First whole hog a week away.

[smokinbrew]

I am getting excited. This is double excitement, its my first whole hog for my daughters first birthday! I ordered the pig from a local farmer! It will be butchered next Thursday and I pick it up a week from today! It does not get much fresher than that. I asked for hanging weight around 60. Her warned me he is not the best judge, so I may get a bigger pig. Hahah, leftovers.:drool. My new dual probe digital thermometer showed up today! My F-I-L has already started picking up cinder blocks for the pit. He is also picking up most of the charcoal. I was going to start the build of the pit today, but it's 106 here in central NC. Not gonna happen today. I will be making the rub this weekend and the mop sauce and inject sauce on Monday or Tuesday. What am I forgetting? Don't worry, pic will happen.

 

[daveomak]

If you are going to inject the hog, any length of time before cooking, be sure to simmer the injection brine/seasonings at 180 or so to sterilize it before injection... place in sterilized jars to cool in the refer.... sanitize your syringe, and the pig skin where you inject with alcohol..... You do not want to add bacteria into the meat and let it sit for any length of time...  Have some sort of container to hold the hog and plenty of ice to keep it cool while waiting to cook it, and the brine to do its job......  

PS... If you have a spare bathroom, the tub works well to hold the pic and keep it cool..... or a small plastic water trough from the farm store will work also.... Plant flowers in the trough when done.... double duty....   Dave

 

[pigman jim]

Smokin', that sounds like your 1 year old daughter is going to really appreciate what you are doing for her! :) .

Don't forget to throw in a few side dishes in case you have someone who can't eat the pig. Nothing fancy... some slaw and potato salad will get you through. If it is still sweltering for the day of the roast, get some big bowls lined with ice to put the salads in or something similar. Here's an article with ideas for side dishes and here are some tips for how to serve up some sides at a pig roast. You may not have time to do some of the ideas but, hey, it's a pig roast... have fun!

And if it is still 106 degrees or so the day of the pig roast, make sure you buy, borrow, or rent a 10x10 canopy to cover you while you carve the pig. Standing there on a sweltering hot day, carving up a hot pig can lead to heat stroke. No matter how fun the pig roast is, I guarantee that would put a damper on it <heh, heh>.

So have lots of ice on hand, get a few side dishes, and plan for the summer heat and have a blast! Oh, and report back to us!

Jim

 

[boykjo]

Good luck with the hog.......

Joe

 

[smokinbrew]

Thanks Jim, it was great! Thankfully I set up the pit under the shade of a giant hickory! We had people bring sides to share. Lots of cold water and sweet tea, and of course a beer here and there.... There are pics in other threads. Thanks for the support!:sausage:

 

[pigman jim]

Smokin', I'm glad your event was so successful! Sitting under an old Hickory roasting a pig sounds like fun anyway. I got my pig roast event coming up the end of this month. I can't wait!

If it is like most years, I'll try to remember to take a few photos with my greasy camera but most likely will count on others at the feast to send me some shots which I'll be happy to share as well.

I'm hoping for good weather... although anything short of a big soaking rain during the event will be fine! Kinda hard to plan on a rain date when the pig is already started cooking.

Got my fingers crossed for clear skies!

Jim

 

[smokinhusker]

Glad it turned out so well. Sounds like a great time too.