Spitting a pig.

[Kiroy]

Anyone done this?

Our yearly familiy party is on the 4th of July, and this year I'm putting myself in charge of the main course. Instead of my parents Albertsons bought fried chicken, I had a different idea. My buddy's and I figured we'd spit a pig.

I'm pretty much using this as a guideline:

Spit-Roasting

My buddy is welding the spit together (he's a welder by trade, so free steel), and we have a little low geared motor to turn it for the day.

Anyone have any personal experience and advice not noted on that web page? And most important, hows the bitch gonna taste? Good I assume.

Thanks

[Faltigoth]

I bet James has all the answers on this.

Oh, wait, that's GETTING spitted by a pig. Nm.

(just kidding man!)

[dak]

Freeze the pig right so you don't give your family Trichinosis resulting in seizure causing, brain encysting round worms.

[Kiroy]

Originally Posted by dak

Freeze the pig right so you don't give your family Trichinosis resulting in seizure causing, brain encysting round worms.

Those won't cook out?

[dak]

Unless you are sure you can get every inch of tissue on the carcass ~150 degrees no, cooking isn't enough. It's not as easy as it sounds to be sure with a whole animal is cooked enough and trichinosis worms are very common.

It be ideal to keep the pig in -15 degree freezer for a 10 days or so.

It's a bit of a pain in the ass yes but it beats having a family member start having seizures a few years later because they have a half-dollar sized worm cysts turning their brains into swiss cheese.

[Kiroy]

Originally Posted by dak

It's a bit of a pain in the ass yes but it beats having a family member start having seizures a few years later because they have a half-dollar sized worm cysts turning their brains into swiss cheese.

I'll talk to the Butcher about it. Thx.

[ValkyrieIsAboutToDie]

I'll vouch for the taste. I love dry, smoky meat, so when a pig's been roasted a touch too long, that's the best for my tastebuds.

Oh, and when you have a pig roast, you need to make sure you do these two things:

1) Go completely out of control with the side dishes and shit. Every kind of slaw and salad you can imagine, potatoes, etc etc.

2) Don't offer any other meats besides the pig. If someone is too pussy to eat the poor widdle piggy, but still want meat, they'll have to eat side dishes to stay fed.

[Kiroy]

Originally Posted by ValkyrieIsAboutToDie

I'll vouch for the taste. I love dry, smoky meat, so when a pig's been roasted a touch too long, that's the best for my tastebuds.

Oh, and when you have a pig roast, you need to make sure you do these two things:

1) Go completely out of control with the side dishes and shit. Every kind of slaw and salad you can imagine, potatoes, etc etc.

2) Don't offer any other meats besides the pig. If someone is too pussy to eat the poor widdle piggy, but still want meat, they'll have to eat side dishes to stay fed.

Well - it's pretty much a potluck, with my parents providing the main course. So the sides are always there. If it was up to me, all we'd have is pig. NOTHING ELSE.

I'm most looking forward to the kids seeing Wilber on the spit. In fact I'm going to bring up my laptop and have charlettes web playing while it turns. ; )

[BrotherWu]

I have done 3 or 4 pig roasts myself, even done the slaughtering. I personally think freezing is not necessary, but I am not a chef, butcher, doctor or lawyer. A few comments:

- I would not use a spit. It's a pain in the ass. I would imagine it takes longer to cook and make sure it is cooked properly. You also will not get the real BBQ flavor.

- Instead, rent a roaster, it is usually a big tank on wheels that has been converted to a roaster. Cook it over charcoal, or even mesquite if you know what you are doing. Make sure it has a thermometer. If you know how much meat you have and what temperature you are cooking at, you can know pretty damn well how long it will take to cook it. I forget what the time per pound is. You can confirm it is cooked properly with a meat thermometer.

- Make sure you give PLENTY of time for the charcoal to prep. You're going to be using several bags of charcoal and an fair amount of charcoal starter fluid. You want to be sure that the shit has cooked off or you will get an off flavor. I don't remember exactly how long it takes but its well over an hour.

- Quarter the pig. At least. It cooks more evenly and is easier to manage.

- When you dish up the meat, don't put the sauce on it for them. Leave it in the nude (which is good too!). Offer several types of BBQ sauces. In fact, you should do a little research and make your own. There are basically two fundamental types: mustard-based and tomato-based. I have had good luck with the sauce recipes provided by the guy on "License to Grill". You can find him on Google. If you MUST buy a store sauce, don't buy shit. Uncle Doogies is a good one.

- Also, one year we bought a '4h' hog. It was a special breed that was especially lean. I thought it was great. I have heard stories of people ending up with fatty hogs that cook down to almost nothing, but I have never seen it.

- Have a water bottle handy to spray down flames. Flames should not contact the meat.


Good luck.

[Fender]

You're going to want to make use of meat thermometers during the cooking if you don't freeze it for the right length of time.

If you aren't getting all of the meat you'll be serving to 150+ F as dak said, do not serve it and do not eat it.

[Taloo]

THey arent fuckign kidding about the temp. If you arent comfortable getting it cooked thoroughly yourself have the pig catered from a local bar-b-que place. Wont be too much more $$ and they will probably know exactly what they need to do.

Triconosis is bad mkay.

If you really want to do it yourself and have any questions reguarding how to cook it right and safely shoot me a PM. I went to college for that kind of stuff lolz.

[Kiroy]

Originally Posted by Taloo

THey arent fuckign kidding about the temp. If you arent comfortable getting it cooked thoroughly yourself have the pig catered from a local bar-b-que place. Wont be too much more $$ and they will probably know exactly what they need to do.

Triconosis is bad mkay.

If you really want to do it yourself and have any questions reguarding how to cook it right and safely shoot me a PM. I went to college for that kind of stuff lolz.

Me and a few other guys will be doing it. I'll talk to the Butcher about freezing the pig. No way I'm getting it catered. I can use meat thermometer as well as the caterer. It will either be done perfectly, or overdone. I've got about 5 different instruction guides printed out, and I'll be sure the internal temp is at least 100 degrees.

















JUST JOKING - 170 degrees.

[Cud]

On a side note. Anyone have any experience in cooking a pig in the ground? I had a firend when I lived in South Florida that did that for christmas and I would kill to replicate it.

[Kiroy]

Originally Posted by Cud

On a side note. Anyone have any experience in cooking a pig in the ground? I had a firend when I lived in South Florida that did that for christmas and I would kill to replicate it.

I had some of that in Hawaii. So damn good. I'm hoping a spit pig will be similar. We'd actually be doing it in the ground if we weren't right on the lake. We'd hit the water after about 12 inches.

[Lenas]

The guy from Man vs. Wild cooked something in the sand one time. Youtube it! I assume the process is the same for a pig as it is for a fish.. just.. longer. Maybe a bigger hole.