Pig Roast First-timer

[William H Bonney]

Well, we're roasting a pig tomorrow and I basically don't have a CLUE..:lol:

Here's what I know,, my dad rented a "roaster/spit" and has about a 80 to 100lb. hog and 10 bags of charcoal. I guess there's specific directions to getting this thing balanced on the que,, but other than that, is there anything else we need to know?? Do you baste it with anything?? How do you carve it?? Thanks in advance.

[wapiti777]

Well, we're roasting a pig tomorrow and I basically don't have a CLUE..:lol:

Here's what I know,, my dad rented a "roaster/spit" and has about a 80 to 100lb. hog and 10 bags of charcoal. I guess there's specific directions to getting this thing balanced on the que,, but other than that, is there anything else we need to know?? Do you baste it with anything?? How do you carve it?? Thanks in advance.

Here are some starters:
http://www.askthemeatman.com/roasting_a_whole_hog_in_3_steps.htm

Times, servings, pointers above, should give you a start

Didn't read the whole thread above, but a couple other pointers I noticed from the couple pig roasts we had:
You can inject the pig with marinade,
Keep the lid shut, don't let the in-laws open it up every 15 minutes for a peek.


Butchering: when we got together a few years ago and roasted a whole hog, (a crew came and did the cooking from some butcher shop) they cut off all the meat from the pig had it all on a huge cutting board, and just basically mixed all parts of the meat together, after slicing it off and cutting it into managable pieces.
The few vegans, Peta - animal lover types all couldn't wait to get to the serving table to eat the beast...it was awesome.

[Spanky]

If you know your way around a pig( and I do cuz I live with 3 of them) some parts never make it to the guests.:D, other than the bacon, ribs and tenderlions, the rest is best all mixed together and chopped up for sandwiches.

If you are using regular charcoal, and ya think that it will take ya 10 bags of junk charcoal, then you will have to shovel out 3-4 gallons of ash halfway through the cook. We always use lump charcoal, and never have an ash problem, and usually can get throught the 8-10 hr cook with 2 - 20lb bags of lump.
The large parts of the hog can( and should) be injected with a baste. Hams, and shoulders for sure. I buy my hogs already skinned, and the feet cut off. I don't need to pay for that weight. Slather the beast with lard, margarine or olive oil, add a decent rub, inject the hams and shoulders, and roast continuous until all the meat reaches 170 minimum, but 180 is better. Leave the cooker closed as much as possible. Avoid peeking and gawking, it will only add time to the cook. When its doner, have some good friend rady to help. The ones who want to pick and eat while you are carving will only get in the way. Thick rubber gloves are a must, along with a very sharp knife. Have 2-3 nice big pans ready to accept the meat. After the pans are full of pork, spritz with aple juice just before you send it to the guests. A small sprinkle of the rub isn't a bad idea either!


Hope this helps. I do a few hogs, but try to do parts instead for the events I do. Hogs are fun and the folks like the effect, but they are alot of money for the ratio of meat per person. Alot of waste compaired to butts, shoulders, hams ect.

Good luck with the piggy. I hope anything I said will help. Let's see some pics of the event, especially the main offering if ya can!:)

[William H Bonney]

Thanks for the advice fella's. As always, a little research goes a long ways,,, only problem is, I didn't start the research early enough..:lol: This is kinda my dad's gig and I really didn't wanna "take over" the project. With all the knowledge and info I get from all you pro's on here,, I seemed to have turned into "that guy",, the know it all:(. I'm sure it gets annoying to friends and family so I kinda let him go on his own on this one. He's already got this thing on the spit and I'm sure there's no rub or injection on this pig. I don't think he even has any sauces...... ready anyway. From what I understand they're kinda hard to screw up,, so we'll see what happens.

[tedshunter]

The main thing is to make sure the Hog is cooked properly(170-180 degrees) all the way thru. I have heard nightmares about people getting sick from eating undercooked meat.That is the last thing you want is a bunch of sick Party people.

[William H Bonney]

The main thing is to make sure the Hog is cooked properly(170-180 degrees) all the way thru. I have heard nightmares about people getting sick from eating undercooked meat.That is the last thing you want is a bunch of sick Party people.

I heard it takes a while for food poisoning to kick in,, so odds are they'll be at their own home when it does.....:lol:

Seriously though, I don't mess around with pork or chicken, I alway have the temp gauge on those.

[Riva]

I heard it takes a while for food poisoning to kick in,, so odds are they'll be at their own home when it does.....:lol:

Seriously though, I don't mess around with pork or chicken, I always have the temp gauge on those.

WHB, I hope that you're talking about a meat thermometer. I absolutely do not trust some intuitive "well it looks done to me" estimate of either pork or chicken. Beef, on the other hand, medium rare won't hurt anybody. Pork and chicken stay on until I "know" it has reached the right temp.

Good luck with the cook.

[bigcountrysg]

When your checking the temp of the meat. Probe in the thickest parts of the meat. The rump roast, front shoulder area and stay away from the bones. The bones will be hotter then the actual meat. Which will give you a false reading.

I always baste my pigs with beer while cooking them. Now for the heat source. I use hard woods covered with charcoal. The charcoal keeps the flames down and the hard wood gives a nice smoke flavor.

An 80-100 pound pig will be done in about 6 hours with a heat source of 500 degrees. Then hose down the heat source so it is smoking and let the pig just be smoked for the 1 hour. So the total time on the roaster is 7 hours.

Now How do I serve the meat I use tin pans, I cut the meat off and place it in the tin pans. Then what I do is use your choice of barbeque sauce and cover some of the pork in barbeque sauce. Then I live one pan untouched (some people don't like barbeque sauce). Serve the meat directly after it has been cut so the serving temp is 160-180 degrees. Have never had a person get sick from any of my pig roasts. I have had at least 10 that I have roasted in my life. I even own my own roaster I built myself.

Good luck have fun and stay hydrated.