Barbecue is good for us.

Well, I guess it’s taken us quite a while to recover from the giant undertaking that was the 1st Annual Pig Pickin’ and BBQ Sauce Contest Jamboree. But here we are, more than a week later, and it’s time for some wrap-up.

The Pig

Perfectly butchered and butterflied, and packed in a convenient cooler box by Ver Brugge, it turned out that our 100 lb pig, headless and footless, was just about three feet long (from shoulder to butt) and similarly wide when it was laid flat. Almost a perfect 3 foot square! This was ideal, as it turned out, since we didn’t have to use the extra grill we’d brought to stick at the end of the ones they have at the park (which are also almost exactly three feet square).

To prepare, we rubbed the cavity of the pig with a spice mixture I’d made the day before. It was a bit improves, but the main ingredients were salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, and fresh thyme. All in the Cuisinart with a few drops of molasses to bind. The only other preparation we did was to lightly score the back legs of the pig – the hams – in order to let more of the fat render out and encourage them to cook a little quicker.

We got to the site at about 8:30, and after a few small mishaps (I forgot the lighter fluid… Doh!), got the coals going and put the pig on shortly after nine.

We used charcoal briquettes instead of the natural stuff for the fire because it heats more evenly and reliably. We also fed the fire with Mesquite chunks we’d soaked overnight. Strictly speaking we didn’t have an enclosed enough area to smoke the pig, but we did get a nice smoke flavor in there nonetheless.

We covered the metal grating with foil in order to trap some of the heat and smoke, and used some wooden blocks to hold it down against the wind.

The hairiest part of the whole adventure came at around 1pm, when we flipped the oinker. Sandwiched as it was between two pieces of stainless steel grating, it wasn’t going to fall apart, but we were more worried about it sliding out, or dropping the whole thing right on the ground. But, with help, we managed it without an incident and it cooked merrily until about 3:30.

Final Verdict

How did the pig turn out? Pretty darn well, I’d say, considering it was our first time. The meat was flavorful throughout, moist in many parts but dry in others. The hardest part about cooking a whole pig butterfly-style is managing the heat. Rotisserie, all you need to do is try to achieve an even heat across the length of the pig. Because it rotates, the variations can more easily even out. Spread out, though, it becomes important to stack the coals a bit deeper around the front and back edges and especially in the corners under the shoulders and hams.

On the one hand, the meat could have used another 4 hours to tender up in spots, but on the other hand, we saved it from drying out more than it did. Mixed with any one of the 10 BBQ sauces we had to taste, every part of the pig was tasty, and though we can do better next year, I think everyone was quite pleased.

Next Time

Lessons learned? Fire management is a big one – next time we’ll have to be much more careful. I also think we need to pick the pig up the day before (assuming we could find some way to keep it cool) so we can have it on the fire longer. 8 hours of proper heat would have made a truly succulent pig.

Another big logistical lesson: pulling all that meat is a HUGE pain in the ass. We did not prepare well enough. We should have set up stations with pans, cutting boards, and knives/cleavers and just chopped up the meat. As it was we were trying to pull it to get that nice texture, and we were so unorganized that it took something like 90 minutes to deal with. The whole time we were being assailed by swarms of yellow jackets and party-goers who just wanted that nice piece there, or a piece of crispy skin, or something. Sheesh!

Oh well. Anyway, I’m sure Andrew will have more to add. And I hope to post some more photos soon, and the winning BBQ sauce recipes any day.

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