Fool Proof Half Hog | Until My TempSpike Broke...
Hello Journeymen, Apprentices and BBQ Enthusiasts! This past weekend we hosted a party for a large group of friends and I knew this would be the perfect time to smoke my first hog!
I tried my very best to make this smoke as easy and fool proof as possible. The choice of hog and wood helped me to determine that only Kosher salt was needed to season the pork. I'm so glad I didn't overcomplicate it because the BBQ sauces I made in addition to the simple season really raised the bar.
Here's the Recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
Half or Whole Hog
Kosher Salt
Hickory Wood & Apple Wood
RECIPE:
Start your fire before prepping your hog. To get this smoke started I used some maple wood chunks, but once the fire was established, I smoked using a blend of hickory and apple wood.
Remove the extra fat from you hog. Don't forget to remove key components such as the rib silverskin, the spinal cord, etc.
Rinse and dry your hog
Cover your hog with Kosher Salt. I used just salt due to the sweeter flavor brought about by my choice of hog.
On the reverse offset smoker, smoke the hog with the ham side closest to the firebox.
Keep your fire between 200-250° and smoke your hog until reaching an eternal temperature of 190° collectively
Let hog rest 45-60 minutes
Remove skin from the hog and chop into delicious pulled pork
-ENJOY!
This smoke brought about many highs and lows, pun definitely intended! You'll notice in my video that I speak highly of my TempSpike wifi temperature reader by @ThermoPro. I was really looking forward to using this for such a big cook, but one hour into my smoke the TempSpike decided to stop working. I tried all the troubleshooting solutions, but unfortunately this bad-boy will no longer hold a charge. So therefore, what should've been a fool proof cook, was actually more of a babysitting job.
Even though I was forced to watch this smoke a little more closely, the hog turned out amazing! We were able to feed over 50 people and were able to send leftovers home with our friends. I was able to "Feed the People" and then some. My heart is full.
Have you cooked a hog before? How was your experience? What's your favorite smoke to feed a large crowd?
I'll see you next time at the pit!
-Richard 'The Journeyman"
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