So I have this hog that I butchered and scraped for a friend's surprise birthday party. Per his wife's request (in an attempt to placate city folk who will be attending) the feet and head have been removed. She intends to cook the pig on a rented propane grill with a motorized spit attachment. I've done a few hours of research and I've read that the exterior and interior should be rubbed down with salt, spices, and oil. The cavity should be filled with herbs, vegetables, fruits, whatnot, and then sewn shut with butchers twine or wire. The legs should be fastened to the spit. The carcass should be at a distance from the fire where one can at most hold their hand for 8 or 9 seconds. The skin should be scored in a gridiron manner of sorts. The heat should not be directly underneath the hog, but just off to the side so as to decrease or eliminate the possibility of flareups caused by dripping fat. The meat should be regularly dipped with some kind of a marinade or fat. The internal cook temperature of the thickest portion of the hog (for this specimen would be the rump) should be cooked until it is 150 degrees Fahrenheit. To remove the meat from the hog, the spit should be removed by two people with the pig still attached. Then it should be set somewhere safe where the skin can be removed, and then the meat. The latter is accomplished just by sloughing it off the bones perhaps with a serving fork.
I am curious to know if any experienced grillers can tell me if anything of the above ought to improved upon or just scrapped completely. Also, is there a formula to determine roughly how long this process can be expected to last? I haven't weighed the carcass, but I have the means. It is on ice, and I intend to allow it to warm to room temperature (eg, 70 degrees) before actually starting the heating process. Can I use lard instead of oil? I think it is a better fat to cook with, but also a healthier alternative to the new tradition of olive oil. How often should the hog be sprayed with a fat/oil, or be doused with it? My guess would be every 15 minutes.
The party isn't until Saturday, so I have a day to read responses, etc.
I'm sorry if this topic is already addressed on the forum. I spent a long time searching but could not find anything that close enough mirrored my situation to be of any reliable help.
I am curious to know if any experienced grillers can tell me if anything of the above ought to improved upon or just scrapped completely. Also, is there a formula to determine roughly how long this process can be expected to last? I haven't weighed the carcass, but I have the means. It is on ice, and I intend to allow it to warm to room temperature (eg, 70 degrees) before actually starting the heating process. Can I use lard instead of oil? I think it is a better fat to cook with, but also a healthier alternative to the new tradition of olive oil. How often should the hog be sprayed with a fat/oil, or be doused with it? My guess would be every 15 minutes.
The party isn't until Saturday, so I have a day to read responses, etc.
I'm sorry if this topic is already addressed on the forum. I spent a long time searching but could not find anything that close enough mirrored my situation to be of any reliable help.