Roasting a pig with Firewood in a pit

[tylorklein]

Hi everyone. This isn’t really a ‘firewood’ post per se but it involved burning a good amount of hardwoods so I figured it should count and some folks might be interested / benefit from sharing my research and experience. Also I don’t belong to any BBQ forums or anything and wanted to share this somewhere since I took the time to put it together. Mods feel free to move it if I shouldn’t have posted this here.

For a recent annual gather we host the wife and I hosted I decided I was going to cook a whole hog in a hole in the ground (not sure exactly why but always sounded like fun). I did a lot of online research (forum posts and youtube) and combined stuff from all the sources (and a little bit of random thoughts) into a system that worked pretty well for us. I’m hoping others can benefit from this post similarly if they are inclined to try this themselves. Fair warning that this will be a long post and picture heavy. Partly because I plan to use it as a guide to remind myself as well next time…

Step 1: Find a pig

I located a farmer (via CL) a half hour north who sold whole hogs at $1/lb hanging weight, flat fee of $180 up to 180 lbs. My initial plan from my research was for a 100lber (and the local meat market was $3/lb below 100 lbs and $2/lb for 100 up so was going to be just over 100lb if I went through them) but I figured with that pricing structure I might as well shoot for 180. He was 180 hanging on the nuts and around 250lb on the hoof. The farmer’s neighbor runs a meat locker so he cleaned it up (head and skin on, hair off and guts out) for $45. We filled him with ice and wrapped him in a heavy PVC tarp (more on that later) for the ride home)…




Step 2: Dig a pit and build a fire

It was pretty muddy around the area I selected for the pit (a sandy rise behind the shed) so I was only able to take a couple scoops with the skidsteer then it was all hand dug. Turned out our pit was WAY too big so will be reducing to about 4x8 next time. We dug it about 3’ deep and mounded the dirt along the edges. Then lined the whole thing with a bunch of granite scraps and patio pavers that we laying around. I also drove some rebar into the pit thinking it would help hold up the wood / tarp / dirt (more on that later) but for the most part it sort of folded over after being in the fire so didn’t add much I don’t think (and with a smaller pit it would really not be needed). I forgot to get a picture of the pit itself but picture a big hole lined with granite chunks and paver bricks. Then we started the fire (around 11 am). Based on online reading I was thinking it would take about ½ cord but we ended up closer to a full cord for sure (maybe because of the oversized pit) to get to the 1 foot of hot coals we were shooting for. Burned the fire until 5pm when the pig went in, adding more logs whenever it was losing flames pretty much. Based on online advice we avoided any pine and tried to use mostly oak and maple but it ended up being a mix of those plus elm, birch, ash, and some boxelder. As I’ve been processing wood I have just been tossing uglies / odd lengths (tree service drop-offs) into a pile for this purpose. It was mostly all pretty dry but didn’t bother with any additional splitting or anything given the burn time we had to work with. Alternated between tossing in a few chunks at a time (shot of Dad in action below) with dumping whole skidsteer buckets. Burned a lot of wood and that fire was HOT. Side note – I had my dad and two buddies as helpers for this – help was definitely a good thing.





Step 3: Prep the pig

I was planning a 24 hour cook time based on some online reading that said they’re hard to overcook and it seemed like a nice, round number. A lot of videos / guides were shorter times but generally for much smaller pigs. I also didn’t want to pull out a raw pig in front for a big crows so erred on the cautious side. With the plan to get the pig in the pit at 5 we started prepping him around 3. I decided not to try injecting anything and just stick with dry rub so went to Sam’s club and bought some spices. I basically read the back of a pre-mixed rub and bought the main ingredients in bulk. We mixed together in a large bowl, tasting as we went, until it tasted and smelled like BBQ potato chips. Ended up being 8 lbs of salt and between 1-2 lb each of chili pepper, paprika, onion powder and granulated garlic. Once it was mixed up we rubbed the pig down (maybe more than needed but I would do the same amount again) and let him stand that way for an hour or so. We did this in a kitchen area I have in the shed – worked great for several stages due to floor drains under the table and plenty of space to work. Also I should note that the Bud Lights throughout were, I believe, a key ingredient to success…





More to come in the next post... (size limited)

 

[tylorklein]

Step 4: Wrap the pig for the pit

Everything up to this point was at least relatively consistent between sources I had seen but exactly how the pig should go into the pit was all over the place it seemed. We ended up using a little bit from a bunch of methods and I think it worked just fine. My dad used an old ladder stand to make a platform for the pig with handles made of large gauge tensioning wire to pull him out. We used that as the starting point for wrapping him by putting a layer of chicken wire (it was galvanized so we had left it in the fire for an hour or two earlier in the day just to be safe), then a couple layers of super heavy tinfoil (Sam’s club), then a double layer of heavy burlap seed sacks cut flat. We made all the layers extra-large then put the pig on (back side down) and folded them over one at a time. One thing I should mention is the burlap had been soaking in water for a couple hours at this point to really saturate it (I was pretty worried it would all burn up but it won’t – more on that later). Once he was closed up we used wire to tie the chicken wire closed and made a ‘belt’ of large gauge wire to secure him to the rack.









Step 5: Put the pig in the fire and cover it up

Other than pulling the pig out, this was the step I was most concerned about. I had read about and seen evidence of how you can at best burn up all the burlap and at worst create a pig fat fireball if the pit doesn’t get covered right and air gets in or if it takes too long to choke off all the air. As I mentioned earlier the pit was way too big so we had to do some improving at this step. First we made a lid for the pit from a piece of plywood with tin sheeting screwed to it and 2x4 handles. I was pretty sure that would end up as ashes but it didn’t (amazingly nothing in the pit did). The idea of the lid was to make it easier to uncover the pig than digging him out by hand and to help bear the weight of the dirt without crushing him. Not sure it did anything but we soaked that too before deploying it. Since we could see it wasn’t big enough to cover the hole we put a large, heavy PVC tarp over that to help seal the rest. The tarp somehow survived with just a small hole melted in one spot. Once the pig was in the pit we also tossed a couple wet burlap on top (mostly just to see what would happen because I had read that some people skip the tinfoil and the burlap still doesn’t burn. After a quick (and hot) raking to smooth the coals by one of my buddies, I used the skidsteer to lower the pig in and then we raced like crazy to cover him by finding anywhere steam / smoke was coming out and covering it with sand and dirt.

 

[tylorklein]

Step 6: Unearth and unwrap the pig. Breathe a sigh of relief, then chop and enjoy!

Our last visible steam from the pit was covered with sand at 5pm on the spot. We checked it periodically thereafter and the mound was warm to the touch but we never saw any more steam or smoke (which I took as a good sign). At 5pm the next day we stuck a couple shovels in the ground to get under the board then I flipped it up with the skidsteer and we hooked the wire handles (great addition) on the chains. Then we hoisted him out and brought him to waiting picnic tables that we’d pushed together to make enough room to work. We had 3-4 people pulling / cutting off slabs (welding gloves are your friend for this) and another 2-3 chopping and mixing the pork (I read that mixing the different cuts is key) and packaging then into those disposable aluminum half pans with lids. We sent the first couple pans up to the hungry crowd and then rest went into the freezer. The only cut I kept whole / separate was the ribs. Each pan help 4.5-6 lb of meat and I think we turned out around a dozen pans. Could have gotten a lot more off the carcass I am sure but we were hungry and tired and at some point I assume I will be sick of eating pork sandwiches all the time. As we unwrapped and started carving there was a good crowd around (everyone was pretty interested to see the result) and most everyone had a taste or two as we carved. The tongue was actually a big hit since it was super tender and sort of exotic I guess.








The skin never got crunchy or anything so we didn’t do anything with that – we saved maybe 10 lb of fat to see if it can be used for sausage making though. Tossed the carcass in the bonfire later and the whole neighborhood smelled good for a while. All-in-all it was a great success and we got a TON of positive feedback. Everyone wants it as an annual part of the event so I decided to keep (but resize) the pit and see what happens. Might try some smaller stuff in there in the meantime. Also - amazingly, nothing in the pit (including the burlap we put on top of the pig) burned at all. I guess keeping out the air really works like they say.

If anyone has bothered to read through this whole thing hopefully it was understandable and maybe a bit helpful or informative. If there are specific questions / comments / suggestions on things to try next time I am happy to answer or take any advice out there.

Thanks.

 

[Stihlofadeal64]

The only thing we lack is the smell and the taste! Pit cooked PIG-- oh yeah! Thanks for the pics and the post. I've been cooking hog's and various types of BBQ a long time. I'd love to do a whole hog in a pit like this for a gathering some time. I will have to reference your post here when I can do so. Thanks for all the help!

 

[flashhole]

This may be the absolute best thread I've read on this site .... ever! Nice job and thanks for sharing.

12" thick bed of coals, how thick on top?

 

[Guswhit]

Cool! I actually took to just doing pork buts now, as they are easier for me to control. Reminds me that I haven't one any for a few months and I miss the smell!!!!!!!! I use Cherry wood and Kingsford charcoal.

 

[tylorklein]

How thick was the dirt on top of the pit or the ash on top of the coals?

We piled dirt/sand between probably 3-6 inches or maybe a little more on top I would say (just kept shoveling until the steam stopped). The tarp definitely took some stress and showed it there it was between the pit and the plywood holding up the dirt for a day (a lighter duty tarp would never have worked with the wide pit). We actually checked on it until pretty late at night (having a bonfire nearby) because we were worried the tarp would rip and we'd have a partial cave in that would let in air and torch the thing.

In addition to the bed of coals there was a good amount of ash in the pit (and some burned up wood that wasn't really coals anymore around the edges) as well as you can see from the pics. Not sure how much exactly but that pit started about 3' down from level almost with all the dirt in the berm around it so quite a bit taller to the lip and you can see in the pic there really wasn't much excess head space. I think we probably made more coals than it might have taken but everything I read said you can't overcook (within reason) and this thing was JUICY when we cut it open. Since we weren't burning any of the nice C/S/S wood we weren't worried about dumping another bucket in the fire pretty often (didn't count but definitely more than 10 bucket loads went in there total).

 

[Brushpile]

Yep, my dad and uncle's and all used to cook a goat like this every fall when i was a kid. Good post.

 

[Ironworker]

Nice post, glad it turned out good, slow cooked pork is very forgiven but still hard. The site would benefit from a cooking forum, I smoke something almost once or twice a week.

 

[Stihlofadeal64]

I cook over hickory wood in what the rednecks call a "ugly drum pig cooker". We cook butts, shoulders, beef brisket, ribs, sausages, chickens and other things that come along

We need to post some pics of the finished meat. That will get the mouth watering.

 

[Stihlofadeal64]

Cool! I actually took to just doing pork buts now, as they are easier for me to control. Reminds me that I haven't one any for a few months and I miss the smell!!!!!!!! I use Cherry wood and Kingsford charcoal.

Cherry is hard to find around here. I like some Kingsford for the Weber though. I do some indirect stuff with the kettle for the family (a smaller way for me). Sometimes I cook for larger crowds -- in that realm we may use three separate cookers. To me there is a lot of satisfaction in your family enjoying some good smoked meat.

 

[svk]

You have my vote for thread of the year.

 

[CR888]

When hydraulics's are needed in a BBQ situation.....l'm subscribed! Well done!

 

[Raganr]

Great thread. I really want a skid steer.

 

[benp]

Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hinerman]

Great thread. You cooked it for 24 hrs, correct? One cord of wood seems crazy....

 

[BWS-LLC]

I am a hog farmer and we sell a fair amount of hogs to guys who cook them underground.

I have yet to actually attend one of the events though.

All the guys who buy hogs from us like them around 100lbs.

 

[tylorklein]

Ya cooked 24 hrs on the nuts. Not sure exactly how much wood but we staged half cord and used a bunch beyond that. With a proper sized pit i think half cord would be plenty. Some of what we tossed in was wrist size or just bigger as well so that might not have coaled the best but some was nice large oak and hard maple so it probably evened out. 5 hour raging fire definitely ate the wood in a hurry...

 

[Ironworker]

Ribs after four hours on a Weber. Cherry, Apple and kingsford coals some dry rub and drizzled with real maple syrup every half hour.

 

[olyman]

You have my vote for thread of the year.

except for the same person,,posting under two different names..............