OT need some suggestions

smokesniffer · June 2016

So a friend of mine asked me to grill a piglet for his birthday. Never done one ever. What they are doing is renting a pellet grill (begins with a T) from a place that supplies everything, grill, pig. I contacted the business to ask what to expect and how to do it. They claim that it is pretty much fool proof. Start by getting the grill to smoke, and after that it switches to heat. They are saying to grill around 275* (which sounds right) The pig isn't that big, they figure about 5 hours at 275 and then the rest after. I don't want to screw this up, and being the first time for me is there anything you can suggest??
The meal is to be around 5pm, so I'm thinking about starting to get everything started by 10 am and get the piggy on by 11ish. Will bring my thermopen and pull at about 175-180. What say y'all

dldawes1 · June 2016

Very interesting to get everything...including the pig from one source...I need to search around me for a deal like that. I'd love to try it sometime...but I'm skeeered !!

Good luck !

tarheelmatt · June 2016

@DMW has done while hogs before with amazing results, I'm sure he could help with a piglet.

gdenby · June 2016

I helped cook a whole hog in a pit w. just briquets. One thing about that might pertain here is that the carcass had to be flipped a couple of times. The cook made up a sort of garlic mojito and covered the exposed flesh w. it in the last 2 hours of the 18 it took to cook.

Foghorn · June 2016

I've done one wild piglet on my offset. Your plan seems reasonable. Pound for pound, it will cook a lot faster than a butt from a large adult pig because no portion of it is that thick as hot air gets inside the torso/ribs - so the timing sounds about right. We wrapped in foil at about 160 and took it to 195 when it probed like "buttah" and pulled it all. We did it this way to keep the leaner parts that you would normally cook to 145 and slice (loin, tenderloin) from drying out. We mixed in some vinegar-based sauce when we pulled it and mixed the leaner parts with the fattier parts to get it reasonably consistent. It was outstanding. It will also do well with some FTC time so there would be no downside to starting early.

DMW · June 2016

I've done several whole hogs, but never one that small, and I have no experience with a pellet grill. That said, 175-180 will be too low for pulling, but should be great for sliced pork if that's what you are looking for. I think @Big_Green_Craig did a pig on a pellet grill a couple weeks ago.

smokesniffer · June 2016

Thanks guys for the info and help. @ DMW what temp would u suggest for pulling, that way I can give the birthday boy a choice.

SGH · June 2016

smokesniffer said:

Thanks guys for the info and help. @ DMW what temp would u suggest for pulling, that way I can give the birthday boy a choice.

Brother sniffer, the question was not directed to me so out of curtesy I will not answer it directly. However I will share some useful info for anyone interested. When dealing with domesticated swine, if the carcass is 40 pounds or less, you can get away with cooking it to higher temps than the larger carcasses. Why? At this size the animal is immature and lacks muscle development. Thus, pound for pound, it contains far more collagen than its larger mature Brethern. And now I slink ever so quietly off into the night my friend.................

smokesniffer · June 2016

@SGH thank you Sir. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. We are in the middle of moving. We are doing a major reno at our new place, and have been burning the candle at both ends.

I was hesitant to take this on because, one, I have never done one before, and secondly life is busy right now. Never the less, I took the task on help a friend. It turned out ok, we pulled the piggy off at 170 let it rest and sliced it up. It was good, if I do another one I would try to take it to a higher temp, to compare. I do appreciate both you and @DMW for your suggestions. And never do you need to slink off quietly. Thanks for the info. Have a great week you guys.

OT need some suggestions

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