Cooking whole skinless wild hog in offset smoker

[WamBow]

Shot a few wild hogs over the weekend and they were all in the small (50-lb) range. I thought I'd try roasting the whole hog on my offset smoker. I read several articles that removing the skin is preferred if smoking it so these are skinless. Plan is to put a dry rub and roast 4-hours, then foil, cook to tender and at rest in cooler before turning over to the party for picking.

I thought I'd reach out to TBH for any do's or dont's.

[Deepwoods]

I have been wanting to do the same thing. Will be watching this thread

[recar]

[WamBow]

FTR: I did use the "search" under recipes, but only found threads that dealt with skinning or de-hairing the hog. As I'm BBQ-ing and want the smoke to penetrate I skinned these. Just curious about the final temp. For a domestic butt roast i target 190F for pulled pork. Curious if the same applies to a whole wild hog?

[tradtiger]

Way to bring home the bacon....

[AntlerCollector]

Sounds like you're doing it right. I've smoked lots of pigs whole like that. When you throw it out for the picking go for the back strap first!

[TexaRican]

In on this. When I tried I ended up with smaller parts really dry. Probably should have just wrapped the whole thing early.

[Silvey]

Sounds like you're doing it right. I've smoked lots of pigs whole like that. When you throw it out for the picking go for the back strap first!

Yes, I always reach in and pull the tenderloins out for the official taste test. Wouldn't want the guest eating unfit bbq.

[texashunter]

Just season them how you like and throw em on the pit. Will be the best pork you've ever eaten.

[BlackHogDown]

I plan on doing the same this weekend. In my opinion, brining in a cooler 24-36 hours prior to smoking is the way to go. Especially with wild pigs. Brine recipes are all over the internet just make sure you rinse well and pat dry before cooking. I like to baste periodically with apple juice as well. Get creative. I've even seen guys lay bacon on top of certain cuts to prevent drying. Once, we had a couple beers and "forgot" the piglet in the smoker. The next morning when I tugged at the leg to throw it away, the whole bone came out clean. It was some of the best meat I'd ever had LOL My point is... Can't go wrong with Low/Slow and some liquid inspiration

Post your results. Good luck

[WamBow]

I plan on doing the same this weekend. In my opinion, brining in a cooler 24-36 hours prior to smoking is the way to go. Especially with wild pigs. Brine recipes are all over the internet just make sure you rinse well and pat dry before cooking. I like to baste periodically with apple juice as well. Get creative. I've even seen guys lay bacon on top of certain cuts to prevent drying. Once, we had a couple beers and "forgot" the piglet in the smoker. The next morning when I tugged at the leg to throw it away, the whole bone came out clean. It was some of the best meat I'd ever had LOL My point is... Can't go wrong with Low/Slow and some liquid inspiration

Post your results. Good luck

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about brining as well and looking for some whole pork belly to lay over the hog after initial smoke.

I've also read that putting cans (labels removed) inside the chest cavity to keep the center from drying out works well. Unless you are spatchcocking the pig then never mind.

[Man]

The hog in the top picture looks like its trying to hard to play dead.

[WamBow]

The hog in the top picture looks like its trying to hard to play dead.

"eye bulge" is a result of severe trauma to the cranial cavity.

[BigDraw]

Tagged

[1riot1ranger]

here's mine. I do em different ways, brine, no-brine, wrap/don't wrap, mostly just low and slow. they turn out great!