Mastering The Whole Hog (Part 1 of 9)

Ready Yourself for Another, More Challenging, BBQ Tradition!

Photo by Lisanto 李奕良 on Unsplash

When it comes to cooking whole pigs or hogs[1] as an OOEE, we take a jump up the difficulty scale. There are a bunch of new challenges to overcome, but don’t be dismayed. Once conquered, you will have earned a “rite of passage” based on the newly gained OOEE knowledge and know-how.

With the difficulty factors in mind, I have decided to walk you through quite a bit of detail in this chapter. It may seem overwhelming based on the number of alternatives that you’ll be confronted with. But, by the time that you have reached the end of the chapter, You will have picked up a portfolio of cooking techniques and tips. They span seven (7) primary methods of tackling a whole hog OOEE. Each of these have variations, but the overall objective is to be able to wrap your mind around the alternatives and be able to select the one that best meets all your OOEE objectives.

Each of the seven alternative approaches that I cover in this chapter will provide a nice transition from the more basic, but important, core methods and dishes that were presented in the previous chapter on real barbecue. Once you have mastered a whole hog OOEE, you will be ready to tackle a number of other advanced OOEE’s, such as roasting a quarter steer or even a full steer. Also, once you know how to cook a whole hog you’ll be able to cook a whole goat[2] or lamb with only minor adjustments.

There are two general types of whole hog events based on how the hog is going to be served. One common serving method is to place the beautiful, lightly browned and crispy hog on a table and have the guests come up and pull off pieces to serve themselves. This is called pig-pickin’. The other serving method is to display half of the cooked hog, while the other half is chopped and sauced by the OOEE cooking staff. Then they place dishes of the pulled and chopped pork on serving tables for self-serving by guests who then assemble pulled pork sandwiches with seeded buns, pork, pickles, sauces, etc.

The bottom line is that a whole hog OOEE is special. It’s a challenge to master, but it’s a ton of fun! It lends itself to an OOEE because if you can lead a team of participants through the processes that I have laid out and coordinate the multi-tasking requirements, you will have even more fun, because you have been able to off-load yourself from some of the overhead. Remember, it’s not uncommon to see hosts of whole hog OOEE’s fast asleep before their events are even three-quarters done! So, you’ll need to pace yourself, your staff and plan your whole hog OOEE for total excellence.

Here are the steps that I want you to use to achieve a superior level of mastery for a whole hog OOEE: