Burying a pig??

[KopperBuck]

Who's done it? Advice, tips, techniques? Would like to see some pits built. Got the in-laws talked into doing something different for Xmas. The brother in-law and I are going to tackle this.

We've got a line on a pig, but I'm concerned about it being too big - 150lbs.

First time doing it, but have been kicking the idea around for a while. Just slightly jacked about it.

[sebek556]

150lb pitt pig isn't bad. Be prepared for lots of lets overs. We use cat tails on ours to keep the smoke in, lined with cender blocks(it's used 2 times a year). I forget the time per pound thing, would have to ask my dad. 

[snowpack]

Do you have a tractor?  The guys I knew that would do that to pigs would wrap them in wet burlap and then have chains around the pig.  Used a back hoe to lower it in, then cover it up.  Later on came back with the back hoe to scrape a little dirt before shovel work, then hooked the chains to raise it out of the ground.

[wafisherman]

I'm not a fan of burying.  You are basically just steaming a bunch of meat.  But then I LOVE good smokey flavored meat with chared and crispy spots mixed in with the tender parts.

I have done a few pigs from 50 to 100lbs hanging weight.  Since we raise a few hogs each year, some years I buy and extra for a summer BBQ, raise until that weekend, and butcher it in the backyard with help from friends (or my kids who actually like to help).

Here is my project and the results were pretty darn good:

Hung it from the swingset.  Burned off the hair and outer skin layer using a propane torch and scrapers.
Doing the final touches:


Building the cinder block 'pit' to smoke it in:


Getting it warmed up:


Picked up this steel grating from a steel plant in Everett.  Same for the 'lids'.  Made those from scrap sheets they had as well and just painted with grill paing and added the handles.


Drip pans filled with liquid to keep things moist.  Kept the head on the far ends.  But pig was so big, it sat over the heat on both ends a bit, so had issues with fat dripping into the coals and flaring up.  Some well placed alum foil helped...


I started it the night before.  Flipped once first thing in the morning. Was serving it to our party at 1pm.  I slept next to it all night to keep an eye on it - the flare ups were worrying me...

Here it is right before flipping - a 2 man job with a pig this size:


Here is a smaller pig I did the following year using the same setup.  Not this pig was small enough, I decided to leave the head on.  The bigger one was probably 150lbs before slaughter and I gave the head away to a local ethnic family who were thrilled to have it.

[wafisherman]

I got some of my ideas from these places:

http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2007/03/cooking-whole-hog-on-cinder-block-pit_19.html
http://www.cuban-christmas.com/pigroast2.html
http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=106744

[Hawgdawg]

is that shaker screen galvanized??? 

[wildweeds]

Looks like standard black pig iron to me, pun intended. My buddy has a similar outfit,it however is a few blocks taller and utilizes a pipe to hold the pig/goat whatever on it. The key to the pig thing has to be the injecting because it ain't a favorite for me,every time I've ever had it it tastes like mildly smoked  plain meat.

is that shaker screen galvanized??? 

[wafisherman]

No, not galvanized....

[Netminder01]

Hungry 

[wafisherman]

Looks like standard black pig iron to me, pun intended. My buddy has a similar outfit,it however is a few blocks taller and utilizes a pipe to hold the pig/goat whatever on it. The key to the pig thing has to be the injecting because it ain't a favorite for me,every time I've ever had it it tastes like mildly smoked  plain meat.

is that shaker screen galvanized??? 

maybe he needs to smoke longer \ slower or maybe the taller setup doesn't hold the smoke on the meat as well.  Also, was he butterflying it like that?  I also use mesquite wood nixed with mesquite chunk coal.

[Blacklab]

That looks awesome!  Great work and like your lid 

All most built a cinder block pig smoker like that. Decided to build a smoker house that can hold a louie pig instead.

[KopperBuck]

That looks like a pretty good setup as well, and I'd already have the tool for the job. My father-in-law took an old dump bed and made something similar that my BIL and I used during a wedding. Cooked something like 25 chickens in one batch. I'd be concerned that it would to big of a pit, but I don't remember the dimensions exactly. Wafisherman, do you know what yours was off the top of your head?

[Elkrunner]

Making me hungry!!!

[wafisherman]

That looks like a pretty good setup as well, and I'd already have the tool for the job. My father-in-law took an old dump bed and made something similar that my BIL and I used during a wedding. Cooked something like 25 chickens in one batch. I'd be concerned that it would to big of a pit, but I don't remember the dimensions exactly. Wafisherman, do you know what yours was off the top of your head?

The lid and screen were 4x4, so a few inches short of that for actual cooking surface.