Hog roaster ideas?

sheetmetalpete

A friend and I have always talked about building a hog roaster.  Only problem is that I've never built one and I helped use one once before over 15 years ago so my memory is fuzzy on how it was constructed.

So what I bought was a 500 gallon mobile tank.  For $100 I figured I couldn't go wrong.  
  


Anyone here have experience who could throw me a few tips?  I'm thinking it would be charcoal fired - not propane.  

Thanks!

HeavyG

I'd head over to the http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/cmps_index.php website. Lot's more folks there that have built these sort of things and you might even find a thread or three of someone documenting their build.

nolaegghead

The easiest thing to do it to clean it well, then weld a removable charcoal rack along the length of the bottom.  over that weld in some tabs for a removable heat shield that covers the entirety of the charcoal.  You can put another grate or mechanical structure in to hold drip pans/tray, optionally (you can also put on the heat shield with spacers).  Then the grate for the pig.  Over the pig, another grate is handy to cook more stuff, like butts, beans, mac n cheese, etc.

You will need a stack.  I would put one on both sides.  Dampers optional, but good if you want to bias the heat one direction or the other.  You can also bias heat by placement and quantity of charcoal.

Air intake - one or both sides, with dampers.  If you don't use dampers, it will get too hot.  If you have a loose fit on the door, put a gasket in or it will get too hot.

Getting too hot and controlling your heat and the drippings are the main goals.  You can also let the drippings roll to the bottom over the heat shield (should be double wall then) and drain it as it collects on the bottom with a valve.

Alternatively you can burn splits with an offset firebox.  But you will need to feed it constantly and controlling even heat can be an engineering challenge.  Usually people engineer a reverse flow system.

nolaegghead

Easiest to build (and operate) is make it propane.  You can put smoke wood over the propane burners in foil over a heat shield. 

Look at the Meadowcreek designs like this.

https://www.meadowcreekbbq.com/catalog/pig-roasters/

Hope that helps.

sheetmetalpete

Thanks! 

My friend wants propane and I want charcoal.  We'll see who wins out and how it turns out. 

lkapigian

sheetmetalpete said:

Thanks! 

My friend wants propane and I want charcoal.  We'll see who wins out and how it turns out. 

Compromise and go dual fuel....