smoking a 100 lb pig

jastutte

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2009
461
71
any tips for this? i've never attempted this before. this is for family, not a competition.

using a horizontal barrel smoker with a side heat box.

should i smoke it on it's back or on it's stomach?

racing style?

thanks,
 

Ballah06

Well-known member
Jan 21, 2007
5,633
15
Savannah, GA
Damn, a 100lbs? Are the neighbors showing up too? Dan would def be the one to provide the answers. Just curious as to seasoning, rub, etc.
 

JUKE179r

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2016
761
95
Suffolkshire, UK
We do this all the time but on a rotisserie. A 100lbs pig usually takes us 3-4 hours to slow cook over coals.
Take your time not to rush cooking it. You can make people really sick from raw pork.
I mix up some honey and apple Boones Farm wine and inject it into the meaty areas of the pig. Let it marinate for a day or two in a large iced cooler then cook it.
 

jastutte

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2009
461
71
Have a photo of your pit set-up?


the smoker is 2 hours away on the farm. it is an Oklahoma Joe that i was given years ago. it is an older model but similar to the Highland or Longhorn models.

while i would have gone with a smaller pig, my dad bought it. not sure if it is 100 lbs before being butchered or not.

we can cut the hog in half if we need to or at least cut off the head. nothing a sawzall can't handle.
 

jastutte

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2009
461
71
Damn, a 100lbs? Are the neighbors showing up too? Dan would def be the one to provide the answers. Just curious as to seasoning, rub, etc.


i'm the oldest of six and we all have our own kids now. there will be a lot of us even with out the neighbors.

not sure on the rub we will be using. my brother usually makes something up that is better than anything i have bought or made. we will be injecting, though. which i have never done before but my dad is insisting.

i usually make up a sweet and spicy ketchup based sauce, a Carolina mustard sauce and, my favorite, a vinegar sauce. but we usually use these after the pork has come off the smoker.

i've never used a mop sauce but may consider it this time.
 
Jan 3, 2005
11,745
71
On Kennith's private island
100lb pig is pretty small. After gutting, you're looking at about 70lbs which would yield about 30lbs of cooked meat. 30lbs of meat will make about 120 sandwiches.

A smaller pig means less fat. If you have the option, personally I'd cook the pig with the skin on. Since there's little fat, the skin would help to protect the meat from the heat. This would require the pig to be scalded to remove all the hair and to cleanse the skin.

Not sure of your pit size, but I like cooking with the head on. The tongue and cheeks are some of the best meat on a pig.

If you're cooking skin-on, you don't need to worry about a dry rub. You may consider an injection. I like to use injections that include a phosphate. This adds moisture. FAB, Kosmos, Make It Meaty, Butchers...they all work. I like Make It Meaty and Butchers injections.

If the pig is skinned, use a dry rub with little or no sugar. On a long cook the sugar will burn. Equal parts salt, course black pepper and granulated garlic works well. Also use the injection.

Again, not being able to see your pit I'm not sure if racing style is going to work for you. I just lay mine out on their belly. That said, if you can split the pig and cook it on it's back you have the option of using a mop sauce, which is good too. Takes a big cooker, though.

I cook my hogs at 265*. I'm typically always doing a 250+ pound hog and at that temperature it takes about 16 hours to reach 195* in the hams and shoulders. I would guess it would take a 100lb pig about 10 hours...??? Depends on your pit.

Don't allow your temps to get too high or you'll discolor or even char the outer layer of meat and it'll be like jerky. Here is one I got a little too toasty:

14563375_756444397830246_7335138442736270997_n.jpg

That pig I was cooking in a cooker like this. It's not really a pig cooker and more of a smoker, but we made due. It was a challenge to get an even cook with a large animal in there.

14067685_722956151179071_7680492921350968714_n.jpg

This is more of what you're looking for.

21271170_927095654098452_7808115021162411968_n.jpg
 

Ballah06

Well-known member
Jan 21, 2007
5,633
15
Savannah, GA
Dan, how is the flavor on the isidr. Even when i ve made pork shoulders, kinda hard to get the flavor, but i guess once you slice and mix the meat, it works out.
 
Jan 3, 2005
11,745
71
On Kennith's private island
Dan, how is the flavor on the isidr. Even when i ve made pork shoulders, kinda hard to get the flavor, but i guess once you slice and mix the meat, it works out.

Meat has no flavor these days. Farmers are no longer farmers. A chicken tastes like pork and pork tastes like turkey. Farmers these days grow these animals as fast as they can with the cheapest food available. Put shit in and you get shit in return.

So to enhance natural flavor you almost have to add flavor. That's why an injection is desirable. Not only do you want to add moisture, but you want to enhance the natural flavors of the meat. Think of bullion.

You can add rub after the cook if you want. Use it like salt and pepper. You're so much as enhancing the meat, rather adding another flavor with your rub.

Cooking a hog is not like cooking a butt or shoulder. A pork butt tastes a lot better than a whole hog, IMO. As do cooking ribs separately.
 

Ballah06

Well-known member
Jan 21, 2007
5,633
15
Savannah, GA
Meat has no flavor these days. Farmers are no longer farmers. A chicken tastes like pork and pork tastes like turkey. Farmers these days grow these animals as fast as they can with the cheapest food available. Put shit in and you get shit in return.

So to enhance natural flavor you almost have to add flavor. That's why an injection is desirable. Not only do you want to add moisture, but you want to enhance the natural flavors of the meat. Think of bullion.

You can add rub after the cook if you want. Use it like salt and pepper. You're so much as enhancing the meat, rather adding another flavor with your rub.

Cooking a hog is not like cooking a butt or shoulder. A pork butt tastes a lot better than a whole hog, IMO. As do cooking ribs separately.

Right on. Thanks for the response. Probably just going to do another brisket this weekend wJake's beef rub. Need to do some ribs soon too. That Wicked Good BBQ sauce is on point.
 

bri

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
6,178
152
US
Meat has no flavor these days. Farmers are no longer farmers. A chicken tastes like pork and pork tastes like turkey. Farmers these days grow these animals as fast as they can with the cheapest food available. Put shit in and you get shit in return.

So to enhance natural flavor you almost have to add flavor. That's why an injection is desirable. Not only do you want to add moisture, but you want to enhance the natural flavors of the meat. Think of bullion.

You can add rub after the cook if you want. Use it like salt and pepper. You're so much as enhancing the meat, rather adding another flavor with your rub.

Cooking a hog is not like cooking a butt or shoulder. A pork butt tastes a lot better than a whole hog, IMO. As do cooking ribs separately.

Buy from a farmer that cares.
 

jastutte

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2009
461
71
Bump, curious as to how this turned out?

it was a lot of fun.
we did need to take the head and legs off the pig to fit it in the smoker. this was made easier by the viking style battle ax my brother-in-law had made.

i think i started it around midnight and then woke up around 6:00 am or so. tend the fire, whiskey for breakfast, nap, tend the fire, beers. and so on.


after it was finished smoking we, my dad, brother, brother-in-law, my sons, put on some Heilung and started breaking down the pig. it felt pretty primal and masculine. there is probably a more refined way to do all this but we had a good time.

that being said, i probably won't do it again. the meat, while tender and moist, pretty much all tasted the same. i thought it all tasted like a good pork shoulder. and that's a lot of work for pulled pork flavor. the jowl and cheek meat was the best. like something between bacon and tenderloin.

if we ever get a whole pig again, i'll probably break it down before smoking and do everything separately.
 

Ballah06

Well-known member
Jan 21, 2007
5,633
15
Savannah, GA
Been sticking to ribs lately. Shorter cook and very flavorful. Aside from smoking, been making a bit of lamb as well. If you guys have any good lamb recipes, would love to see those.
 

SGaynor

Well-known member
Dec 6, 2006
7,148
162
52
Bristol, TN
These were very good - basic recipe using herbs and butter. Hard to go wrong there.

http://howtobbqright.com/2016/03/11/grilled-rack-of-lamb-on-big-green-egg/

<iframe width="876" height="493" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7B-dVhZOSw4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One with mint (I haven't tried this yet - I'm the only one in my family that likes lamb :-( ): https://saltpepperskillet.com/recipes/grilled-rack-of-lamb/
 

Ballah06

Well-known member
Jan 21, 2007
5,633
15
Savannah, GA
These were very good - basic recipe using herbs and butter. Hard to go wrong there.

http://howtobbqright.com/2016/03/11/grilled-rack-of-lamb-on-big-green-egg/

<iframe width="876" height="493" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7B-dVhZOSw4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One with mint (I haven't tried this yet - I'm the only one in my family that likes lamb :-( ): https://saltpepperskillet.com/recipes/grilled-rack-of-lamb/

Nice! Now I am freaking hungry...