Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Pig Roast



I smoked this 220 lb (live weight) pig at an event to feed 160 people.  The construction crew starts very early so they have lunch at 9:00 am.  This means that my helper and I had to start cooking at 9:00 pm the night before.  Get ready to stay up all night with just a catnap or two for this cook.



This is the chuck wagon box I built that sits on the tailgate of my pickup.  
This is some serious tailgating.


Here is another view of the chuck wagon box 
and of the back side of my home built smoker. 

 I haven't said much about metal working on this blog 
but I designed and built this smoker myself.  

  The fire box is a 20 inch length of 30 inch diameter pipe with 
a piece of 1/2 inch steel plate welded on the top and bottom.  

I use the top of it to cook with my dutch ovens
 and cast iron skillets. 

The cooking chamber is an old air compressor tank.  
In this shot I have water heating on top of the fire box to wash dishes.

As you can see, the smoker is on a trailer 
so we are cooking on site.  


Here is where people miss out on the magic of BBQ pork.  They make the mistake of bringing the meat temp up to 160 degrees or so and calling it done.  But if you slowly, and I mean SLOWLY, bring it up to 190 degrees, something magic happens.  All the collagen in the meat melts and everything relaxes and starts falling apart.  We're talking pulled pork here.

 After 11 hours of cooking on an all apple wood fire 
at 225 degrees this baby is falling apart tender and smoky. 

Notice the stainless steel tray I built to cook pigs on.
 When they are done I can pull the whole tray
 out and carve them right on the tray.  

Have you ever tried to pull a hot falling apart pig 
out of a smoker? 


I had the pig skinned when it was butchered 
but left the fat on it.  
This not only bastes the meat throughout the entire cook but also protects the meat from any build up of carbon.


Before carving you simply scrape the fat off 
with the blade of your knife 
and 
succulent smoky meat is revealed.


Am I making you hungry yet?  Hope so!
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25 comments:

  1. wow, that looks good, if you ever wanna come cook at my house...

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    1. Thanks for visiting my blog agai. It's pretty hard to beat roasted pig.

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  2. How come yuor blog makes me so hungry? Impressive set up out the back of your truck. I take it you do this professionally?

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    1. Nope. I do it for customers of the company I work for. I am however planning on doing some catering after I retire. What a nice comment that you think I do it professionally though. Truth to tell, there are some doing it professionally that could take a lesson or two from guys like us. Thanks for visiting!

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  3. That looks AMAZING! My parents had a few pig roasts when I was younger. I remember my Dad making a spit with an old metal drum and a lawn mower engine. I hope to be able to do a pig roast myself at some point in the near future! If I need any advice (and I will!) I'll be sure to drop you a line!

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    1. Hi Annie, your blog is delicious! Who doesn't love cookies and pie. I am your newest follower. I hope you will visit often and follow my blog.
      Have a great day!
      Steve.

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  4. What part of the country are you in. I li9ke your blog. I am also known as "the Outlaw Gourmet" I'm in So.Oregon, but from Salt Lake City. I have been an I.D.O.S. member for over 20 years. Love your smoker and the Pig that Road in on it.
    Ron Clanton
    The Outlaw Gourmet
    "Don't rob yourself of good cookin'"

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    1. Howdy Ron, I am in Central Washington. I like your blog too. I have cooked in dutch ovens a fair amount but still feel like I have a lot to learn. I'll looking in on your blog to see if I can learn more about it. Thanks for dropping by to visit. This blogging stuff is very new to me but I'm really having fun at it.

      "The pig that rode in on it" LOL!

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  5. My husband loves to cook on the grill and smoker and he does wood working as well. He built our dining room table out of cedar and a matching cabinet. Then when our kitchen needed redoing, he built all my kitchen cabinets out of cedar. He and my brother cut the trees down and we had a man come out and make them into boards right in our yard. My husband also built our girls some hope chests out of it. We were just looking at your site. We'll be back.

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    1. Thank you so much for following my blog. I think it's cool that your hubby is into cooking and woodworking. I'm still hungry from looking at those beans. I'm your newest follower. I will soon be posting a simple outdoor table I built so stop in and see it.

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  6. That looks so good, love your Chuck Wagon, my husband does lots of wood working too, now his thing is making walking sticks, lol nice pretty ones out of oak tree roots.

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    1. You will have to feature his walking sticks on one of your posts. I would really like to see them. Steve

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  7. I found your blog through Connie and am glad she pointed me in your direction! I look forward to following your wood working projects and drooling with your food posts! You did an absolutely BEAUTIFUL job on your yacht tender, it's GORGEOUS! I'm your newest follower!

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    1. Lynne, Thank you, it's really nice to get positive feedback and thanks for becoming a follower, I sure appreciate it. Steve

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  8. I love these photo's you really captured the essence of one heck of a great pig roast... this is awesome!

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    1. I can not wait to try that pizza dough. I enjoy making pizza on my outdoor grill in the summer. Just adding your blog to my front page Blog List. Have a great day, Steve

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  9. hungry? heck, I am starving! I could stand there and pick that pig to pieces... that is one fine BBQ hog and very handy work on the grill and chuck wagon box too - a man of all trades, I like that... I think the real secret to your method is the 225 cooking temp - perfect...

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    1. Hey man, I just want to let you know that I added you to my front page Blog List. Wish I could pass you a big plate of pork roast, but I guess this will have to do. Steve

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  10. Would love to sample one of your barbecues, they look delicious!

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    1. Wow! I am a boat lover and I think the longboat is incredible. I am you newest follower. Thanks for following my blog. I just posted a new post so come on by and check it out.

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  11. That is one awesome pig roast and man, I am starving just looking at your cool set-up, nice!

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    1. Hi there, thank you so much for following my blog. I love roasting pigs but there is a real learning curve there. At this point I pretty much have it figured out. I would love to contribute to anyone wanting to learn about pig roasting.

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  12. I am seriously drooling here

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    1. Hi Kelly, thanks for stopping by my blog. It's hard to beat roasted pork!

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    2. Hi Kelly, thanks for stopping by my blog. It's hard to beat roasted pork!

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