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First go at a whole hog (suckling actually).

Egglegal_Alien
Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
edited March 2014 in Pork
Wanted to share some pics of my first whole suckling cook… I'm keeping it simple while I get the temp / time right for the perfect doneness so I just rubbed it freely with salt and some quality dried oregano, I would love to hear suggestions on the process and / or rubs.

BGE Setup: Lump Charcoal and Mesquite logs mix, 280°, Plate Setter (feet up), grate, pig (ribs down)

Freshly slaughtered/shaved suckling pig (about 9 lbs), sternum cut, ribs opened, incisions from center of the neck to shoulders (almost all the way to the spine) so it would easily lay flat:


image

Rubbed both sides of the pig with generous amount of salt and some oregano:

image

Placed the pig ribs down on the grill grate above the PS (9 lb turned out to be the perfect size for the XL BGE)

image

Cooked it @ 280° for two and a half hours:

image

And it’s off to the cutting board:

image

Served with seasoned grilled potatoes:

image

All the skin fat was rendered, meat was juicy and perfect at 145° internal temp, while the skin was tasty and crisp.

@cazzy thanks for helping me with the "how to insert pictures" tutorial, hehe.
XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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Comments

  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Holy ****!  That looks great man!  The pan on the table with the head in there would weird me out while i'm eating though. hah
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
    Very cool cook and very good looking cook.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    edited March 2014
    Hahaha, my wife didn't wanna try it for exactly the same reasons @cazzy ... There's a lot of meat on the head though, and some people will even eat the brains and eyes :-& !
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • Big Ragu
    Big Ragu Posts: 148
    Awesome. Looks a bit like satan but I bet he is tasty. I will put this cook on the bucket list. Great job. Great pics.
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  • Chris_Wang
    Chris_Wang Posts: 1,254
    Very cool. Which part of the pig was the most tender and which part had the best flavor?

    Ball Ground, GA

    ATL Sports Homer

     

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  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200
    =D> Bravo, Senior!! You have suddenly made me wish I had an XL egg. And a 9 lb suckling pig. From the beer in the pic, I take it you are in Texas?

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

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  • pantsypants
    pantsypants Posts: 1,191
    A+
    Toronto
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  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
    well done 
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
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  • cam05210
    cam05210 Posts: 62

    I love BBQ as much as anyone, but for some reason I keep thinking of Charlotte's Web...

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  • Buckegg
    Buckegg Posts: 13
    How many would the pig feed?
    Why did you cook it skin up?
    Looks awesome!
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  • RAC
    RAC Posts: 1,688
    Very cool! Well done.

    Ricky

    Boerne, TX

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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364

    That looks incredible EA, nice post. 

    Would love to put one of those little guys on a spit for a party. 

    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    edited March 2014
    Chris_Wang said:
    Very cool. Which part of the pig was the most tender and which part had the best flavor?

    The whole thing was very tender, at this weight (and age) pigs have not eaten anything but their mother's milk and muscles haven't toughened at all, but I'd say the shoulder was both the juiciest and most tender while the belly and loin were a bit more flavorful.


    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    Griffin said:
    =D> Bravo, Senior!! You have suddenly made me wish I had an XL egg. And a 9 lb suckling pig. From the beer in the pic, I take it you are in Texas?
    Monterrey, NL (Mexico) actually, 200 miles south of the Texas border.
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    cam05210 said:

    I love BBQ as much as anyone, but for some reason I keep thinking of Charlotte's Web...

    Not every pigglet is as lucky as Wilbur... I'm not Fern Arable, hehe.
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    edited March 2014
    Buckegg said:
    How many would the pig feed?
    Why did you cook it skin up?
    Looks awesome!
    A 9 pounder like this should feed about 6 – 8 as a main course… but don’t count on having any leftovers if you share it amongst 4, it’s very difficult to stop eating while there’s any left!

    I cooked it skin up so all the fat beneath the skin would drip down while it rendered and for the skin to crisp up as pork rinds.

    Thanks on the compliment, you should try it, it’s pretty straightforward! 
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    Focker said:

    That looks incredible EA, nice post. 

    Would love to put one of those little guys on a spit for a party. 

    They come out great on a spit also... it just takes a lot more managing, hehe.
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • sumoconnell
    sumoconnell Posts: 1,932
    I just had suckling pig in Barcelona (go each year for a tradeshow).  This is fantastic!  I could eat one whole, I agree there will never be leftovers.  My kids hate it when I come back with photos :)

    My wife's family is from Monterrey, born and raised. 
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Austin, Texas.  I'm the guy holding a beer.
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    sumoconnell said:
    I just had suckling pig in Barcelona (go each year for a tradeshow).  This is fantastic!  I could eat one whole, I agree there will never be leftovers.  My kids hate it when I come back with photos :)

    My wife's family is from Monterrey, born and raised. 
    Cool, girls from Monterrey are a danger! Even growing up with them barely gives us the training to escape them (for a while)... you didn't have a fighting chance, hehe.

    Spanish suckling pigs are excellent and cooked very similar to the one I tried, next year when you go to your tradeshow try to get your hands on some Pago de Carraovejas Reserva red wine and give it a try, it was "designed" by José María Ruiz, the founder of a highly recognized restaurant also called José Maria, in Segovia to go with his acclaimed flagship plate: "Cochinillo" (Pigglet).
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
    Brilliant! Great cook! How come nobody ate the ears?? They sit there mocking me...

    Where did you measure the temp to decide it was done? Also, did you use a drip pan or anything to catch all the rendered fat?

     I think I could fit a 10lb piglet on a large if the legs were folded underneath. Hmmm...

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    caliking said:
    Brilliant! Great cook! How come nobody ate the ears?? They sit there mocking me...

    Where did you measure the temp to decide it was done? Also, did you use a drip pan or anything to catch all the rendered fat?

     I think I could fit a 10lb piglet on a large if the legs were folded underneath. Hmmm...
    Oh, we ate those… they were like crispy chips, hehe.

    I had a maverick probe on the shoulder (seemed the meatiest spot), but used an instant read thermometer on several spots to double check before taking it off the Egg.

    You could definitely fit a 10lb or even a larger one if you were to tie the 4 legs together (I’d probably turn it at least once halfway through the cook so rendered fat goes the other way, also you could remove the head or cut the pig in half to make more room… 

    I wanted it evenly done and was also looking for the look so I went for that size, also, once past 10lb you can be almost certain the piggy’s diet has expanded beyond its mothers’ milk and as far as I understand, the best tasting piggies are the 100% milk fed.
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • sumoconnell
    sumoconnell Posts: 1,932
    edited March 2014
    I'll need to post my pics.. had cochinillo and aranda, great wine at an old place. They cooked on a great looking oven.

    sorry for formatting... and sideways pics.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Austin, Texas.  I'm the guy holding a beer.
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    @sumoconnell I can see why your kids hate you come home with only pics... you should cook one for them! hehe.
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
    One more question - was your little piggy 9 lbs on the hoof, or dressed?

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    caliking said:
    One more question - was your little piggy 9 lbs on the hoof, or dressed?
    Dressed.
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • letskungfu
    letskungfu Posts: 8
    That's beautiful. Nice work.
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  • dgv
    dgv Posts: 41

    Hey compadre, nice cook. I was busy last couple of weeks and had not seen it.

    I´ve never cooked one, I will soon!

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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    edited March 2014
    Hey @dgv , let me know if you want any help getting one straight from a farm... I know a guy who knows a guy, you know?
    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    Did you get any tongue? It awesome too, once you get past the "hairy" part.
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  • Egglegal_Alien
    Egglegal_Alien Posts: 113
    Only things left after we were through with it were basically bones and hooves, hehe.

    XL BGE + Large BGE @ Monterrey, Mexico
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