my first whole hog

Hi all!

With all the wisdom and experience here, how can I not ask for your opinions?


This fall I'll should be getting my chance to cook my first whole hog. I've participated in helping cook a whole hog before, but nobody that was cooking really knew what we were doing.

Has anyone got any advice on what makes a successful pig roast?

Do you have any advice on the type of cooker?

Whole hog? split hog?

I live in the Joliet area, the party will be in Braidwood. Any suggestions on where to rent the cooker from?

Thanks to Jimswside for his post on the pig farm, I'll be driving down to Bubba Berk's to pick up some pork and discuss prices on a whole hog. Is there anywhere else you would recommend looking for the hog?

Thanks!
dan

gonefishin wrote:Thanks to Jimswside for his post on the pig farm, I'll be driving down to Bubba Berk's to pick up some pork and discuss prices on a whole hog. Is there anywhere else you would recommend looking for the hog?

if Mike @ Bubba Berk's cant help you out, I got my local, all natural hog from Sage's Meat Market in Morris, IL. Nice folks, and the pig was great.

Thanks Jim! I'll be sure to check them out!

dan

How many people and how large a pig? I'm not sure about rentals in that area but you could always build a cinderblock smoker, this thread has more details (I think Gary may have posted another thread on a cinderblock smoker as well, but I couldn't find it). One piece of advice is to do a test run with the smoker. You don't need to actually cook anything but getting it up to temp and getting a sense of fire management with whatever smoker you're working with can save you a lot of stress the day of the cook. The first Pig Roast I helped with we ended up eating around midnight because the smoker was so wonky.

Thanks for the help Attrill. I'm not sure how many people will be there. It's for a friend of my brother who's had a long battle behind him. He's feeling Ok right now and wanted to have a pig roast like he had some years ago.

Because it's not at my property, I really wouldn't have the option of building a cinder block smoker (although I do love the idea). Because I'll be renting, it also excludes me from practicing my fire management skills in the new cooker (although that is an excellent idea).

thanks,
dan

How big?
Pigs range from suckling to 'whole hog' which usually denotes a 160 # pig.
A 'whole hog' is not a simple undertaking, refrigeration of the animal before cooking and transportation are certainly basic elements to be decided. The cooker of whatever type is not a simple affair. Handling a 160 # pig is at minimum a 2-4 person job and when fully cooked an entirely different proposition than when cold.
Suggestion is to hire someone with the equipment and experience and watch and learn the first time. I have done pigs from 20# suckling to 160# 'whole hog', none have been simple. Good luck.-Dick