Suckling pig?

[AJR]

Has anyone cooked a sucking pig on a KBQ? Were you able to get super crispy skin? Any advice? I have a 9 lb suckling pig and I'm debating whether I should cook it in the KBQ, in a kamado, or on a rotisserie like a porchetta.

[Spinaker]

I have not.

I bet you could get great skin on the pig. The KBQ is basically an outdoor convection oven. If I ever have the question as to which cooker would be best to cook something on; the answer is always KBQ.

I would love to see this cook when you are done. And let us know the results. I bet it will be phenomenal.

[bbqLuv]

"I would love to see this cook when you are done. And let us know the results. I bet it will be phenomenal." Spinaker


Me too,

[JCBBQ]

Not the KBQ but I’ve done a couple in my Primo. Came out great.

[UncleSpike]

I've done it. The pig I had was 25 - 30 lbs live, so less than 15 lbs on the grill.

I had been planning to do it with the head on, but it didn't fit on my grill.

I used a COS - my CharGriller from Walmart. Grill temp ranged from 250 - 300 degrees.

It went on the grill at 9:00 in the morning, and I took it off at about 6:00 that evening.

Malcolm @ How to BBQ Right has a nice write up on how to do this...

[UncleSpike]

Sorry - I never read your question properly. Obviously I did not do it on a KBQ...

[captainlee]

Agree on the Malcolm video. I really want to try this sometime.

[STEbbq]

How much actual meat do you get off a 9 pound pig?

[Jesse82]

Typically lose 1/3 of the weight you start with. Giving
Evaporation, bones and loss from roasting.

[AJR]

How much actual meat do you get off a 9 pound pig?

I will let you know after I cook it! Thanks all.

[FireMan]

Hurry up!

[AJR]

I finally made the 9lb suckling pig, in the
Malcolm Reed style similar to this video: https://howtobbqright.com/2018/02/01/suckling-pig/

The meat was the most tender, succulent, melt in your mouth it could have been, like a butterier pork shoulder. The skin didn't come out edible straight from the KBQ though - it was too tough and chewy until I cut it off and deep fried it separately into chicharon (which were tasty and crispy at that point). I don't know if it was the technique (Malcolm Reed doesn't score the skin, make holes or add salt or baking soda like a lot of other versions I've seen for crispy skin) or the fact that with such a small pig the meat might be done faster than the skin even if the technique might work with a 50lb pig. So I cut the skin into squares and deep fried it for crispy chicharones. Even with the "dirty smoke" top poppet open the whole time, the smoke flavor was subtle (the skin may block some of the absorption).

I think I got ~4-5pounds total meat. We finished it between 5 adults.

[TripleB]

Wow, what a cook. Suckling pig is on my BBQ bucket list.
How long was the cook and what temp did you run the KBQ at? Did you do any basting or mopping?

[STEbbq]

Wow. Looks awesome!

[AJR]

I had it between 200-220 degrees for 6 hours (lower than usual to extend the cool given it was so small). I didn't baste since I was following Malcolm Reed's instructions this first time and he didn't in his recipe.