This weekend, we roasted an entire pig at my house for a BBQ.
Not only was it fun and visually-impressive to cook, but it was darn tasty too.
You should try it!
This is our method.
Pay about $3 a pound for the nicest, most naturally raised animal you could find.
Thats final hanging weight, post slaughter, so its just the meat, skin and bones.
Our pigs hanging weight was 60lbs, which fed 25 people, two dogs and created plenty of leftovers.
Yelp and Google are your tools for finding a quality pig raised on natural food.
We picked ours up the morning of the barbecue to avoid having to store it.
We just brought it home, prepped it, and put it on the fire.
Youll want to add charcoal and wood to this throughout the day to keep it going.
Do the same from the slit to the anus, splitting the pelvis.
This is hard work and there is a potential to injure yourself if the knife slips.
Hold your hand out in front of you in a vertical fist.
The knife should face downwards, with the edge facing your forearm, in line with it.
Next, cut the ribs away from the spine, where they meet.
Youll be able to find the joint line, split through there.
Pry the mouth open with a pry bar, sturdy serving fork, shovel or similar.
Insert the apple in its mouth to hold it open.
This looks cool and allows heat to permeate the pigs head.
Locate the cross members a foot from the ends.
Drive two your rebar stakes into the ground about a foot from the fire on each corner.
These should be the same width as your frame as they support it.
Locate your frame on these stakes and lean it across the fire somewhere between 45 and 60 degrees.
Drive the two remaining rebar stakes into the ground to support those feet.
Youll be turning and flipping the frame with the pig on it to cook it evenly.
Youll need at least two big guys to maneuver the pig onto the fire.
Step Six: Cook The Pig
Start slow, over a bed of coals with minimal flame.
The idea is to heat the flesh up evenly and throughout without browning the outside.
Pigs are fatty animals and you want to slowly melt that fat so it bastes the meat.
Theres also a lot of water in the meat.
This will need to steam off before the meat can really begin cooking.
Youll want to flip across both axis; vertical and horizontal.
Flip the pig, reduce the size of your fire or move it further away.
Pay careful attention to the neck, shoulders and hind-quarters.
These are the thickest parts of the animal and need more heat for longer to cook through.
Depending on the size of your pig, youll be getting close after six to eight hours.
If youre using a meat thermometer, youre looking for 145 degrees throughout.
you could cut into thick section of the pig to examine its readiness.
Just ensure to taste to confirm desired saltiness.
Let cool to room temperature.
it’s possible for you to cut the pig up any way you want.
ensure you remove the cheeks from the head, theyre one of the tastiest cuts of meat.
Then remove the ears and serve those to your dogs.
Knife used was the newDPx Aculus.
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