Over the weekend my wife and I hosted a party for her 30th birthday. I decided a month ago I wanted to roast a whole hog so I started doing my homework. After reading a bunch of articles and watching countless videos I decided on using bbq pitmaster Rodney Scott's method. He uses cinder block pits and roasts the hogs over hardwood coals.
I started off by clearing and leveling a place in the backyard and laying down pavers for my base. I then built my cinder block pit using the same design Franklin bbq used in his video. The only things I did different was I used rebar and steel mesh for my grate instead of expanded metal. I also used a sheet of plywood for my top and sides cause it was cheaper then buying sheet metal.
Once the pit is built you need to buy a pig. There are a few options when it comes to buying a pig. You can order one from a meat market which will be a commodity pig or you can find a farmer who raises pigs. I was able to find a farmer on craigslist who raises ossabaw island hogs. These pigs look like feral pigs but are actually a heritage breed pig native to ossabaw island, Georgia.
Now that you have the pig you need to prep it for the pit. Take a hatchet and rubber mallet and split it down the spine. This will allow the pig to lay flat on the pit. Take a fillet knife and remove the lining on the ribs and trim up any excess fat. I removed the leaf lard and saved it for later use. After the pig has been butterflied you can either put the pig in a brine or just rub it with salt. I chose to rub the pig with salt and let it sit in the cooler on ice over night.
Now that everything is prepped and ready it's time to fire up the burn barrel. I made mine out of 50gal drum by cutting the top and bottom side out. I put a few pieces of rebar in it to hold the wood about a foot from the bottom. I would suggest burning it once to clean it out. To start the burn barrel you can use a bag a charcoal or use a pear burner. It will take about an hour to get coals. Once you have coals start shoveling them under the front shoulders and hams. You will do this every 15 to 20min.
Cooking a 50lb pig will take about 9 hrs total. I started my pig belly down and cooked it for 8hrs. After 8hrs I took a spray bottle and sprayed the top side of the pig to get all the ash off of it. I then rubbed it down with a stick of butter and flipped the pig. Once you flip the pig start mopping the pig. I used a vinegar based mop sauce. Mop every 10 minutes or so and start watching for the skin to crisp. Only during this part of the cooking will you shovel coals under the whole pig. It should only take about 30-45min to crisp up the skin. I will say the crispy pig is one best things you can eat!! Add it to your pulled pork sandwich for more porky flavor and texture.
I'm sure I am leaving out some parts but if anyone has questions let me know.
I started off by clearing and leveling a place in the backyard and laying down pavers for my base. I then built my cinder block pit using the same design Franklin bbq used in his video. The only things I did different was I used rebar and steel mesh for my grate instead of expanded metal. I also used a sheet of plywood for my top and sides cause it was cheaper then buying sheet metal.
Once the pit is built you need to buy a pig. There are a few options when it comes to buying a pig. You can order one from a meat market which will be a commodity pig or you can find a farmer who raises pigs. I was able to find a farmer on craigslist who raises ossabaw island hogs. These pigs look like feral pigs but are actually a heritage breed pig native to ossabaw island, Georgia.
Now that you have the pig you need to prep it for the pit. Take a hatchet and rubber mallet and split it down the spine. This will allow the pig to lay flat on the pit. Take a fillet knife and remove the lining on the ribs and trim up any excess fat. I removed the leaf lard and saved it for later use. After the pig has been butterflied you can either put the pig in a brine or just rub it with salt. I chose to rub the pig with salt and let it sit in the cooler on ice over night.
Now that everything is prepped and ready it's time to fire up the burn barrel. I made mine out of 50gal drum by cutting the top and bottom side out. I put a few pieces of rebar in it to hold the wood about a foot from the bottom. I would suggest burning it once to clean it out. To start the burn barrel you can use a bag a charcoal or use a pear burner. It will take about an hour to get coals. Once you have coals start shoveling them under the front shoulders and hams. You will do this every 15 to 20min.
Cooking a 50lb pig will take about 9 hrs total. I started my pig belly down and cooked it for 8hrs. After 8hrs I took a spray bottle and sprayed the top side of the pig to get all the ash off of it. I then rubbed it down with a stick of butter and flipped the pig. Once you flip the pig start mopping the pig. I used a vinegar based mop sauce. Mop every 10 minutes or so and start watching for the skin to crisp. Only during this part of the cooking will you shovel coals under the whole pig. It should only take about 30-45min to crisp up the skin. I will say the crispy pig is one best things you can eat!! Add it to your pulled pork sandwich for more porky flavor and texture.
I'm sure I am leaving out some parts but if anyone has questions let me know.
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