4 lil piggies

[Helldorado]

so ive got 4 lil piggies i caught in my trap i welded in highschool years ago. but now what do i do with them?? Ive got the idea to take the 4 heads in their entireity and give them to a nice mexican lady to make tamales. but what do yall normally do with the rest? im thinkin about smokin one whole pig for me and my friends over a huntin trip at the ranch soon. Any good recipies for pork sausage? you know like the jimmy dean stuff you cook for breakfast? ANy comments or ideas or recipies would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Crpdeth]

Congrats!

I do alot of trapping myself, but I'm not a huge sausage eater, when I do make sausage/smoked sausage links, I go to the guy here that process them and I buy his "fixins" by the LB because I cant make it as good as he does...Then I add it to the chunks before grinding/stuffing. I say I'm not a huge sausage eater, but if I can swing venison and pork...Man thats some good stuff!

Gonna smoke a whole one huh? Now your talking my language, the one thing that I've found that you may want to watch out for is that the ribs tend to get done long before the hams/backstrap on the young 'uns...I have no idea how to remedy that except to go as slow as possible, even at that I've had it where you can accidently take a bite out of the rib bone itself which is kinda nasty. I like my stuff HOT, so I brine the lil porker in water that is mixed with homemade chili powder, jalapeno powder, habenaro...Well, you get the idea.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out!

Crpdeth

[Helldorado]

Sounds good! how long do you soak the pig in the brine mix? Does that help with keeping the meat from drying out while in the smoker? I thought about maybe putting a pot of water in the smoker also and maybe periodically pouring a lil bit of water over the pig while its cooking. would hate to put all the time into the pig and have it come out dry. Anyway thanx for the tips!

[firebird]

Hey Helldorado! I don't have any suggestions for cooking because I can't and don't cook (hell, I hardly even eat!)...I just wanted to tell you that I love your name!

[Helldorado]

haha well thanx. I got it from a white zombie song. I wanna craft a really nice antique lookin sawed off 12 pistol...like something mad max carried Im gonna name it Helldorado and probably engrave it on there somewhere! Kinda ironic too since im a devout christian lol.

[firebird]

Nice! LOL! I think it's great, but what do I know?? I love skulls!!!

Originally Posted by Helldorado

haha well thanx. I got it from a white zombie song. I wanna craft a really nice antique lookin sawed off 12 pistol...like something mad max carried Im gonna name it Helldorado and probably engrave it on there somewhere! Kinda ironic too since im a devout christian lol.

[inplanotx]

Originally Posted by Helldorado

haha well thanx. I got it from a white zombie song. I wanna craft a really nice antique lookin sawed off 12 pistol...like something mad max carried Im gonna name it Helldorado and probably engrave it on there somewhere! Kinda ironic too since im a devout christian lol.

Let us know when you get it finished and BATF&E has confiscated it. Make sure you send us your new address from the cross bar hotel.

[JohnK3]

IPT, they won't confiscate if he contacts them first for permission to manufacture an AOD.

Helldorado, if you do the sawed off 12ga, make sure to get the right forms/permits, etc. It's possible, but MAKE SURE YOU DO IT BY THE BOOK.

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by Helldorado

Sounds good! how long do you soak the pig in the brine mix? Does that help with keeping the meat from drying out while in the smoker?

The last one soaked for 24 hours, give or take...Yes, it absolutely helps keep the pig from drying out and is a big reason for doing it in the first place, to make the meat "juicy", and of course we BBQ worshipers take advantage and try to embed some flavor in there at the same time, heck I've heard of all sorts of concoctions especially for brining birds. The pot of water is an great idea, when I bother with it I put it as close to the fire box as possible.

Originally Posted by Helldorado

...and maybe periodically pouring a lil bit of water over the pig while its cooking. would hate to put all the time into the pig and have it come out dry. Anyway thanx for the tips!

Tell ya what, it may increase your cooking time by constantly opening the lid, but I'd make up a "Mop" out of butter (lots of butter), onion, bacon, red bell peppers, mushrooms ect, and mop the ol' girl occasionally while cooking... Really seems to help and the left over reduced mop is good to pour over your meat in your plate.

Crpdeth

[JohnK3]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

The last one soaked for 24 hours, give or take...Yes, it absolutely helps keep the pig from drying out and is a big reason for doing it in the first place, to make the meat "juicy", and of course we BBQ worshipers take advantage and try to embed some flavor in there at the same time, heck I've heard of all sorts of concoctions especially for brining birds. The pot of water is an great idea, when I bother with it I put it as close to the fire box as possible.



Tell ya what, it may increase your cooking time by constantly opening the lid, but I'd make up a "Mop" out of butter (lots of butter), onion, bacon, red bell peppers, mushrooms ect, and mop the ol' girl occasionally while cooking... Really seems to help and the left over reduced mop is good to pour over your meat in your plate.

Crpdeth

Believe it or not, the brine is NOT to *keep* the meat from drying out, but to HELP the meat to dry out.

Smoking is also part curing. The object behind the cure is to pull some of the moisture out of the meat. Some cures are pure salt. That's a "hard" cure. When you mix in some sugar, that's a "soft" cure, because the sugar helps retain some moisture.

Too much moisture on the surface of your meat can lead to a very "creosote" like flavor. When you smoke meat, you have to make sure the surface is dry before it goes in the smoke. Otherwise the nasty parts of the smoke end up sticking to the food.

The best way I know of to make a brine is to bring the specific gravity of the water up to the point that you can float a potato in the water. When a peeled potato floats, you've got enough salt/sugar.

My BBQ teacher (Baron Damon Deadtongue, the Barbecue Baron) taught me "If you're lookin' you ain't cookin'" Keep the lid on as much as possible.

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Believe it or not, the brine is NOT to *keep* the meat from drying out, but to HELP the meat to dry out.

Are you referring to brining while using a "cure"?

Brining while using a normal brine recipie clearly allows more moisture and spice flavors to penetrate the meat which keeps the meat moist longer and at higher temps.

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Too much moisture on the surface of your meat can lead to a very "creosote" like flavor. When you smoke meat, you have to make sure the surface is dry before it goes in the smoke. Otherwise the nasty parts of the smoke end up sticking to the food.

Geeze man, I guess all the great BBQ chefs are doing it all wrong is all I can say. The nasty parts of the smoke?

Crpdeth

[Helldorado]

Originally Posted by JohnK3

Too much moisture on the surface of your meat can lead to a very "creosote" like flavor. When you smoke meat, you have to make sure the surface is dry before it goes in the smoke. Otherwise the nasty parts of the smoke end up sticking to the food

I have to agree with the Creeping Death...having the smokey mesquite(what I use anyway) flavor is the whole point of BBQing...well that and all the beer and whisky consumed in the mean time. Im sure it is possible to over do it to the point where it is nasty....but every brisket or any other cut of meat that ive smoked for at least 7-8 hours has always had such a great flavor from the wood smoke. Never anywhere near seeming to be too much. Possibly a case of different strokes for different fo'ks.

I do appreciate every bit of in put yall are tossin out here for me. Although Im not to sure about the whole specific gravity thing. I failed out of chemistry in HS and therefore never made it to physics :P So might have to speak in a BBQ for Redneck Dummies kinda way lol. I do like the idea of soakin the pig in the spice loaded brine over night though. And the buttery mop made my mouth water instantly. I had already planned on taking a bunch of chuncked veggies( onion, peppers, garlic, etc.) and tossing them in with the pig the last hour or so... mostly just for people to pick at for sides, but also to add a lil flavor. Im guessing it wont be much though since it wont have much time with the pig. oh well just an idea. What do you think about apple chunks?

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by Helldorado

Creeping Death.

ROTF! You picked up on that one quick, I just wonder how many of the "Old family" here knew that one.

And hey, my comments are just my uneducated opinions I like to learn as much as I can every day, so although I may disagree, I'm listening, absorbing, always.

Anyway, all this talk about Qing sure is jacking my diet up!

Crpdeth

[Helldorado]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

ROTF! You picked up on that one quick

Crpdeth

Yeah, Im a metalhead, been rockin to oldschool metallica since i was a wee child. Not sure if thats where you got it from but it definately matched up well with your avatar

[Crpdeth]

Very old school Metallica here as well, I remember being on cloud nine when the band finally decided to do 'One' on MTV, It stayed on top of the viewer call in countdown for weeks untill 'Paradise City' eventually rose above it, then the two songs went back and forth forever. You remember that? How good do you have to be, to just appear on MTV, out of no where, with one song and immedately go to the top?...LOL, good memories hanging out with the select few friends who still manage to drop by and hang out these days.

Anyway.......LOL, we got into paintball hard and heavy for about 10 years and it seems that I was a little sleuth, so they eventually dubbed me Creeping Death.

Crpdeth

[Helldorado]

Ok not this weekend but the next, may 19-21, Im gonna cut and gut one of my lil piggies for the smoker. Ill try and remember to take pictures of it. Dont let me forget the pictures!

[Crpdeth]

I look forward to a review, especially with pics!

I had planned to smoke a brisket for a little gathering this weekend, but I just haven't had the time or energy, work has really picked up, so I'll make a snicker salad. Kinda bummed about that.

Oh well, ol' Dave will make enough crawfish to feed two opposing armies so we'll eat.

Crpdeth

[Helldorado]

mmmm crawfish! I havnt enjoyed a good mudbug boil in a long damn time. What do you normally do with your briskits?

Ive gotten word from the ranch that the lil pigs are gettin up to about 70lbs. with the smoker i have i wont be able to do them whole. so im thinkin about quarterin one and cuttin out the backstraps and tenderloin...pilling it all together to save space. Ill probably put the ribs in the middle of it all so they wont cook as fast. all pilled up with apple, onion, garlic, pineapple and maybe some papaya....what do ya think?

[Crpdeth]

Good Lord, I ate crawfish untill I couldn't stand up.

I've done brisket so many different ways it aint funny, But one favorite is to stoke the fire up and get a good bed of coals for about an hour, then coat the thawed brisket with worshtesire sauce and a good brisket rub, I like it HOT so I'll usually spice that rub up with dehydrated, ground, homegrown peppers. Make sure the pit has fallen off to about 250 degrees (225 - 275 or there abouts) and put that baby on...Some people say "fat side down" and I'd agree if we wern't using an offset smoker, but since I do, I go fat side up as I think this allows the fat to reduce and render throughout the meat (at least somewhat) and to be honest sometimes I flip it half way through just to make sure the fat drippings havent "washed" all my rub off, then add some more rub. I'll use a probe themometer after 8 hours (depending on the size of the brisket of course, some say they smoke a small brisket in 4 - 5 hrs) and make sure the internal temp is up to about 160, then wrap her in foil for about an hour, then take it off the grate still in the foil, wrap it in some beach towels and set it in an ice chest for about an hour (towels and chest that are kept reserved for cooking, this will hold in the moist heat).

Sounds real good on quartering the oinker, making my mouth salivatate.

On that back strap, I might cook them half way through then foil 'em up with all those trimings...Just a thought.

Keep us updated.

Crpdeth

[rosierita]

if you're pressed for space, keep a ham out & cure it!

the way i do mine is 3 cups salt, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup pepper. put a towel in the bottom of a pan big enough to put the ham in, coat the towel & rub the mixture onto the bottom of the ham (place it fat side up), set the ham in the pan, finish coating it & cover it w/ another towel, put saran wrap over it & put it in the fridge. in 3 days, make your mixture again, change the towels & stick it back in the fridge. every few days after that, check your towels, if they are soaked, change them & make sure you've got plenty of mixture on the ham. do that for about 4 or 5 wks, then have it sliced. it is GOOD!

[Helldorado]

ok sorry it took so long to reply...but heres how it went!

Whilst i butchered the lil piggy, my buddy got the smoker goin. We tried keeping the heat between 280 and 300 if i remember correctly. I put the quarters on platters and dumped the the fruit on top. Apple, Pineapple, and Papaya. I forgot the onion and garlic and at this point had already put back a few beers so chose not to drive into town With the quarters on a platter covered with foil... they stayed pretty damn moist the whole time. I occationally put a lil water in the platter with them and kept the pot inside the smoker filled with water. The rib cage and backstrap, which there wasnt much of being a small pig, we just stuck on a open platter. after cooking for 9 hours the rib/backstrap was way over done and the quarters not done enough. So we tossed the torso and I picked all the meat off the quarters and put in containers to deal with later( Im pretty drunk at this point). Now the meat from the quarters was probably about 75% done so i could eat some of it...and it was great! But I decided to put it away for now and finish baking it in the oven another time.

Few days later...

Im at my house with the picked apart pig meat. What am i gonna do with it? My roomie and I are hungry and have all this meat so... I proceed to cook my "2 Min Hog Pie" I call it this cause it only took me 2 minutes to think up the recipe....and it really turned out pretty good!

I finished cooking the meat in the oven....on a cassarole dish i put a good layer of the picked apart meat. I covered that with a 15 oz can of veggie soup...the kind with the big chunks of veggies. I mixed up the meat and soup well then covered it with a big can (twenty something ounces) of Cream of Mushroom. Just covered it didnt mix it. And finally I covered all of that with a roll of pizza dough. You know the kind that comes in one of those pop open on the counter things? It was rectangle so fit the cassarole dish perfect. Just stretched it out to size and stuck the whole thing back in the oven at 350 i think, untill the pizza dough was cooked. For as much though as I put into it and as quick as it took to do it, it was really pretty good!

I regret to inform yall I didnt get pictures of the meat out of the smoker...like i said i had alot to drink and didnt think about it. But i do have a couple pics of the smoker yall might like

[Crpdeth]

Thanks for the story man.

Sounds like you had a blast, some of my best hunting trips were ones where I (like you) cooked and got sauced, wound up eating very little, but everyone else got stuffed and stayed out of the beer and bragged on the chef!

I love the smoker, I was really thinking of making one of those when I found the one I have now, just a small single axle, offset job.

How is the firebox rigged up on yours?

Crpdeth