Neanderthal Fire Company
April 28, 2020
Making Pancetta at home
November 29, 2020Smoking a whole hog
When preparing to cook this pig, the biggest issue I found was that all of the direction on how to cook a pig was designed for big, fully grown adult hogs. This made things quite difficult as my pig was only 30lbs/13kg.
This basically meant I needed to learn how to butterfly, smoke and mop (not to mention build a smoker!) for a pig that was a lot smaller than any recipe I could find online.
Below I break down exactly what I did with this hog and how I got that super tender, delicious final product.
This basically meant I needed to learn how to butterfly, smoke and mop (not to mention build a smoker!) for a pig that was a lot smaller than any recipe I could find online.
Below I break down exactly what I did with this hog and how I got that super tender, delicious final product.
Butchering the hog.
My hog came dressed, but otherwise untouched.
I began by following the cuts in the belly, up through the breast bone and then to either side of the neck. This would make it much easier for me to open it up, later on. On a bigger animal, this would sometimes require a cleaver, however with a hog this size, my 30cm/12inch Victorinox chef knife handled it easily.
I then did the same thing through the front of the pelvic bone, allowing me to spread the hams later on.
Now that I had a nice open area to work, I took my thin boning knife and ran it on either side of the spine. You want to get this pretty close to the bone and don't go too deep, otherwise you can puncture the skin and will lose all of that precious moisture later on.
A few firm shoves on the hams, followed by the shoulders did the rest of the work to get it butterflied nicely. After that it was as simple as removing the silver skin on the ribs, and putting some incisions through the hams to help them cook a little more evenly.
Prepping
.
Once it was split, I gave all of the exposed meat a good dousing with my favourite pork rub. You can find my recipe at howlowcanyouslow.com under pulled pork, but realistically, just use the one you like best. I sprinkled it liberally over all the meat and let it sit for about 20 minutes before placing it on the smoker.
Cooking the hog
I use a vertical, UDS smoker made of a food grade 55 gallon drum, so I knew I wasn't going to be able to fit the hog on my smoker how I wanted, to overcome this, I built a super simple backyard smoker out of cinderblocks and old wood that I had lying around my yard. The process was simple, but I want to go into more detail, so I will add a post on the website about it.
I started with the hog skin side up and placing lit coals at the shoulders and the hams inside the cooker. All up it cooked for about 7 hours, until the hams met an internal temperature of 203F and were probe tender.
After 5 hours I flipped the hog skin side down and hit it with the mop sauce. The mop is a great way to add a little moisture as well as that second layer of flavour on top of your rub.
The finished product was juicy, flavourful and smoky pork which was certainly a winner in my book. When carrying the whole hog over to the table, it is absolutely an eye catcher and a sure way to secure an invite to the next BBQ, but the only down side is that once it's cooked and the bones are removed, you aren't left with a huge amount of meat considering the price, so it's probably not a great way to feed a lot of people if you are penny pinching.
I really do suggest that if you want to try it, give it a go at least once. It was heaps of fun and definitely a head turner!
I really do suggest that if you want to try it, give it a go at least once. It was heaps of fun and definitely a head turner!
See other recipes
March 11, 2024
I love this Pineapple Salsa Recipe. It is simple, is super bright and fresh and really elevates whatever you choose to serve it with.
March 10, 2024
A good chef knife, often considered the workhorse of the kitchen, possesses several essential qualities that make it a reliable and versatile tool for professional chefs and home cooks alike. Here are the key qualities of a good chef knife.
March 10, 2024
There isn't much better in life, than biting into a piece of pork belly that has super crisp and crunchy skin, sitting atop juicy, flavorful meat...Unless it is wrapped in a flour tortilla and smothered with fresh, delicious toppings.
