Suckling Pig - Barbecue Hubris?

Hey, all!

We have an office BBQ on the horizon, and I've been tasked -- a labor of love -- with preparing all of the food. Given my deep love for all things porcine, the fairly large group (15) and a desire to impress, I now have it in my head that a suckling pig may be the thing to do. So my basic question is this:

Is this a very good or a very bad idea?

I'm double-checking equipment, but my understanding at the moment is that there's a very large gas grill available that could definitely handle a small pig, but I don't believe there's any type of rotisserie. I'm extremely comfortable in the kitchen, but barbecue is, admittedly, not something with which I have a ton of experience. Also worth considering is that this isn't the pals in the backyard. It's a group of coworkers, and relatively new ones at that. Failure is not an option. So while I'm excited by the idea, I'm a little concerned that this is a risky undertaking.

Anybody have any experience with this? Is it easier or harder than it sounds? It it even worth doing on a gas grill?

Rule #1 of catering and entertaining - Always try out something at home FIRST before expecting things to go well in front of others. Otherwise, the first guest in line is Murphy.

Rule #2 - Make sure that you have ALL the proper equipment (and it works) for what you are doing before you make plans.

(Ever use a welder's torch to do 400 Baked Alaskas?)

Other issues, besides Jlawrence's good points:

People may be weirded out by the whole animal.

People may be weirded out by the flavor of meat that's been cooked right under skin and pig fat (sometimes that chicharron-ish flavor is too weird or tastes too strong for folks used to supermarket-bland pork).

Margin of error increases with animal size-- in other words, where you could be an hour or two off either way in your estimate of how long pork butts would take, you could be 3 or 4 hours off with a whole pig.

Having seen this done by old hands like G Wiv's buddy/BBQ protege The Goat King, it's certainly doable and would be impressive... but I'd sure want somebody with some experience at my side in a case like this.

jlawrence01 wrote:Rule #1 of catering and entertaining - Always try out something at home FIRST before expecting things to go well in front of others. Otherwise, the first guest in line is Murphy.

I regularly break this rule. In fact, I like to entertain to try new recipes and preparations! That usually works fine, although a recent experiment with a 5-hour that turned into 9-hour pork sugo was not so successful, at least in my opinion. (I had started documenting the process to post, but I was having a hard time describing something that looked like dog food.)

The GP wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:Rule #1 of catering and entertaining - Always try out something at home FIRST before expecting things to go well in front of others. Otherwise, the first guest in line is Murphy.

I regularly break this rule. In fact, I like to entertain to try new recipes and preparations!

I'm with you, TheGP! In fact, a new dish almost always turns out best the first time I make it. (Perhaps that is because I am most likely to follow the recipe the first time.)

Dom, based on your blog, you have the chops to cook anything! On the other hand, the behavior of an unfamiliar BBQ could pose some challenges. I know that Bruce does suckling pigs, perhaps you could PM him with your questions if he doesn't catch this thread.

Josephine wrote:Dom, based on your blog, you have the chops to cook anything!

Heh... well, I appreciate the vote of confidence But that said, I'm cognizant of the fact that the stove and the grill are two completely different beasts, and my comfort level on the latter isn't as well-established as it is on the former.

In any case, if this happens, it definitely won't be without a thorough inspection of the equipment available to me. I'm not so sure a dry run is in the cards, however. Which is why I'm trying to determine if this is the sort of thing that's very tricky and has a high failure potential, or if it's one of those things that's a lot easier than it sounds and I shouldn't be too concerned. I'm not afraid of doing something for the first time for a crowd, but I'd rather it not be something with a lot of potential pitfalls.

If Bruce doesn't jump in, I'll definitely drop him a line.

Dmnkly wrote:Failure is not an option. So while I'm excited by the idea, I'm a little concerned that this is a risky undertaking.

Dom,

Please read aloud Jlawrence's Rule #1.

I speak from personal experience.

Not to encourage, but butterflied whole pig turns out beautifully. Skin-up for the majority of the cook, skin-down over slightly raised heat to crisp/puff the skin. In this particular case feasibility is dependant on your equipment's ability, in this case a gas grill you have never used, to achieve and maintain low temperature for an extended period of time.

Mike makes a very good point as to timing, it takes experience to get pork shoulder ready on cue, much less whole pig, even a small one.

Far as the Goat King, who Mike G mentioned, he is now a past master of whole Pig Cookery. His last few whole pig cooks have gone off without a hitch without any assistance from me, aside from helping flip, cut and serve, which is mostly for my benefit as that way I get the crisp bits hot from the cooker.

Bruce would, as Josephine mentioned, be a good person to ask for input as would a few others on LTH, but, once again, read aloud Jlawrence's Rule #1.

Pig at The Goat King's


Enjoy,
Gary

Be careful where you get the suckling pig from. I did a suckling pig in early November and they are hard to come by. I had to pick it up at 7:00 in the morning when the butcher wasn't busy and then it was put into a gargage bag and I threw it in my trunk. Pretty gruesome. It was about 25 pounds and to fit it in to the oven, I had to decapitate it in my back yard. The neighbors must have loved that one.
It was a ton of work for a meal that wasn't all that great. We had to rinse it and shave the scant hairs off the body in my basement. It was hanging by it's hindquarters in my basement over the laundry sink and to be honest, my stomach was pretty upset after eating it. If you aren't qweezy, you'll be fine though.
The meat turned out very tender, but it was a little gamier than I thought it would be. I think that the challenge was doing it in the oven and if I were to do it again, which I don't think I will, I would smoke it in a smoker all day. That would probably have taken care of the gamey taste.

Is a pig still a suckling at 25 pounds? It may be. I know we eat older lamb than they eat in Europe, too. However, whenever I've had a suckling pig in Spain, we got one pig for four people, and it was just enough for four. But again, in Europe, lamb is a couple of months old and in the U.S. it's just under a year, so maybe pigs still are sucklings when they reach 25 pounds. But it's something to check.

How well do you know your "audience"? Can they/will they all eat pork? Are they adventurous eaters? A combo of babyback ribs and chicken might be a safer bet, and then you can impress with something else, like the appetizers and side dishes.

Dom,

My main concern would be the use of a gas grill. Not that it won't work, just that it won't be BBQ'd, and much more of that alleged funk that guests might not like will be present. Also, if the rig is too small to "butterfly" the pig, and you don't have access to a rotisserie, it's going to be tough to cook the pig evenly and properly.

As for experimenting, well, I think it's fine. It's not an omelette, for chrissakes. You need a large group of people, even for your first time (though it might make more sense to try out your new hobby with the family than the office first).

For a non-BBQ'd pig, especially, I highly recommend that you give the guy a bath in mojo or some other marinade overnight.

Or you could just contact La Unica, El Mercado, T&C, Las Villas, etc. to prepare it for you...


PS, the following thread might prove to be somewhat informative.
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1336

First you need to decide on the dressed weight of the suckling pig you wish to have. Farmers do not readily have pigs in the under 30# category for sale because the pig needs to be off antibiotics for about 2 weeks before it can be slaughtered. This means unless special arrangements are made,, pigs are well over 30 #'s when normally ready for human consumption. So you need to find a pig farmer and then a packing house to properly kill and dress the pig for you. A proper packing house will not give you a product as in the one Post. I used a small packer once and he skinned my 20# pig because he did not have the equipment/technique to properly remove the hair. I now use a local farmer and a local packer so all I do is say when and what size and pick it up from the packer. It is neccessary to tell the packer exactly how you want your pig otherwise you will pick up a fully processed, wrapped and frozen pig.
Equipment. I don't know of any home type units that can adequately handle a 30# pig. You need a pro smoker/cooker, period. Anything else is a waste of money. There are people available with custom BBQ rigs they trailer to your door and do the cooking for you. You could find a place to cook it ahead for you but that's not what people expect. We once Q'd the pig the day before and everybody asked to see the pig on the spit. You could also try the Chinese House method but that involves a butterflied pig and no spit.
In any event, you have a lot to do. Good luck!-Dick

Hi,

If you want to have someone cook the pig for you, then consider these suggestions as well as La Unica.

Regards,

My concerns about the project are the product of a lot of experience

My mother decided that she was going to do a large beef roast on the grill outside on Christmas Day. Dinner was scheduled at 4:00 pm which is when all the sides were prepared ... and the main course was done ... close to 7:00 pm.

Fortunately, the gathering was all family, mostly non-foodie, and everyone fills up on snacks before dinner anyway.

On my first week on the job, a certain major university was opening a new hospital. Some genius decided that Baked Alaska would be a nice dessert to complement the meal. Everything was already to go - then someone realized that the broiler might be able to finish about ten servings at a time ... and 400 people had to be served ...

They were ... thanks to a half dozen union and non-union maintenance people and their torches.

If I were to do a suckling pig, if I was NOT going to use a charcoal grill or a wood fire, I think that I would cook it in a standard oven rather than a gas grill. The gas grill is going to add NO flavor. In the oven, you can roast the pig and add things that might impart more flavor.

Do realize that you may end up "grossing out" a lot of people by serving a suckling pig in its natural form these days. And unless you know your guests pretty well (or they are family), I would have a backup entree in case certain people don't eat pork OR don't find the concept appetizing.

Or see if Gary is available that day ... (grd)

Thanks, all.

Despite my enthusiasm, it sounds like the consensus is in line with the more reasonable section of my brain that I may have been trying to suppress somewhat. That pig is a thing of beauty, Gary, and I'll get there for sure, but I think you're right... these probably aren't the right circumstances for a first attempt.

I'll post about whatever I end up doing, and I'll be sure to resurrect this thread when the circumstances ARE right

Any idea what brand and model the gas grill is? Depending upon the cooking area, number of burners, and size of pig it might be doable. But I wouldn't want to try it my first time feeding co-workers or LTH'rs.

With co-workers its possible you could pull off perfection and those that would hate seeing the "baby pig" would put such a damper its not worth the hassle.

Without the rotisserie option I wouldn't consider the gas grill. Although, we lost electricity once the day (-10º) of an 8 person dinner party and I had a stuffed pork loin that I ended up cooking on a gas grill. Turned out fine, but we had the distraction of no electricity and numbed taste buds.

Are you limited to the gas grill or can you use an oven? If you have an oven and a the suckling pig won't gross some of the folks out, go for it.

Bruce wrote:With co-workers its possible you could pull off perfection and those that would hate seeing the "baby pig" would put such a damper its not worth the hassle.

I can't say this concerns me too much. I doubt it would be a problem, but even it were, I'll happily take being "the guy who made us eat a cute baby pig" over being "the guy who made us wait three hours for food" or "the guy who tried to serve us undercooked pork" any day

I AM very concerned about the cooking time and the fact that it's a gas grill. My line of thinking was that I could treat it like a big oven, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea.

In any case, I think the difficulty in nailing down a precise cooking time is enough to scratch this plan. It's going to be an end of the workday kind of thing, but people aren't expected to hang around for a long time, so if it takes a couple more hours than I expect, that's a big problem.

JeffB wrote:My main concern would be the use of a gas grill. Not that it won't work, just that it won't be BBQ'd,

Jeff,

Then there's that....

If Dom was really insistent on doing a first time whole pig for coworkers I'd suggest a La Caja China not really BBQ, there is no smoke, charcoal or fat in the fire flavor imparted to the pig, but it's pretty much foolproof, impressive and, compared to a block pit or even large charcoal burning BBQ pit, is urban environment friendly.

I'd still suggest a practice run, couple of Peoria Packing skin on pork shoulders or hams will do nicely, and it costs around $300, but the La Caja China provides a lot of pzazz and, with a mojo marinade/injection as Jeff suggested, will taste quite good.

Enjoy,
Gary

http://www.lacajachina.com

Peoria Packing
1300 W Lake Street
Chicago, IL 60607
312-738-1800

Practice pig dinner at Dom's house! (just kidding)

I'm sure whatever you come up with will be spectacular, albeit not as testosterone-laden as whole large animal.

Mhays wrote:Practice pig dinner at Dom's house! (just kidding)

Don't think the thought didn't cross my mind

With less than two months before we split for Baltimore, I think I'm pushing the limits by planning the one at the office much less one at our home.

Hi,

I called Peoria Packing House. The smallest suckling pig they could get is around 20 pounds at $2.49 per pound. In another life, I could easily buy a 10 to 15 pound suckling pig that fit nicely in my oven. If someone knows where I could obtain a slightly smaller pig, then I would be intereested in learning this.

I would be interested in attempting a whole pig cook, if I didn't need to rent equipment. Is there any conceivable way this could be cooked either on a WSM or an 18-inch diameter Weber? If yes, then please elaborate on how-to and estimates on how-long it would take to cook.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:The smallest suckling pig they could get is around 20 pounds at $2.49 per pound.

How many inches long would a 20 pounder be?
Halsted Packing has 30 pounders and they're at least 3 feet in length.

HI,

You're correct on your information on the length. If I could only find a genuinely small pig, like the 10-15 pounders I saw long ago, then this could be accomplished on a grill.

Regards,

Dmnkly wrote:I'll happily take being "the guy who made us eat a cute baby pig" over being "the guy who made us wait three hours for food" or "the guy who tried to serve us undercooked pork" any day

More likely, as Mike G mentioned, it would be "the guy who tried to serve us greasy, fat pig."