To be honest this pig was probably one of the easiest things I've smoked. I spent more time and effort trying to locate a place to buy the pig than actually cooking the pig itself.
I didn't do much to prep the pig really. I cut the skin back as much as I could and applied some rub between the meat and skin and also applied some rub to the cavity. Next time I won't bother with any rub at all. You really couldn't taste it or notice it. It was all about the pig pickin' sauce really. People loved it. "I put that %*&# on everything!" I think I could hear someone say. Maybe on its back it would be different, I dunno.
The rest was like a whacked out mob hit. I broke the rib cage at the spine, seperated the shoulders, dislocated the hips, and sliced it's achilles tendons so the feet wouldn't curl up. I read that somewhere and it seemed to make sense. I ended up tucking everything in anyways so I don't think it mattered much. Next time I will just clean the insides and toss it right on the smoker. It cooks itself bascially.
I put the pig head first towards the fire because someone else said that end needed more heat. In the end the hams are what needed more time. I let them come up to 176* I think it was and gave up. We were ready to eat. All but the very inner parts of the hams pulled. The tender loins came out quite tasty. The entire 16 hours I tried to keep things as close to 250* as possible.
I just cut the skin from behind the head to the tail and then cut across both ends so it would open as two flaps. I never realized how tough the skin was gonna be. None of it was really that edible. Maybe I can fix that next time.
Believe it or not, I enjoyed the meat from the pulled pork more than the pig itself. There's no bark on the pig! Don't tell my guests though, they all went nuts over this. Next time it's $0.99/lb butts. I decided to cook a pig since Ben said you could cook one in there. I still have to send him an email with pics and a story. I'm sure it will be on his site eventually.
Smoker: $1,900
Pig: $100
Epic Party: Awesome
I'll do it again. I'm just not sure when.