Pig head

[Don Jr]

I saw Slayer back in the mid 80's. I was a big metal head back then. My best buddy had a metal show on the radio every Friday night back in '84-'86. Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood were the biggies back then. Metal Church was in town a couple of weeks ago, didn't get to go.

[gcdmd]

You might be able to use some of the fat and other trimmings to cook beans.

How was the skin? Edible?

[gcdmd]

Just don't use long pig to make your sauce, a la "Fried Green Tomatoes."

[Hardage]

So my amazing GF got me this awesome pig head from the restaurant where she works for my birthday!!! Sunday we are gonna have some friends over and I'm planning on putting it on the PBC. Obviously I've never smoked a pig head before. We are planning on doing like a taco bar type thing with it. Any advice, tips, feedback, jealously, trash talk whatever please comment.
Thanks,
Matt

Outstanding. Make some homemade tortillas and save the cheeks for yourself as pitmaster priveledge with some homemade pico and guac.

[HorseDoctor]

...and I thought I was a little twisted for just setting the head on the serving table next to the pans of pulled pork.

[bbqoaf]

I think I should do this for Halloween next year. You could pick your meat off the head for your Sanger and Q sauce could be running out of the bottom. Have it set up next to a plastic axe on a chopping block or something, you could get really twisted with the whole thing...

[HorseDoctor]

Well done mhkesler84, well done!!!

[mhkesler84]

i would say about 60% is wasted and 40% is edible. I didn't have the proper tools or know how to get at the brain.

Guessing you don't listen to Slayer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFglDcW7dQ

[DeusDingo]

that's really cool, i didn't know it had enough meat to make it worth it. what percent would you say was bone and skin from your cook? did you eat the brain or did it not even come with one?

and...um, nice mask....please don't kill me in my sleep

[mhkesler84]

Here is the finished product. I started the head hanging on the PBC since that was the only way to fit it in. After about 4 hours it fell off the hooks. Put it in the over at 250 for the next 4 hours. I had really no idea what i was doing. So I just pulled like I would for a shoulder and added eastern NC bbq sauce. It was delicious!

[HorseDoctor]

I've done two or three dozen pig heads over the years, but they were all attached to the rest of the pig as they cooked. We usually set the head on the serving table with the proverbial apple in it's mouth and grapes in the eye sockets. It's as much for "presentation" as anything, not to mention the occasional horrified look/comments from someone who had never come to grips with the fact that all meat had a head at some point in time and it didn't originate on a styrofoam plate. Never really gave the head much thought as "food" until a work colleague from Texas enlightened me to the culinary delight of cheek meat! After that I had to fight her for it every time I did a "hog roast", except for when I did one for her wedding reception, then the bride got dibs. Some folks like chewing the ears, but I loves the cheek meat! Have never done brains as they were usually scrambled with a .22 bullet a day or two prior to the cook. Just give it a good low & slow smoke until somewhere north of 200 F. and serve it up! Good luck!

[MBMorgan]

Good luck. I don't think their are many with pig head experience, but you never know....

Oh, I don't know about that ... my wife accuses me of being pig-headed all the time (I can't be alone here)

[LA Pork Butt]

Good luck. I don't think their are many with pig head experience, but you never know....

[mhkesler84]

I'll make sure to post some of the finished product

[bbqoaf]

That's awesome, I'd love to see pictures of the finished product. I've never cooked a head so I can't offer advice but I can say that all of the cheek meat I've ever had has been really good.