Whole Hog

[Too Tall]

Wouldn't you know that I have some apple cider vinegar sitting around. This looks suspiciously like that yankee fire cider that TH chugs by the gallon.

Sure it isn't AppleJack?

[maunahaole]

Yes. He sent me some. The stuff is wicked.

[Too Tall]

RW that vinegar/garlic/jalapeno gizmo is insanely good. I've been slathering it on d@mn near everything!

SUPER stoked. Myself and a pal go to pick up Mr. Hog in three days. I'm making the marinade tomorrow.
Mojo Marinade (for injection) This is my take on it
One metric ton of garlic
Orange juice
Lime Juice
EVO
Mexican Oregano (the nasty looking stuff in crinkly packages)
Black Pepper
Salt
Cumin (toasted seeds and run thru a whizzer)
Corriander (it jazzes up the Cumin)

All that into a food processor than strained thru cheese cloth and injected into Mr. Hog thru the cavity side avoiding the ribs and rib meat 'cause that's so special and needs nothing.

I'm going to add some large garlands of rosemary to the cooker and let the steam do it's thing. Everyone likes that right?

[jjmstang]

RW that vinegar/garlic/jalapeno gizmo is insanely good. I've been slathering it on d@mn near everything!

SUPER stoked. Myself and a pal go to pick up Mr. Hog in three days. I'm making the marinade tomorrow.
Mojo Marinade (for injection) This is my take on it
One metric ton of garlic
Orange juice
Lime Juice
EVO
Mexican Oregano (the nasty looking stuff in crinkly packages)
Black Pepper
Salt
Cumin (toasted seeds and run thru a whizzer)
Corriander (it jazzes up the Cumin)

All that into a food processor than strained thru cheese cloth and injected into Mr. Hog thru the cavity side avoiding the ribs and rib meat 'cause that's so special and needs nothing.

I'm going to add some large garlands of rosemary to the cooker and let the steam do it's thing. Everyone likes that right?

I'm not eating until Saturday :)

[Too Tall]

Good call Jimbo.

My hands smell pretty good. (Marinade prep)

Also, doing a low/slow smoked turkey stuffed with fresh rosemary for the foolish people who will not embrace pork. Sigh

[maunahaole]

Toots, if you're doing a turkey, I smoked one a while back that I stuffed with sushi rice. All that fat renders down into that sweet rice. Yum. Worth a try.

[Too Tall]

Toots, if you're doing a turkey, I smoked one a while back that I stuffed with sushi rice. All that fat renders down into that sweet rice. Yum. Worth a try.

Dang. Too late. I love the idea.

[Too Tall]

Tomorrow is the day. My buddy drove to the butcher with me and we picked up our 60 lbs pig. Looks really good, very clean, nice and fat.
Into the cooker and I've already injected it with the marinade. I'm not going nuts with the marinade, just a bit deep into the large muscles.
Internal temps when I got the pig were very good and this year I did not have to split the backbone since my butcher is a hog man and gets it.
Here we go. Look for lots of update pics. tomorrow afternoon. Wee (heh) bit nervous as usual. I feel a resonsibility to not waste the life that was taken to
nourish us and of course it would be a heck a beer bash if I mess this up so hey ;)
PS - The pickled jalapenos I made are off the hook. It was a straight up pickle recipe from the Ball Jar website, how could that not work?

[rwsaunders]

I think that for your next event, it's time to go with a 24hr live feed infrared HCTV...hog cam tv.

[JoB]

nice. where'd you get the pig?

[robin3mj]

Holy smokes. I may need to send the wife and kids to our conflicting Halloween party and sneak up there solo. If a guy dressed like a zookeeper arrives via bike, put a beer in his (my) hand will ya?

[Too Tall]

Holy smokes. I may need to send the wife and kids to our conflicting Halloween party and sneak up there solo. If a guy dressed like a zookeeper arrives via bike, put a beer in his (my) hand will ya?

My lips are sealed brother.
JoeB - Boarman's located in Highland, MD. Family owned and operated since dirt was invented and the butcher raises some hogs. Y'all need to queue up for the Man/Girl-fest in two weeks. I'm going to have a steak cook off and Bourbon swilling event at Mi Casa. Buy steaks at Boarman's and bring booze, I got the fire ;)
Anywho, Mr Pig's internal temps are perfection this morning and the fire begins at 12:00 high. RW last year the pig cooked to perfection in < 5 hrs. so no need for the IR secret squirrel camera BUT you are welcome to document this and make a coffee table book. The art and magic of fire and fat? Good title non?

[Too Tall]

The party went well and the piggy was terrific. I'm a fan of this Cuban injection, the citrus marinade provides a terrific subtle flavor and garlic sets it on fire.
The pig took a full two hours longer than last year because I was distracted (drunk) and missed adding charcoal at one point losing valuable heat.
If you want to knock out a crowd of 45 people with perfectly roasted pig in < 6 hrs. this is the way to go.
Our friend Lou did an amazing job carving. As soon as we had the pig laid out he carved a large plate of meat to pass around the party so that everyone could get a quick taste.
RW- That vinegar was a huge hit.

[echelon_john]

Bravo!!

[maunahaole]

Found this vinegar on a trip to the store yesterday. I popped the top and took a hit straight from the bottle. Tasty. I was inclined to make up a bottle of the stuff above, but this was three dollars.

[Too Tall]

Why does the vinegar look like there is a small green hand inside? Do we need to talk?

FWIIW the bottle of Vinegar/Jalapeno/Garlic I made for the whole hog party is getting used on everything. It's that good.

[maunahaole]

Tiny green monkey hand enhances the flavor.

[Too Tall]

Tiny green monkey hand enhances the flavor.

No no no no. You are buying wizard of OZ relics. Fess up.

Official:. I am available for weddings and funerals. Whole hog, I have this down to a science.

[Too Tall]

Another season, another reason
For makin' Roasted hog :)

Did one more year go that fast? I can still smell the roasted hog from last year. Our now annual whole hog roast happens this October 22. If you are reading this and I do not owe you money than drop me a line and get invited. It is a small affair of less than 40 people, 40 starved people.

The pig is on order and it is time to begin some light preparations. Please, if you have whole hog stories to tell than this is a good place to do just that.

Once again credit to RW for inspiration to make the Hog Juice. This is made with vinegar, jalapeno peppers, oregano and garlic. I'm using Rice Wine Vinegar this year and expect good things. A few weeks in the refrigerator, as if anything would grow in that bottle, will make it just right....effin' hot as heck. My jalapenos were almost unedible this year. Even my Mumbai neighbors cried for mercy.

pj1.jpg

[rwsaunders]

TT...I met some candidates for your upcoming event while on a ride this morning. I kid you not, this gent stopped to ask directions and we were introduced to Isis and Trixie.