May be Overambitious

[holehogg]

A friend has asked if I could smoke a whole piglet +- 30 pounder. My cooking chamber is big enough to accommodate this size and bigger. Have read Meatheads "going whole hog" but need help with a few questions:-
I have a vertical gas smoker so the piglet would have to be hung.
If it can be hung what end at the top of chamber?
Cooking temp 250F?
Would using water tray be fitting?
Would I need to keep adding wood chunks until the end of the cook?
What IT temp and what part of the animal?
These are some of my concerns if there are any others that you can identify please let it be known. I’m probably not seasoned enough but still up to the challenge.

[Nate]

Going to throw another concern out there for you that maybe someone can answer.

Would the weight of the pig hanging coupled with the eventual tenderness that comes with cooking eventually cause it it to fall apart, split, or come undone if it was completely vertical?

[holehogg]

@Nate,That was one of the reasons behind my question

[kmhfive]

Truss it up good and the skin/rope should hold it together against the weight. Never hung/cooked a whole pig, but we butchered them head up so that would be my first instinct. However, what's the temperature gradient in the cooker? If there's a large difference top-to-bottom, that could make a difference.

[holehogg]

kmhfive I have access to material that would keep it together if needed which I gather is the case. The only monitor I have for internal chamber temp is in the center but I don't believe there is a big swing from bottom to top, it is a big chamber with a lot of airflow.

[kmhfive]

I would guess water tray is ok at 250F. However, by hanging vertically, you may need a serious drip tray to catch the fat before it drops/overflows onto the burner! I'll be interested at how this comes out.

There are at least a couple of folks in the Pit what has cooked a whole hog before that will have much better answers than me! Good luck!

[holehogg]

kmhfive I do have a large enough drip tray, that I plan on cooking whole peeled potatoes in the drippings. I haven't committed yet as still very new at this but liking the idea of the challenge.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Start here:

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-chops-pulled-pork-ham-and-more-pork-recipes/going-whole-hog-what-you-need-know

Scroll down looking at the yellow box on the left until you get to 'Going Whole Hog Chinese style' There you will find a pic of a pig hanging vertically.

Then Google 'smoking pig vertically' and interchange 'smoking' with 'roasting' and 'vertically' with 'hanging'. And click on Images.

Two methods of interest are to tie the pig to a rack, leaning the rack on the wall, and to truss the pig on a pole and stand it up.

[DWCowles]

Good luck!

[radshop]

Look for "asado al palo" for lots of examples on how to truss up a whole animal. Most of the examples you will see are sheep, but the principle will be the same for a pig. If something like that will fit in your cooker, you should be good to go. Friends of mine have cooked this way, but I missed the event so didn't see it in person. But it worked for them.

https://www.google.com/search?q=asado+al+palo

[holehogg]

Thanks for the info. Trussing will not be a problem I have done this with lamb/sheep and a pig for spit-braais in the past.

[kamadoRob]

When I’ve cooked whole hogs they were on a spit so never hung vertically but I wrapped it in chicken wire nice and tight. That kept parts from falling off as it got tender. That might work for ya. I cooked until probe tender in the shoulder and hams.

Also, I stuffed the inside with chickens to keep the rib meat from burning up. The chickens come out very tasty.

[holehogg]

kamadoRob think i'll chicken out of the chicken bit even though it sounds great. What temp did you run at 250? Did you use water tray? Did you keep adding wood until cooked? What size hog? How long was your cook?

[kamadoRob]

holehogg, I had the temp between 225 and 250. I’ve done about 20 whole hogs but they were full sized so a lot more meat there. My cooks went about 20 hours, some longer. I used charcoal and added wood for about the first 8 hours. I didn’t use a water pan.

[holehogg]

kamadoRob many thanks for input. I was thinking of using water tray and when done putting the piglet on a live fire skin down to crisp.