New Years Eve Pig roast on a Ranch rotisserie
- Thread starter RJ Humphrey
- Start date
Steve Madden
TVWBB Super Fan
Wow is all I got! Nice job!
Rich Dahl
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Wow Rich! I think I better go out and get some more pellets if your going to roast whole pig there might be a shortage of pellets after you cook one of those monster's.
Cliff Bartlett
R.I.P. 5/17/2021
Way to go BIG for New Years! Looks like the Ranch handled that with ease.
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
You know, that was the thing I was planning for a first run on a ranch! Nice job!
Brad Olson
TVWBB Diamond Member
Impressive. As. H-E-double toothpicks.
RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
Setup and supplies for a 42lb roti pig.
Used WRK was purchased on 12/4/20 in Nashville, Tennessee. It was an 1,103 mile day trip and 18 hours of seat time.
Pig was special ordered at a local (Florida) supermarket.
Riser is 16 gauge (.059”), ten inches tall and homemade.
I purchased a New OneGrill heavy duty roti motor (part# 4PM08) Currently on sale for $149. New roti motor ran flawless all day!
OneGrill Spit rod 53” x 1/2” hexagonal chrome steel (part# 4PS19) Rod did sag with a 42 pound pig. I’ll be upgrading to a 3/4” hexagon spit rod, which I’ll fabricate myself.
Four OneGrill spit forks
Two stainless steel U-bolts (1/4-20) used to clamp back bone to spit rod.
A 100’ roll of 22 gauge
stainless steel wire. Next time I’ll use 20 gauge SS wire. Near the end of the cook 20ga wire started to cut thru skin near the shoulder area. SS wire was used for tying feet together and securing them to the spit rod. I’m sure this could be achieved with butchers twine. You’d be surprised how tight you can get the wire. I did not want to have cooked pig falling off the spit into the bottom of the grill.
500’ butchers cotton twine and trussing needle. Twine was used to truss the belly area.
Two charcoal baskets were fabricated from an old 22” Weber kettle. Two SnS deluxe baskets for a 22” kettle will work just fine.
20 pounds of Royal Oak lump charcoal and 10 fist size apple wood chucks.
A 120 quart cooler, one ratchet strap to keep the raccoons and possums out of the cooler.
One new heavy duty 44 gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash can. Pig thawed in a thrash can along with 100lbs of ice. Ice was added as needed. Outside temps were 44L to 68H. Total thawing time was 24 hours.
Sturdy table coved with 6mil plastic for prepping raw pig. Prepping a pig needs to be done outdoors. Table can pull double duty as a carving table. Of course table would need to be sanitized and top wrapped with two layers of heavy aluminum foil.
150 pounds of ice:
100lbs for thawing pig, 40lbs for brining and 10lbs to keep my beer cold.
Box of 100 nitrile gloves and a few pairs of cotton liners.
Welding gloves or similar.
Heavy duty stainless steel injection needle.
Two rolls of paper towels, 18” wide heavy duty aluminum foil, disposable aluminum pans for collecting grease under pig as itcooking and for serving.
Two saw horses and two 2”x4” x 48” to rest wrk lid.
12 gallons of bottled water and four pounds of canning & pickling salt for brining
Two six packs of Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ and lots of bottled water.
Used WRK was purchased on 12/4/20 in Nashville, Tennessee. It was an 1,103 mile day trip and 18 hours of seat time.
Pig was special ordered at a local (Florida) supermarket.
Riser is 16 gauge (.059”), ten inches tall and homemade.
I purchased a New OneGrill heavy duty roti motor (part# 4PM08) Currently on sale for $149. New roti motor ran flawless all day!
OneGrill Spit rod 53” x 1/2” hexagonal chrome steel (part# 4PS19) Rod did sag with a 42 pound pig. I’ll be upgrading to a 3/4” hexagon spit rod, which I’ll fabricate myself.
Four OneGrill spit forks
Two stainless steel U-bolts (1/4-20) used to clamp back bone to spit rod.
A 100’ roll of 22 gauge
stainless steel wire. Next time I’ll use 20 gauge SS wire. Near the end of the cook 20ga wire started to cut thru skin near the shoulder area. SS wire was used for tying feet together and securing them to the spit rod. I’m sure this could be achieved with butchers twine. You’d be surprised how tight you can get the wire. I did not want to have cooked pig falling off the spit into the bottom of the grill.
500’ butchers cotton twine and trussing needle. Twine was used to truss the belly area.
Two charcoal baskets were fabricated from an old 22” Weber kettle. Two SnS deluxe baskets for a 22” kettle will work just fine.
20 pounds of Royal Oak lump charcoal and 10 fist size apple wood chucks.
A 120 quart cooler, one ratchet strap to keep the raccoons and possums out of the cooler.
One new heavy duty 44 gallon Rubbermaid Brute trash can. Pig thawed in a thrash can along with 100lbs of ice. Ice was added as needed. Outside temps were 44L to 68H. Total thawing time was 24 hours.
Sturdy table coved with 6mil plastic for prepping raw pig. Prepping a pig needs to be done outdoors. Table can pull double duty as a carving table. Of course table would need to be sanitized and top wrapped with two layers of heavy aluminum foil.
150 pounds of ice:
100lbs for thawing pig, 40lbs for brining and 10lbs to keep my beer cold.
Box of 100 nitrile gloves and a few pairs of cotton liners.
Welding gloves or similar.
Heavy duty stainless steel injection needle.
Two rolls of paper towels, 18” wide heavy duty aluminum foil, disposable aluminum pans for collecting grease under pig as itcooking and for serving.
Two saw horses and two 2”x4” x 48” to rest wrk lid.
12 gallons of bottled water and four pounds of canning & pickling salt for brining
Two six packs of Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ and lots of bottled water.
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Brad Olson
TVWBB Diamond Member
So both the pig and the cook got pickled...
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Looks well thought through!
RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
Chris in Louisiana
TVWBB All-Star
Great first cook project.
Thanks for posting all the pics and info. I hope one of my neighbors reads this and decides to try it.
Thanks for posting all the pics and info. I hope one of my neighbors reads this and decides to try it.
RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
More info to follow.
RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
I’d like to think my friends drank a few of my beers, but I don’t think that was the case.... I was up at 6:00am and went to bed at 2:00 am New Years Day morning. Had my first beer at 2:00pm, so yea I drank all 12 beers. That’s a beer an hour haha... cheersSo both the pig and the cook got pickled...
RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
More info
Pig was brined for 24 hours in a 120 quart cooler. Brine mix was 12 gallons of bottled water, 6-1/2 cups of brining & pickling salt with six each sliced oranges & lemons from our trees. The extra 1/2 cup of salt was to account for ice melt.
Forty pound of ice was used to keep pig cold while brining.
Pig was removed from cooler and placed on table covered with plastic.
My next door neighbor was going to help, but was hung over after watching the Gator vs Sooner game.
I did the spit rod and loading myself. This is definitely a two person job. He did show up around 2:00pm with a bushel of Texas oysters. So I fired up the 22” yellow MBH kettle with Kingsford long burn briquettes to grill and steam oysters.
Spit rod was inserted from the backend about a third of the way thru empty belly area. Spit fork #1 was slide down the rod facing the back toward the hams. Fork #1 is now inside the belly area and tightened.
Fork #2 is installed on the outside at the tail area, after the rod has been pushed thru the mouth.
Fork #3 is installed around the mouth and tightened.
Two SS u-bolts inserted and tightened pulling the back against the rod.
Whole pig with spit rod was test fit on the ranch. I had to reset forks for proper fit. Pig was returned to the table.
Dry rub was applied to the inside belly cavity along with a few quartered oranges and limes from our trees.
Next I trussed the belly with butchers twine. Job was made easier with a sharp trussing needle. I’m an engineer, not a surgeon.
Used 22 gauge SS wire to tie the legs and secure them to the spit rod. I’d use 20 gauge next time.
Pig is now ready for another test fit. Pig fit well, with the exception her front feet and tail. I used a sharp knife to remove the tail and used tree loppers to remove about two inches of the front feet.
At this point I had not spun the pig. Plugged in the roti motor and turned it on. Wow it was well balanced and not flopping around.
Pig was injected with a mixture of apple juice, cider vinegar, water, salt and Worcestershire sauce.
Pigs ears were sprayed with Pam and wrapped with parchment paper and heavy duty aluminum foil.
Patted pig dry with paper towels. For crispy skin I mixed a 1/2 cup baking powder and 1/4 cup of kosher salt. Liberally sprinkle mixture all over pig and rub it in. If I had more time I would have liked to let pig sit a little longer before firing up the coals. Solo pig prep took longer than expected.
Now it’s time to fire up the RO lump coal.
Lime MBH 22” kettle got the call to be a chimney holder today.
Standard Weber chimney was loaded to the top with Royal Oak lump charcoal and fired up.
Half of a chimney of lit coals were pour into each 22” homemade char basket. Two bottom daisy vents under char baskets were open to about the diameter of a toothpick. Third vent under drip pans was closed. Top vent wide open.
Out of the gate, pit temp ran 275F. Temp was little hotter than I wanted. It settled back to 250F.
Method for monitoring temp was with a thermoworks smoke air probe thru the top vent and wrk lid thermometer. Both units read close to the same temp. I could not figure out a better way to monitor temps.
When probe registered 210F, I lit up 3/4 of a chimney with more lump coal. Each char basket received 3/8 of a chimney of hot coals. Intervals between refueling was about 75-90 minutes.
When a new chimney of lit charcoal was added to the char baskets. I basted skin with extra light olive and apple juice in a spray bottle. I’m sure there a better basting mixtures and methods.
Two loaf pans of baked bean were loaded in ranch to cook. They sat next to the char baskets.
U-bolts were tightened three times during the cook.
In my downtime, I fired up my 26” Glen blue and cooked pork fatties and jalapeño poppers. Sorry no pics.
I also fired up the 22” Weber fire pit. It’s an old kettle with 7” legs.
Everything I read suggested a cook time of an hour and 15 minutes per 10 pounds. So in theory my 42lbs pig would be done in five hours and 15 minutes. I’ve been grilling and smoking for over 30 years and gave myself seven hours of cook time. Nope it was 9-1/2 hours.
Smoked meat will always tell you when it’s done!! Lol
More info to follow:
Crisping skin, carving and serving.
Pig was brined for 24 hours in a 120 quart cooler. Brine mix was 12 gallons of bottled water, 6-1/2 cups of brining & pickling salt with six each sliced oranges & lemons from our trees. The extra 1/2 cup of salt was to account for ice melt.
Forty pound of ice was used to keep pig cold while brining.
Pig was removed from cooler and placed on table covered with plastic.
My next door neighbor was going to help, but was hung over after watching the Gator vs Sooner game.
I did the spit rod and loading myself. This is definitely a two person job. He did show up around 2:00pm with a bushel of Texas oysters. So I fired up the 22” yellow MBH kettle with Kingsford long burn briquettes to grill and steam oysters.
Spit rod was inserted from the backend about a third of the way thru empty belly area. Spit fork #1 was slide down the rod facing the back toward the hams. Fork #1 is now inside the belly area and tightened.
Fork #2 is installed on the outside at the tail area, after the rod has been pushed thru the mouth.
Fork #3 is installed around the mouth and tightened.
Two SS u-bolts inserted and tightened pulling the back against the rod.
Whole pig with spit rod was test fit on the ranch. I had to reset forks for proper fit. Pig was returned to the table.
Dry rub was applied to the inside belly cavity along with a few quartered oranges and limes from our trees.
Next I trussed the belly with butchers twine. Job was made easier with a sharp trussing needle. I’m an engineer, not a surgeon.
Used 22 gauge SS wire to tie the legs and secure them to the spit rod. I’d use 20 gauge next time.
Pig is now ready for another test fit. Pig fit well, with the exception her front feet and tail. I used a sharp knife to remove the tail and used tree loppers to remove about two inches of the front feet.
At this point I had not spun the pig. Plugged in the roti motor and turned it on. Wow it was well balanced and not flopping around.
Pig was injected with a mixture of apple juice, cider vinegar, water, salt and Worcestershire sauce.
Pigs ears were sprayed with Pam and wrapped with parchment paper and heavy duty aluminum foil.
Patted pig dry with paper towels. For crispy skin I mixed a 1/2 cup baking powder and 1/4 cup of kosher salt. Liberally sprinkle mixture all over pig and rub it in. If I had more time I would have liked to let pig sit a little longer before firing up the coals. Solo pig prep took longer than expected.
Now it’s time to fire up the RO lump coal.
Lime MBH 22” kettle got the call to be a chimney holder today.
Standard Weber chimney was loaded to the top with Royal Oak lump charcoal and fired up.
Half of a chimney of lit coals were pour into each 22” homemade char basket. Two bottom daisy vents under char baskets were open to about the diameter of a toothpick. Third vent under drip pans was closed. Top vent wide open.
Out of the gate, pit temp ran 275F. Temp was little hotter than I wanted. It settled back to 250F.
Method for monitoring temp was with a thermoworks smoke air probe thru the top vent and wrk lid thermometer. Both units read close to the same temp. I could not figure out a better way to monitor temps.
When probe registered 210F, I lit up 3/4 of a chimney with more lump coal. Each char basket received 3/8 of a chimney of hot coals. Intervals between refueling was about 75-90 minutes.
When a new chimney of lit charcoal was added to the char baskets. I basted skin with extra light olive and apple juice in a spray bottle. I’m sure there a better basting mixtures and methods.
Two loaf pans of baked bean were loaded in ranch to cook. They sat next to the char baskets.
U-bolts were tightened three times during the cook.
In my downtime, I fired up my 26” Glen blue and cooked pork fatties and jalapeño poppers. Sorry no pics.
I also fired up the 22” Weber fire pit. It’s an old kettle with 7” legs.
Everything I read suggested a cook time of an hour and 15 minutes per 10 pounds. So in theory my 42lbs pig would be done in five hours and 15 minutes. I’ve been grilling and smoking for over 30 years and gave myself seven hours of cook time. Nope it was 9-1/2 hours.
Smoked meat will always tell you when it’s done!! Lol
More info to follow:
Crisping skin, carving and serving.
Attachments
Last edited:
RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
That’s awesome. Had no idea you could do that with a kettle.
I’m gonna guess you’re an engineer.
Thank you sir! This was my first whole pig roast.
I flunked out of journalism school and decided to become an engineer. Lol
Yes I’m a manufacturing engineer.
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RJ Humphrey
TVWBB Fan
Crisping skin, carving, serving and final thoughts.
Thermapen was used to check IT
At nine hours into the cook I recorded the following temps:
Hams 165-180
Front shoulder 180-190
Back loin area 190.
Skin was not burnt and had good color. This being my first pig roast I deemed it ready to crisp the skin.
Two chimneys filled 3/4 full with lump were fired up.
Each char basket was filled with a chimney of lit coals.
The next phase happened quickly so I’m really not sure how long I tried to crisp the skin. About 10 friends were crowded around the ranch just watching. Best estimate would be 10-15 minutes.
Skin tightened quickly and the SS wire was cutting thru the skin near the shoulder exposing juicy pork. None of my guest had experience roasting a pig and neither did I.
WRK lid was removed during the crisping process.
Pig was removed from the ranch with the help of a friend and placed on aluminum foil covered table. Pig rested for 30 mins.
Lots of pictures were taken and posted to FB. I’m not on FB, so I have no idea what was posted.
Most of the skin in the belly area was removed.
Both shoulders were removed whole with ease and was shredded.
Loin was removed, but I did not sample it.
Hams were more like sliced pork and a little dry.
The best meat was the thin bacon around the belly, small amount of meat on the ribs and jowls.
Most of the pork was shredded and a few guys picked from the carcass.
After breaking down my first whole pig. I have a better understanding what I need to do next time.
Skin was like eating an old leather shoe, not crispy. Total fail!!!
I’m not a huge leftover type guy. All the meat went home with friends and neighbors.
Would I roast an other whole pig, heck yea! This was a test run for my annual Super Bowl party, but will be scaled down due to Covid19.
Is roasting a whole pig the best method for cooking pork. Probably not the best, but was a fun and enjoyable cook. Guest will enjoy the experience. I’ve made better bbq pork! It was the journey that was a blast. The day before the cook I was wide awake at 4:00am thinking about roasting a pig.
A few notes to myself:
Start earlier.
Have a reliable helper that will show up.
Allow more cooking time.
Improve the carving and skin crisping process.
Drink more water!
Cheers
Thermapen was used to check IT
At nine hours into the cook I recorded the following temps:
Hams 165-180
Front shoulder 180-190
Back loin area 190.
Skin was not burnt and had good color. This being my first pig roast I deemed it ready to crisp the skin.
Two chimneys filled 3/4 full with lump were fired up.
Each char basket was filled with a chimney of lit coals.
The next phase happened quickly so I’m really not sure how long I tried to crisp the skin. About 10 friends were crowded around the ranch just watching. Best estimate would be 10-15 minutes.
Skin tightened quickly and the SS wire was cutting thru the skin near the shoulder exposing juicy pork. None of my guest had experience roasting a pig and neither did I.
WRK lid was removed during the crisping process.
Pig was removed from the ranch with the help of a friend and placed on aluminum foil covered table. Pig rested for 30 mins.
Lots of pictures were taken and posted to FB. I’m not on FB, so I have no idea what was posted.
Most of the skin in the belly area was removed.
Both shoulders were removed whole with ease and was shredded.
Loin was removed, but I did not sample it.
Hams were more like sliced pork and a little dry.
The best meat was the thin bacon around the belly, small amount of meat on the ribs and jowls.
Most of the pork was shredded and a few guys picked from the carcass.
After breaking down my first whole pig. I have a better understanding what I need to do next time.
Skin was like eating an old leather shoe, not crispy. Total fail!!!
I’m not a huge leftover type guy. All the meat went home with friends and neighbors.
Would I roast an other whole pig, heck yea! This was a test run for my annual Super Bowl party, but will be scaled down due to Covid19.
Is roasting a whole pig the best method for cooking pork. Probably not the best, but was a fun and enjoyable cook. Guest will enjoy the experience. I’ve made better bbq pork! It was the journey that was a blast. The day before the cook I was wide awake at 4:00am thinking about roasting a pig.
A few notes to myself:
Start earlier.
Have a reliable helper that will show up.
Allow more cooking time.
Improve the carving and skin crisping process.
Drink more water!
Cheers
Attachments
Last edited: