below is about 50# for scale.






Almost finished

 

[cinnamonkc]

BBQ Bands!
I get them at Williams-Sonoma. They're basically like big rubber bands. All different sizes. They're designed for oven and BBQ and can go up to 500 degrees. They're much better then butchers twine I feel and they're washable and reusable!
I love mine!!

 

[white cloud]

A whole hog/piglet really should be cooked a a pretty high temp, unless you have a way to cure it, maybe a new garbage pail. I don't know how hot your smoker will get. I have done two at about 110 pounds each.

 

[chargrilled]

Im in, i talked to the farmer and its going to happen next weekend. Actually thinking about contacting Char-griller. Maybe after the Q view. I get the pig for cost as I have to go and slaughter and clean myself. It is going to go skin off, and if the rotiss can handle it maybe that move. We are going to go camping next weekend and want to create a party out of it. As stated before she "the boss" has no idea. But the piglets are getting over the 60# mark quick!! So this will be dinner for........... a while cept all the other campers. I have a trailer which will carry the pit and other things. I will give it all up on photos when I get the dam camera back!!!!

Thanks for the insight, and to my knowledge no "whole hog" has been done on the char-griller SP so this is kinda neat!

The heat will go to around 325, I am thinking rotiss and maybe hav to remove the SFB or just leave it off because Char-grill did not leave enough space for the counter weight to work to cap.

 

[island boy]

It sounds like that piglet would be good eating…the name usually used for a pig of that size is “Suckling Pig†try Googleing SUCKLING PIG maybe; adding the term smoking or roasting. I found the info. On line recently (may or may not have been Google but I remember searching on line and finding it. A Suckling Pig is definitely on my ‘To Doâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] list).

You can cook it a number of ways:

• The traditional Roast Suckling Pig way is with the skin on the hind legs tucked to the sides & bent at the knee, the front legs slightly in front laying beside the head (picture a cat crouching or resting on its stomach) with a block of wood in the mouth (They are usually dressed with the head on. After cooking the wood is replaced with an orange or an apple)

• Dressing down to two half carcasses i.e. splitting it down the belly & the back thus leaving you with two sides which can be seasoned to your liking & cooking method.
• splitting down the belly and opening up the entire body ( similar to butterflying a chicken or fish)

Which ever way you choose you definitely want to start with the skin down. (Most cooking techniques recommend that)

I know I have some info in my cook books, so if you cant find it; PM me & Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll look it up for you.

Good luck with your research & keep up the good Qâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ing