Pig on a spit

My Dad and I just built a giant rotisserie set up using parts my cousin gave me. Will hold a pig no problem. The spit rod is heavy square tubing 6 ft long, and it turns once every 10 minutes thanks to a low rpm motor and a big reduction gear box. Height is adjustable. I just finished a big 30" by 64" steel fire box to hold the coals underneath. So now I'm ready to cook!

Anyone here ever cooked a whole pig and want to give me some pointers? Internet recipes are all over the map on how to do it. I'm planning a big party this summer, and I want this to turn out well!

Never done one over a fire, would like ta hear about it though. Done a few in the ground that turned out nothing short of wonderful.

Friend BBQ's/smokes a whole pig every summer. I'll ask him.

Buddy thought that a 10 minute rotation might be too slow as the fat would drip out as opposed to a faster rotation where the fat would redistribute into the meat providing a moister product. If you're cooking with direct heat you would need a drip pan to help control flareups. Also cover the ears, nose and tail with aluminum foil or they will burn long before the pig is done.

Would like to see a pic of this rig.

I will set up my porcine uber-tanning bed on-site and take a few pics... I poured some concrete footings with steel tubes in them to receive the uprights, so I need to set it up at my beach place to take the photos of everything in place.

The uprights are adjustable in height. The steel fire box will sit flat on top of my regular fire pit, because I saw on the web that a square box provided more even heat than a open fire pit. The fire box is made so that I can put 2 rows of coals/green wood along both sides without the fire being directly below. I can put some grease pans directly below if thats what I need to do to catch the grease.
I can adjust the speed with different pullys and belts if need be, my cousin has a similar set up that he said works well for him.
My 87 yr old Dad and I needed a project, so this is what we decided to do...What can I say...need to cook a few pigs and learn how to do it well, then find another project.

The key is to stand guard, always! Once the fat starts rendering, flare-ups can go from mild to wild in an instant.

We tried several sizes of pigs, stuffing them with chickens, onions and other veggies. In the 4 or 5 times we did it, we never got a great result. We finally gave up, as it was too much work (8-10 hours straight) for the result. Part of the difficulty is getting the fore and aft quarters to cook through without drying out the rib area.

If I were to cook a whole pig again, I would use the splay-it-out method, on a wire grate over open flame. It is much easier to control the final meat temp that way.

Anyways, good luck, it is fun

You havent cooked until you cooked a pig cajun style.
First for the sqeaumish, if you are sqeaumish dont read

Take one pig
Hollow out pig through between the buttcheeks(you know what i mean )
take bar of steel or broomhandle and put in hollowed out area through mouth.
take pig and set over fire.
pour bourbon on a pig throughout night.
first rub down pig with garlic and hot peppers and beat into pig with hammer or other tenderizer
and now to the expensive crucial part pour and rub bourbon into skin, dont worry hair will burn off and bourbon will sink in.

That sounds...











ahhh...














simple?

Jerry G - Thanks for the input on the rotation speed. Makes sense. I can speed it up a bit with different pulleys. I looked all over for more info on the speed. Most commercially-sold spits go faster than what I'm set up for, so I'll bump it up a bit.

QE - You must have interesting family reunions.

DD - Pictures will be coming. Might not be until the pig is being cooked before I get it all set up.

Everyone else - Thanks for the input.

I found this site with a ton of helpful information.

http://www.3men.com/spitroasting.htm

I did a Google search for "spit roasting" and found a whole bunch of unrelated information

Fish on...

Todd

just use pig roasting box. and use low rpm motor as you have used and enjoy party with friends .

Where can you find a pig for roasting and how much can I expect to spend?

Just ordered a 60 lb pig fully dressed and ready for a rotisserie spit roast for $2.50 a lb at Kapowsin Meats in Graham. You need to order ahead.

A 60 lb pig should feed around 40 people. One hour on the spit per every 10 lb of pig - so 6-7 hours. Estimate of around 120 lbs of charcoal will be required. I also have some nice apple and alder wood to add to the fire, should give it a little smoke. D-day is Aug 11.

Going to a pig roast August 5th in Enumclaw. this pig will be cooked in the smoker not rotisserie.

Milt---Good luck and try and get some pics. I've had spit and pit roasted pig lots but have never done one myself.

Got Pig

Tasted damn good

That looks great!!

I had nothing to do with preppin. I just ate and enjoyed.

Silvana Meats in Silvana sell pigs for roasting

I bet that was a fun get-together!

I just picked up my 61.5 lb pig from Sweeney's and paid $3.79/lb. The box was marked Graham Kapowsin. So you paid $150 and we ended up paying $220.

Anyway need to come up with a brine tonight. Going to burn him in a pit lined with cinder blocks.

That is the price I was quoted, sounds like you got a hefty markup.

Please share your brine recipe...or how you eneded up doing it.

Half Gallon Captain Morgan
2.5 lbs pickling salt
4 lbs brown sugar
2 cups minced garlic
2 sliced onions
2 cups sage
1 cup oregano
Water to fill up black trash bag
Filled up body cavity with brocolli, onions, apples, potatoes
wrapped in aluminum foil double up
wet burlap
chicken wire
rebar
rocks
wood alder, fir, maple,etc
fire below
fire above
8 hours in pit for 64.5 lbs

Thanks - I'm getting the pig this morning. I'm not sure if I will brine it. I'm going to stuff it with sweet onions, cabbage, apples, garlic, and fresh herbs. Everything is all set to go, hope it turns out well.

The pig roast was awesome. Kapowsin Meats did a fantastic job cleaning and preparing the pig. We stuffed it with Brats, onions cabbage, apples, garlic, fresh herbs, salt and pepper. We put couple dozen cloves of garlic in small slits between the skin and the meat. Lots of olive oil all over, and more fresh herbs. We slow cooked it on the rotisserie for 7 hours over a charcoal fire, with some wet alder for smoke. Right at the end, we added more charcoal to build a hot fire and the skin crackled up nice and crispy. Final temp was around 155 in the ham and shoulder . Then we took it off and let it sit for half an hour to rest, lots of pictures and high 5's all around. The meat was done all the way through, just right. Very juicy, excellent flavor. Around 40 had as much as they could eat, with plenty left over to take some home. Could not have been any better, a party to remember.

Ill post a couple pics when I get all of them sorted through.

Some pics from the pig roast...