BFG 1st Pig Roast "Peter Porker"

[GrillSgt]

Hey everyone, planning on smoking a 53lb. pig from Business Costco tomorrow. Thinking of 225° I got the pig thawing out nicely now. Mixing up my own injection using white grape peach, apple juice, brown sugar and salt. Going to use an AP rub as my base and follow it up with a BBQ Rub on the inside cavity. I'd like to be able to feed my guests by 5:00 p.m. What time should I put the hog in? How long should it rest before pulling?
Any suggestions, tips would be helpful.
Kind of nervous on this cook.

 

[C. Keeper]

Peter Porker sounds like something that would require penicillin

 

[SmokeOCD]

Good Luck! I've only ever done it on a spit. Salt, Fire and a oil/saltwater mop occasionally on the skin.
No advice for a whole pig on a recteq - just want to watch for the results.

* Smoker advice is right on the box... Only thing is *I think* there's no way you're getting crispy skin at 225*.

 

[GrillSgt]

Thank you, I make take it up to 325°after a few hours. I'll keep an eye on the color and skin crispiness spraying with vegetable oil.

 

[Jim6820]

One thing to remember is “resting time.” It is both necessary to allow the juices to redistribute and a great way to give you some cook-time flexibility and cover an early completion or extend a slower-than-anticipated one.

I have no experience doing whole pigs, but if I was going to do it for the first time, I would give myself some extra time and cover any early finish with a longer rest. That way, if the cook didn’t finish as scheduled, I’d have a bit of a cushion to work with.

I think I’d start at 200-225F for a couple of hours for smoke, then bump the temp up to 250F for another 3-4 hours and then finish at 325-350F to crisp up the skin. This is probably going to be a 6-7-hour cook at the quickest and probably longer. For a 5 pm serving time, I’d probably put the pig in the smoker not later than 6 am with 2-3 strategically placed thermometer probes so that I could monitor temps and adjust the grill temp/cook time as needed.

Please be sure to let us know what you did and how it went. Photos would be greatly appreciated. Good luck!

 

[GrillSgt]

Thank you very much, I greatly appreciate the advice. Makes perfect sense The last thing I want is a bunch of hungry people at 5:00 p.m. with nothing to feed them but side dishes. I will be posting pictures tomorrow throughout the cook.

 

[SmokeZilla]

One thing to remember is “resting time.” It is both necessary to allow the juices to redistribute and a great way to give you some cook-time flexibility and cover an early completion or extend a slower-than-anticipated one.

I have no experience doing whole pigs, but if I was going to do it for the first time, I would give myself some extra time and cover any early finish with a longer rest. That way, if the cook didn’t finish as scheduled, I’d have a bit of a cushion to work with.

I think I’d start at 200-225F for a couple of hours for smoke, then bump the temp up to 250F for another 3-4 hours and then finish at 325-350F to crisp up the skin. This is probably going to be a 6-7-hour cook at the quickest and probably longer. For a 5 pm serving time, I’d probably put the pig in the smoker not later than 6 am with 2-3 strategically placed thermometer probes so that I could monitor temps and adjust the grill temp/cook time as needed.

Please be sure to let us know what you did and how it went. Photos would be greatly appreciated. Good luck!

I haven’t smoked one that size but I have done a few that were in the 150-200lb range on my other grill. Just always remember to be conservative with your time calculations and keep the backbone covered (I like bacon) and moist during the entire cook as it and the legs will finish quicker than the rest of the pig. Good luck. Looking forward to your pics.

 

[GrillSgt]

Thank you for the advice!

 

[GrillSgt]

 

[GrillSgt]

Peter Porker went in at 0800 hrs @ 225°

 

[SmokeZilla]

View attachment 20508

Peter’s looking good. I’d probe the rib cage area though to monitor temps if you didn’t stuff the cavity with lots of oil, veggies, sugar cane, and other protective barriers. In general, they will be done in about 6-8 hours but the butts and hams can take up to 12 hours depending on their density to hit ~192. The tail and hooves will also need extra protection or it will also overcook.

 

[GrillSgt]

Thanks! I did probe the ham (A) and shoulder (B) after I took the pics. Here is where we are nearing the 3 hr mark.

 

[Threadcutter]

View attachment 20508

Didn't have enough tin foil for a whole hat ?

 

[GrillSgt]

 

[GrillSgt]

Here's Peter @ 4hr mark. Not getting the color I had hoped for by now. I bumped up the temp to 325°

 

[GrillSgt]

 

[GrillSgt]

Side by side pics..
0800 hrs. and 1200 hrs.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Nice pic and update. It looks like you still have a long way to go. The shoulder needs to be slowed down (perhaps shielding or injection) so it will align better with the butt and hit the stall at around the same time. The front probe is farther away from the heat source than the rear but I don’t know that it will make a big difference at this point. I also noticed you bumped the temps up considerably. Was this to speed up the cook?

 

[SmokeZilla]

Read your post on the color/skin. You can use margerine or oil mixed with Cayenne to get a nice brown and crispy skin. Ultimately, right as it get ready to finish, pump up the temps and “roll” the pig to finalize the skin. You will also need to move the legs at that time where the contact the pig’s belly but I cheat and use a butane caramelizing torch to finish those areas off. YMMV.

 

[GrillSgt]

Nice pic and update. It looks like you still have a long way to go. The shoulder needs to be slowed down (perhaps shielding or injection) so it will align better with the butt and hit the stall at around the same time. The front probe is farther away from the heat source than the rear but I don’t know that it will make a big difference at this point. I also noticed you bumped the temps up considerably. Was this to speed up the cook?

I was concerned about the color not being that dark mahogany as seen in the videos