Comments on: So You Want To Roast A Pig?

By: Richard B.

Richard B. — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:25:47 +0000

If you know what you’re doing, it comes out great. See my WEB Site. In my smoker, you just nearly can’t burn the pig. I used to rotissery the PIG, but any more, I just Roast it Right Side UP for 12-16 hours. It depends on the size. I have done many, many Pigs, and have never had one come bad. These are done over an all wood/charcoal fire.

By: SamChevre

SamChevre — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:06:01 +0000

Whole hog barbecue is popular in West Tennessee, where I lived for several years. I’ve seen it done a few times.

Cook the pig skin-side DOWN until it’s almost done; a couple hours before it’s done, turn it over; the fat soaks through and into the meat.

I’ve never seen pig cooked on a spit–just a metal grid, over wood.

By: jwsharrard

jwsharrard — Thu, 03 May 2007 14:57:49 +0000

And that’s just from an itty bitty goose… imagine what a pig could do!

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:26:43 +0000

Your comment about fire from the fat reminded me of another whole animal roasting story. Years ago my cousin’s husband decided it to cook a whole goose on a spit. He had it cooking slowly over a charcoal fire for quite a while and thought it was close to done, so he stuck a meat thermometer into it. Gooses (geese?) have a lot of subcutaneous fat, and it all melted and stayed inside until the thermometer punctured the skin, at which point there was a huge inferno. By the time he was able to get close enough to do anything, it was too late. The goose was incinerated.

By: Aurora

Aurora — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:11:27 +0000

I was at a real (also North Carolina) pig pickin’ only once in my life and though it was a while ago, I’m pretty sure that the mechanism they roasted the pig on was more similar to the final link than the giant grill shown in the pictures here. I’m not sure where you could find either setup in Pittsburgh, but it might be worth asking the farms your trying to get pigs from if they have or know of anything in the area that you could rent or borrow. The last thing you want to do is burn your house down.

Also, you might want to warn people (especially if you have vegetarian friends attending your soiree), that a pig pickin’ is about as close as you’re ever going to get to actually understanding that the food you’re eating is a real animal. I mean, you’re basically cooking a pig whole, head on and everything. Some people may not be ready to see / comprehend that. Either way, the final result sure is good.