A few of us have been trying to figure out how to smoke a whole pig (a small one) in the Bradley and thought it was time to move the discussion to its own thread. I don't have the admin capabilities to do this, so would appreciate it if someone could move those posts from that spot ( http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4901.0;topicseen ) to here.
so far, looks like West Coast Kansan or Lil' Smoker will be the first, to my knowledge, to attempt this project. A number of challenges have been identified and thought you all would have some great ideas. Here are some issues that have been brought up:
1. Carcass Suspension/integrity. How best to load piggy into the vault. Seems like carcass will have to be wrapped in something like chicken wire so that piggy won't pull free, especially as piggy starts falling apart (Mmmmmmm) over time. Some sort of cage like the sausage rack that used to be on Chez' site would probably help distribute weight throughout the cabinet. bars or dowels across the top shelf: could this work or would they give. Depends on the load, I guess.
2. Heat Distribution: Piggy won't be on a spit, so have to find a way to make sure heat is applied evenly. WCK thought the animal should be head down the whole time (where its hotter) with a tshirt over his head to protect features for presentation. Meat at higher cabinet levels should receive more even temps. Pig postion will be rotated at intervals. What about reversing top to bottom?
3. Mop application: How to keep piggy moist and seasoned without losing cabinet temp too frequently is another challenge. Thoughts (a) load up the cavity with something that will release moisture over time, like pineapples marinated in a mop sauce; (b) remove hide after several hours so that mopping need not occur as frequently and will absorb better; (c) use something more viscous like a honey based mop, which will dilute over time with the pig drippings and distribute over the carcass slowly.
4. Grease control: Piggy will be chucking off lots of fat. Thought is to use a big aluminum pan under the smoke plate, with some water inside. That pan to be swapped out as needed, with the water replaced every four hours at most.
Piggy leaves Iowa Tuesday
Piggy go to Mikes Meat Thursday
Piggy get a good cleaning thaw and eyes fixed Thursday
Piggy goes to WCK Friday
Piggy meets Bradley Saturday.
or so the plan goes :D Never did a pig (of any size) with a light bulb fire before. ;D ;D ;D
WCK,
Let me know if you need professional photography, professional videography and production editing (we can make a mini video), or professional food tasting and commentary. :P :P :P
Maybe on the next one... there will be more stupidity on this one than i would care to watch or have other see ;D ;D ;D
WCK,
So is the plan to do a brine on the oinker before smoking to increase moisture content? Noticed some suggestions in the previous thread about stuffing the cavity (with apples or pineapple) to increase moisture.
I've just been to visit the farm shop, they have a very impressive stock of free range meat, but unfortunately don't do lil'pigs ::), but will be a nice supplier for meat in the future.
I have contacted another supplier who says he can get pigs around 6 kilos (13.2lbs) for £100, but processing orders can take while ::) and i'm thinking £100 is expensive for an experiment. So i'm still looking around, thing is my gathering isn't for a few weeks yet, but i'd like to make sure it's right so an experiment is the way to go i think?
Anyway better get me a lil'hog first, some more thoughts on the cook, to get the rind/skin crispy it might have to be finished in the oven, otherwise i think if it were in the BS for so long, it may fall apart if put on a spit?
What internal temp is another critical thing?, i was thinking of something like butt/shoulder 185-190f ?
Trouble is though at those temps it would be very fragile, so personaly i'd rather have the meat just right, and wouldn't worry too much about the skin being crispy enough? ;)
Have you giving any thought to using meat netting to hold the carcass together?
http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=41
When you suspend it, maybe use some swivel hardware so that at least you can rotate the pig from front to back.
I just made a sausage hanger from 1" x 4" red oak and 1.25" hardwood dowels. The 1 x 4 board is really 3/4" x 3.5". The 3/4" makes it just the right thickness to fit on the shelf rails, and the 3.5" allows you to raise the the height of the rods to maximize the full capacity of the cabinet. Because the weight of the sausage is not all that much, I just used screws to attach the dowels, but if you counter sink the dowels into the board that should give it plenty of strength. I have the original, so the boards were cut to 11 inch lengths, and the dowels were cut to 13 1/8 inch, but to counter sink the dowel you would need to add another 1.5 inches to the length. I cut the boards to a length of 11 inches, because my back cabinet wall is warped in places so the 11 inch length gave me some room to play with.
The grease control looks good.
Good luck with the project.
Rick, was just going to inject like a real pig, want to leave the little guy open for smoke / heat to the extent possible. ;D
That sounds good. Might want to use a little stick to keep the cavity propped open.
Habs, the netting looks good. The only thing is I can't get the picture of a little pig dressed in a night shirt (Olds style). Photo Opportunity. The netting may look toooooooo professional. LOL
Lil, I personnaly wouldn't care much about the rind/skin getting crispy. I would be more concerned with just getting the meat right and tasty. Could always throw the skin on the grill to see if that would help.
I like the idea of a swivel, but wonder if piggy will swing around if one side is heavier. Maybe a tether might be helpful too. How will you suspend the pig/distribute the carcass weight?
WCK: you mention "light bulb cooking." Do you know how much Porky is goin to weigh? If a 14lb butt takes close to 24 hours, I'm thinking Porky will take quite a bit more, particularly with mopping. Given the lesser heat source, I think an open cavity is a good idea. Have you come up with any ideas for a "closed cabinet" method for basting? Good idea re: injection.
I'm wishing you the best from up north and wish I could be there to watch. Win, lose or draw, I'd appreciate seeing photos for the learning experience. All in all, I'm betting on a good show.
;D
Consiglieri "closed cabinet method for basting, injection",
I am thinking a local Super Shop :D might have a ZEX™ Perimeter Plate that employs multiple injection points to ensure that a perfectly atomized, cylinder-to-cylinder balanced blend of liquid and spice. It uses Cryo-Sync™ technology to ensure perfect flows through a set of internal plate passeages before entering the carcas.
Now there's gotta be a motor head out there to figure out how to hook it into the Bradley. ;D ;D
Quote from: Consiglieri on April 24, 2007, 09:40:38 PM
I like the idea of a swivel, but wonder if piggy will swing around if one side is heavier. Maybe a tether might be helpful too. How will you suspend the pig/distribute the carcass weight?
WCK: you mention "light bulb cooking." Do you know how much Porky is goin to weigh? If a 14lb butt takes close to 24 hours, I'm thinking Porky will take quite a bit more, particularly with mopping. Given the lesser heat source, I think an open cavity is a good idea. Have you come up with any ideas for a "closed cabinet" method for basting? Good idea re: injection.
I'm wishing you the best from up north and wish I could be there to watch. Win, lose or draw, I'd appreciate seeing photos for the learning experience. All in all, I'm betting on a good show.
;D
If the cabinet is level, the hog should stay in the position you place it in. Just another thought, if you use Old's T-shirt method, you could probably slowly funnel the basting sauce through the vent until the T-shirt is dampened. Instead of a T-shirt, you can go to a fabric shop or maybe Wal-Mart and buy jersey fabric; I think that is what you call the fabric you make T-shirts out of, in the size you want to wrap the pig in.
:D I pledge to screw this up in every manner possible and post the results for all not to duplicate. Do appreciate the thoughts and ideas :) I have been thinking about a piggy ladder. Kind of like you would use to strap your pig to when roasting in a ground pit so you can flip him / her over. ??? Not too worried about the time 10-12 pounds is just that -(hopefully that is what Mike will deliver)- otherwise >:( Because it will be little tiny sholders, tiny butts,tiny loin and hams. Cook times and temps should be just like always. Most of the middle will be tower temp - should keep an ;) on it however.
If the piggy ladder wont work will go with plan b and netting or maybe something else ??? Once I have him on the counter the engineering can begin - 8)
Lots of opportunity for dont do this or this or this or this in the final posting. :D :D :D :'(
I've heard of a "pig cage" method: butterflying a hog, flattening out the carcass, and sandwiching it in between cyclone fencing and then stringing poles on left and right so that the pig can be flipped while cooking over a pit.
don't know the "ladder method," but it sounds interesting and very similar to the cage.
Good luck. I'm so flipping jealous that I'm going to see how many racks of ribs I can fit into the dbs this weekend. Well, that's what I want to do. I'll probably just do 6-8 racks of babybacks.
Wish you had NePa's webcam, WCK. I'll be saluting you with a cold one this weekend. Good luck.
Gizmo: If Supershop sold basting mechanisms like you describe, I bet that more than half of us would have purchased one by now ;D (particularly if it came with a bar fridge that matches the stainless bradley).
;D Should be fun ;)
Yea, cage and ladder are the same i guess. Never heard cage before. In Kansas were kinda visual. Pig looks like he is climbing a ladder. Also works great for mop etc cuz of easy access to all parts. Was a good thought but did not work out...
Piggy arrived late and did not get cleaned up. So there was more prep than I had hoped to spend time doing also still partly frozen. Gave piggy as good of a cleaning as I could. Injected apple juice and rubbed in the last of my Bad Byrons and the rest of Gizmo's rub. Put as much rub on as I could - all over the inside.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/7ba9d0d4.jpg)
Also started to try to figure out what to do with this big boy to mount him for smoking in the bradley. First Issue, I wanted 10 to 12 pounds and got 14 lbs 8 oz. All the extra wieght seems to be in length.
Went through numerous periods of angist, panic and failure and finally decided to try some inside meat hook approach. The two clips by piggy are what i used - just some real heavy wire. One shaped with hooks to the outside and the other was shaped to go through the vent and grab the internally mounted hooks. Lots of visions about this pulling through especially when piggy got hot - but just pushed them out of my mind.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/f4382f6b.jpg)
I gave the hook idea a test and it showed promise as seen below. A couple of lessons here is ... the rug on the floor in front of the sink should be moved to avoid dripping blood. A second lesson is you should put the pan on the floor right after you move the rug and before hanging up piggy. The third lesson is that if you put the pan on the floor and have already moved the rug before your wife comes into the kitchen it will extend your life. Anyway piggy did just fine while all this was going on so to the next photo. CAUTION THIS IS GRAPHIC and NOT FOR YOUNG VIEWERS.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/2f0f877f.jpg)
Now you have to look closer than you might like... but you can see how well the internal hook has seated and how far "internal" it is located. I really needed to maximize how close piggy is to the top of the tower.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/74bfc983.jpg)
Now you see just how big of a fit problem I had. But he was in. I used a vice grip on the external hook to hold piggy. It would rotate perfect with the vice grip holding the external hook above the vent. The specs on his skin is the excess rub from the counter. Again, I intended to put all the rub on the inside but life is not perfect. When I knocked the half gallon of apple juice over i gotta admit i spilled some rub also.
Really things did look good at this point the mounting was working and other than piggy's ear being on the puck burner and not a puck, and his nose being on the bottom of the tower - and i still needed a water bowl and drip pan we were set... after all most of the sweat on my brow had stopped after the flurry of activity cleaning up the apple juice / blood / and my jar of rub.
The primary thought here was that I really, really wished I had bought a 6 rack - but I didn't so the best thing I could think to do is pretend I did so I just twisted piggy a bit and slid in the drip tray and rested his face on a rack to keep his nose out of the drain hole. You know how pigs can be...
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/a8e10569.jpg)
The block of wood is not for neck pain but to keep his mouth open for an apple or some other presentation idea. You can also see the cavity blocking installed to keep the cavity open for smoke and heat to enter the inside.
Photo after the first hour
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/167e4368.jpg)
I moved the rack down to rest directly on top of the drip pan. Gave him a little more room and he seems to be resting comfortably.
After 3 hours I poked him with the ET 73 on both sides and
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/b91c91d6.jpg)
had temp reading of 119 shoulder and 107 hams each side was within a degree...pretty impressed.
I would recommend that you take your temperature readings from the inside of the cavity. It will cut down punctures and ultimately leaks when the real cooking begins. Did not think of it at the time however even with the wide open cavity to see ;D
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/bc0c409e.jpg)
This I think was about hour 9. He has taken on a real nice color. Skin was feeling just right and the cooking was in the magic zone. This pig was going to happen. 167 at butt temp probe and 160 at the hams - which i was very pleased with being so far away at the top. I kept smoke flowing on this pig for the first four hours Apple and then at about 6 hours +- loaded another 4 hours of Apple. When I finally moved the piggy to the grill I had 3 wood pucks on the ramp and my first bubba was next to feed.
Loaded this guy onto the grill to finish. I was thinking a couple of more hours at a higher heat but...
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/a94bad83.jpg)
The real nice color is from the smoker as seen in the previous picture. This guy does have a good slathering of Iceman sauce both inside AND outside now.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/fc3c7052.jpg)
You can see the sauce marks from the sauce.
I did learn it is important to tie the feet together. As he cooked more and the meat relaxed his legs extended - eventually interfeering with the plates over the burners and eventually the back of the grill.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/ceb8cefa.jpg)
Another coating of iceman sauce. The skin is really excellent. Going to be super crispy.
WCK,
Even after all that, it still looks like more fun than I had today.
This is totally awesome. Looks like little piggy was getting happier and happier as the day progressed. I would be willing to bet the smile on your face was as well.
Looks like piggy ate the apple. LOL.
Looking forward to the appetite treatment review.
Suns down and starting to get cold so lowered the hood on the grill using a block of wood to hold it open a bit and keep the temp steady.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/c010532a.jpg)
Temp was pretty steady and I think was plenty warm. The skin on one side split - (not photographed) because of the higher heat. Had serious magic happening however. The whole atmosphere was a bit like cooking a whole hog as things were coming together.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/29223cde.jpg)
It is clear that appearance is not going to win any contests but this piggy is highly smoked and is cooking up great with crispy skin. All the meat has loosened and the skin is crisping great.
This is a piggy in FTC and stuffed into a tin roaster. He went into an oven preheated to 250 degrees. Will go into the fridge in about 4.5 hours when i get up to pee. Going for my blanket and more tomorrow. ;D :D
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/5f80edf9.jpg)
(forgot the picture)
Looks like piggy flexed the spit rod just a bit in the picture. Very nice.
All Hail to the "Boss Hog".
Yea, it is flexed a good inch. Getting some good heat and a piggy in the middle. I had to rig up a riser to gain clearance above the burners so that made the span longer as well.
House all cleaned painted and ready ???
I wish, but no. Brother-in-law coming over next weekend with a tracker to rip, grade adjust, and rototill the back yard for a new lawn. Never finished it after we put the retaining wall in. Anyway, have really enjoyed your posts. We are all living vicariously through you right now.
Hopefully you didn't forget that I offered you my 6 rack for the extra space. Well, I was hoping you'd take me up on the offer just for the excuse to have to come over and pick it up after the pig was done. :D :D
That's amazing WCK, (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-023.gif) (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-060.gif) (http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Big-Thumbs-Up.gif)
I saw in another thread that your wife felt sorry for the lil'piggy, my wife said exactly the same when i told her the plan, anyway i still haven't managed to get a pig the right size. On friday i had a phone call from a guy who told me he had 10 suckling pigs in stock of various sizes, but couldn't tell me the actual weights. Well i drove there yesterday morning (40 miles) but all the pigs were around 20+lbs the smallest being about 20lb, so more or less a wasted journey, although i did buy some nice shoulder/butts.
Anyway i think you did a great job WCK, and have given me even more inspiration to give it a go.
Just wanted to ask, in your opinion if i managed to get a 10-12lb piggy, would it be possible to do the entire smoke/cook in the BS?
Great pics, bound for the TrackForum no doubt!
LilSmoker (http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Tip-Hat.gif)
Well! I guess that little piggy shouldn't have gone to the market. I'm always amazed to see a problem solved. Look good, but that is too much meat for me or any gathering I will every have.
After following this idea in posts, I never thought it could happened. I am absolutely amazed. You should be proud of adaptations made to do this and the lovely pics. I am sure the finished product will be well worth the time spent and that this smoke will be one talked about for a long time. Thanks so much for sharing.
Btw WCK, he looks like a real film star with that tan! ;)
I also think you should give him a name, considering he's destined to be famous in the world of smoking! (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Happy/happy-047.gif)
Fantastic to say the least WCK , very,very cool. Great reporting , pics , the whole nine yards. 8)
On behalf of so many , Thank you,
Coyote
WCK,
Very nice......
Arcs_n_Sparks
Quote from: LilSmoker on April 29, 2007, 02:07:22 AM
but all the pigs were around 20+lbs the smallest being about 20lb, so more or less a wasted journey, although i did buy some nice shoulder/butts.
LilSmoker (http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Tip-Hat.gif)
Lil, buy the 20 lb and split it in half. ;D ;D ;D
This morning's fun ;D
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/e10236db.jpg)
An exploded view so to speak ;)
Front Row Left to Right
Pig Head, Pork Butt sitting on top of other Shouldder
Second Row
Left Rib Slab, Right Rib Slab
Third Row
Back Strap, Pork Loin Strips, Rib Slab same one Ham (Bone In :D )
Far Row
Belly Slabs (about 3 inches each), Other Ham
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k18/WCK_02/863ac63c.jpg)
Face is not really that dark - Pulled and chopped everything except head ;D ... Put all the meat into a large baking dish with a cup of apple sauce and into the oven at 220.
Even with the shoulder and hams at a good IT and a long warm FTC last night there is still some areas that were not what I wanted - These were all next to the bone...not unusual when the bone protects the meat from heat during a roast (areas under legs etc). It's 8)
Will leave in the oven until the ET72 says the center of the bowl is 220. I will admit to tasting a couple of pieces during the cut down and the smoke is perfect. The skin was seperated and on a cookie sheet - Lil S. it is outstanding... :o
I will circle back in a bit and try to do some helpful hints ... in a review. This is clearly a doable project in the Bradley. I think us 4 R guys are at a disadvantage to 6R where the space would have been great. ;D
Most outstanding WCK.
Outstanding!
This sounds like i may have to try it. My son-in-law who is Puerto Rican (good guy hard workin steel climber) is great at making cuban oinker marinated with Mojo ;D
This is not his original marinade recipe but close to it.
Mojo Criollo
1 cup sour orange juice
1 tablespoon oregano
1 garlic bulb
2 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoon salt
4 oz. of water
You can replace the sour orange juice with the following,
6 oz. orange juice
2 oz. lemon juice
Peel and dice the garlic cloves. Mix all the ingredients and let it sit for a minimum of one hour.
Brine
1/2 gal. Water
13 oz. Table Salt
To make the Mojo brine
1 part Mojo Criollo
3 part std. Brine
Blend all ingredients and let it sit for a minimum of one hour, strain and inject. Marinate the pig overnight.
After injecting the pig with the brine, apply a salt rub all over the pig, using Kosher Salt or Sea Salt.
nepas
WCK
That looks OUTSTANDING and very very good. Great job
nepas
Fantastic! (http://www.smileypad.com/v224/Happy/Big-Thumbs-Up.gif)
Lil S and other interested in trying this ...
I think the whole gig is about length. 24 inches will be the limit. If you can pick the pig that is even better. Lil S is the 20lbs you were looking at live weight? They will loose about a third.
If a smaller suckling pig is not available I am not sure it would be all that bad to do his head seperate and save it for decorations. ;D
This is more about a novelty than food anyway. This 14lbs 8oz turned into about 3-4 lbs of pulled and chopped pork. Not the time and money you would spend for food. :o
It can easily be finished in a bradley, but you may need a better internal hanger than i used. I went to an IT of 170ish. I would worry about 185 and the hanger still holding. ;) I think having his head on the rack provided some support for the wieght.
It does take a lot of smoke. Nothing is going through the hide so the cavity needs to be kept open.
I started out with a rack in its normal location and gained several inches when i put it right on top of the drip pan. May be able to gain another inch or so with a modified rack. Maybe a worn out jerky rack that lost its coating :-\
Have the pig cleaned by your butcher - lot easier and dont need to spend the time doing it...usually free anyway 8)
The skin DID get crisp in the bradley - interesting.
The apple juice injection worked well but i may use apple sauce next time ??? This is a hollow piece.
Try to minimize the number of puncture wounds through the skin ... I would have like to have had no skin leaks and I think it would help keep the skin from breaking loose or tearing open.
The amount of goo was average, not a big deal to worry about.
Cooking head down worked well and the temps were more balanced than i thought possible. ;D
Keep the temps down under 300 - 275 better on the grill if you use a grill to finish. My temps were too high. Sauce got burned a little and skin split. :'(
All in all I think this project would be great fun to do with fellow smokers or for a holiday project. :)
There are advantages to the extra size of the 6R. ;)
I will certainly do it again. 8)
WOW quite amazing ........... sure makes the ole IDEA juices flow ............. seeing that I use my freezer conversion the most , no space issues. Thanks for the great Ideas and do's and don'ts.......
ROTFLMAO ......... got so intreged reading this post BURNT my darn sausage I had on the grill..... lol
when I say BURNT I mean blackened and CRISPY ...........
Great job West Coast!
8) 8) 8)
Mike
Brilliant! Guys like you who push this thing forward.
Thanks for the info WCK, the lil'pig weights were dead and apparently cleaned etc. I have found another possible supplier that may have some very small piggies, still very pricey though :o:
http://www.formanandfield.com/pughs-suckling-pig-p-537.html
My wife still thinks i'm wicked, and how could i smoke such a cute lil'piggy?, i told her i really love pigs, especially coated in bbq sauce!(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Food/eating-02.gif) (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Food/ready-to-eat-19.gif)
Headgames, i forgot about your conversion. I have photos of it on my desktop where i keep copies of good ideas. With that fridge you are all set for a real pig deal :D :D :D
Many thanks to everyone for the encouragement and many ideas ;) It has been some years since I have been involved with a whole hog event. Did a couple for Jaycees and the Lenexa KS Whole Hog Event quite some time ago ;)
This was like a toy pig but was real and the issues are largely the same. Good fun and memories - (once he was mounted ;) )
As Gizmo, who knows me - knew - the smile on my face was pretty big as this came to a close. This forum is great place to share the adventure, get ideas and help - and to enjoy the results 8) 8) 8)
Lil S, The small sized one looked to be right weight ??? 2.2 to 1 ??? Last I checked a 100 pounds was 155 USD? If so that is about right. I think a couple of internet places in USA were 149usd and other 155usd. I used a local butcher shop (Mikes Meat) to source the pig for me. He charged a flat 100usd but I use him for odd things from time to time. ;)
The cleaning did not win me points with the Mrs. Little pigs are cute - or so i heard a lot... he was cute finishing on the grill ! :D :D
It is pricey, expecially compared to what you woud pay pound for pound on a dressed out 200 pound hog. It is neat for something special - in which case I would want to practice once ;)
Really liked how you pulled this off, WCK. And thanks for sharing the lessons, and humor. How did porky taste?
The wife comments had me laughing very hard. When I did my pig it was a big one, straight from a farm out here in Central Cal. Farmer dressed and shaved the critter, but still had to perform some surgery in the back yard to remove a few organs. And since we don't have a walk in fridge or freezer, piggy got to spend the night wrapped in plastic in our bathtub, covered in ice. Yeah, scored a whole bunch of points with the misses, especially when I had to move the carcass through the house to the bathroom (completely opposite side of the house) after I had slathered, injected, rubbed and whatever else I could think of to season the pig. Predictable trail through the house, with the expected encouragement from my beautiful bride.
We were spit roasting the pig at my inlaws, about 1.5 miles away, so had to transport porky to the fire site early, early, early in the morning. My cousin and I (who look a bit Italian, and looked like we had been "working" for a few hours), had to carry this 90 lb., plastic wrapped, dead person looking piece of meat out the front door and load it up into the back of the SUV. Didn't have to answer any questions from the police, probably cuz the wife was cleaning the front yard about 6 hours later. She laughed when I told her to expect a few questions if the neighbors saw us getting ready to take porky for his second to last ride (the multi hour spit ride was probably less enjoyable, particularly when Porky figured out how he would be riding the bar).
This site is great!
Quote from: Consiglieri on April 30, 2007, 12:57:43 PM
How did porky taste?
Piggy was outstanding, great smoke flavor combined excellent with a light sweet pork flavor - He did get 6 hours of smoke - I was afraid it would be too much -
The wife comments had me laughing very hard. When I did my pig it was a big one, straight from a farm out here in Central Cal. Farmer dressed and shaved the critter, but still had to perform some surgery in the back yard to remove a few organs. And since we don't have a walk in fridge or freezer, piggy got to spend the night wrapped in plastic in our bathtub, covered in ice. Yeah, scored a whole bunch of points with the misses, especially when I had to move the carcass through the house to the bathroom (completely opposite side of the house) after I had slathered, injected, rubbed and whatever else I could think of to season the pig. Predictable trail through the house, with the expected encouragement from my beautiful bride.
:D :D :D I can relate, :D :D :D
This site is great!
YES IT IS
Great job WCK....well documented. This was my first time viewing this topic (don't know how I missed it...)
My wife has been a vegetarian for 20 years now. She see's some of the great stuff that comes out of the Bradley and I can't help but notice her gazing interested at the meals the kids and I devour. She even had a small taste of applewood smoked turkey I made at Christmas. First taste of meat in 20 years....MAJOR deal for her.
She was starting to break.........she was questioning her reasons for being a vegetarian.......then these pictures......she saw these pictures.......I think the word she used was "savages".
Back to square one. ;)
Those little plastic wrapped pieces in the store started out somewhere. I guess it makes it a little more real when you can see a face, though. Still, "savages" has a nice ring to it: "Smokin Savages" take the field in their home opener...
Just about brewin' time, by the way. Good luck closing the sale on your meat conversion.
;) That's funny! ;D ;D
Was getting ready for the long weekend, then saw Giz' post in the smoking lion thread and it reminded me... I have a nice piece of woodwork that needs to meet Mr. Rib. I wish I would have remembered this handicraft when my personal hero had the little piggie in his house built of .... slow heat. Hope you like the board. I routed it, with 3" channels, for the 40th bday hog roast. The spots are knots, not stains-- cleaned this bad boy up a lot. I'll have to explain the demented humor to the son some day. But hopefully, he'll get it without explanation. Happy long weekend to you guys.
(http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s293/consiglieri655/100_3502.jpg)
;D ;) :D
That looks real nice Consiglieri. With a dark finish, it would match the notty alder cabinets in my kitchen. :D
Now all you need is the cartoon porky pig head in the corner winking.
If I could find a nice b/w silhouette, I'd burn it in. And order up a pig. And send out the invites. And make sure the cold ones were as cold as their supposed to be. And I'd find a way to get you Cali BS owners together for a bit of fun, even if we're incapable of letting someone else run the fire. Baby first, next challenge later.
Ok I am WAY LATE to this thread but...
We use this method to competion cook whole hogs (not piggies lol )
http://www.utc.edu/Research/SimCenter/hawgs.html (http://www.utc.edu/Research/SimCenter/hawgs.html)
Now that I have a BDS coming I am thinking about taking the smoke generator and redneck engineering a opening to insert it into for a couple of hours of smoke.
Steven
Bert and Ernie looked like they were ready for a tanning. LOL
:D :D :D Thats great.
Yeah it was always a blast.
Once the tourist/gawkers left for the eveining that is when the poker, beer, tall tale telling, and such took place. Us "workers" made night shift sound absolutely horrible so we could keep the curious away.
Unfortunately, when I moved to FL and tried to do this again..... Most folks thought a Hawg cooking was me and a buddy cokking the hawg for them to show up and eat the next day. I quickly informed them this was a social event not us performing as caterers. ;D
Even had one like the hawg so much she asked us to cook for her church group. Caveat she wanted us to cook it offsite and bring the pulled meat to her in Al pans. She said the sight of the whole hawg and the meat pulling was to barbaric.
**sigh**
Steven
Sorrry to hear about that experience, Standles, but what can I say except this: the tall tales, cold beers, hard work, hot fires, good food, (insert reference to clueless eater who knows nothing about all the former), and good friends who are there to help you make it happen are what this stuff is all about. And good food and pix with Ernie and Bert, of course.
I'm curious about how you responded to the "catering requests."
The "*sigh*" reminds me of Good Ole Charlie Brown.
Nice! Very interesting.
-Brian
Since it was a church lady I held my words of wisdom for the most part and just said no.
::)\