how to brine a whole pig?

Question

how to brine a whole pig?

Answer 1

The Whole Pig Roast:

How to Cook a Full Sized Pig



A whole pig roast is a wondrous event, but if you've read How to Cook a Whole Pig then you know there is a lot that goes into it. A whole hog can be quite large and therefore requires special equipment and skills to pull off. While you may know the basics so far, this page will go into more of the details of things to plan for to make your whole hog roast go off without a hitch.



Some things to consider and plan for when cooking a whole pig roast:



Invite a Lot of Friends!

This may seem obvious, but most people do not realize just how much meat is on a large hog! Don't plan a hog roast without sufficient friends and family to help you devour the tasty goodness when it is done. You'd hate to see all your hard work go to waste wouldn't you!



The Hog Rotisserie



1. A suckling pig is typically under 25 lb. Therefore, whole hogs are generally significantly larger than that. While many that you'll see roasted are 30 to 60 lb., larger adult hogs can easily weight from 100 to 200 lb. For this reason, you need a very heavy-duty and sturdy rotisserie, as seen above, to slowly and safely turn your pig roast over your fire.



2. Why do you need a rotisserie in the first place? Why not just support the pig over your fire pit on a rack? A whole pig is a large roast! If left in one position over a fire or charcoal, one side would be burnt and crispy while the other side would be raw. Just like any cut of meat, you need to turn it to be fully cooked throughout. However, turning a whole hog is not as easy as flippin' a burger! Just imagine trying to flip the hog, several times, while it is inches over hot embers. Think you could handle it? Well you're wrong, this is a set-up for disaster. Turning a large whole pig roast over a fire by hand is next to impossible and you will end up with charred arms and eyebrows. A sturdy hog rotisserie is the only solution and in my opinion is critical to a successful pig roast.



3. Many companies make whole hog rotisseries. Whatever you use, make sure it is weight tested for more than your pig weights so you know it will hold, and turn, that weight.



Buying a Whole Pig



1. Plan ahead for your pig roast! In most areas a whole fresh hog is not that easy to come by. Find a source for a whole hog well before you plan your party.



2. Talk to your butcher. Most can special order whole pigs. Ethnic markets and butchers, Latin and Asian particularly, are a good place to start. Check out my Where to Buy a Whole Hog for Barbecuing page.



3. When buying a whole pig, find out if it will come frozen or fresh. If frozen, be sure to leave sufficient time once you get it to defrost. An average sized hog will take at least 48 hours to defrost completely. If you are planning to marinate or brine it as well, this will take additional time before the whole pig roast so plan ahead and make sure you don't run out of time!



4. Also ask your butcher how the pig will come. Most are prepped for cooking, meaning their hair and internal organs have been removed. If they haven't been prepped, make sure you have someone who can clean and prep the hog for you before cooking.



Prepping Your Whole Pig Roast: Marinating, Brining and Injecting



1. A whole pig needs to be flavored. If you just throw it on your rotisserie and cook it, the large cuts of meat will be rather bland. But do not fret, pork takes to marinating and brining like a fish to water!



2. There are many types of recipes for prepping a whole pig roast, but I particularly like brining. Brining uses a salt water solution to tenderize the meat and also to help the muscle fibers retain moisture. This helps infuse flavor and keep your roast succulent and moist. It will not dry out and become tough.



3. There are many options for brine or marinade mixtures. One brine that I particularly love and works beautifully with pork is an apple cider brine The apple flavor and subtle sweetness really enhance and compliment the natural flavor of the meat. To add even more flavor, I like to add an abundance of herbs, onions, lemons, oranges and/or hot peppers to the brine solution.



4. A whole pig should be brined or marinated for at least 24 hours overnight, if not longer. Additionally, injecting the thickest parts of meat with the marinade or brine solution will help to be sure your brine penetrates all of the meat, not just the surface cuts.



Prepping Your Whole Pig Roast: Trussing



1. Proper trussing of your whole pig roast to the rotisserie spit is critical. As your pig cooks it will loosen, move and shift. The muscle fibers will pull apart and away from the bone. The result? Your whole hog could fall off your spit! That would be disaster. Prevent this by trussing aggressively and tightly.



2. In general, the spit should go between the thighs, along the inside of the body just under the spine and out through the mouth. Because the spit is not really going through meat, this is not secured to the spit. A large trussing need and heavy-duty kitchen twine should be used to secure the spine to the spit every 6 inches along the length of the meat. This should be tied as tightly as possible with the knots on the back. Cut off excess twine so that it will not burn.



3. The hips, thighs and legs should also be trussed securely to hold them tight against each other and the spit. Same goes for the head and shoulders. You don't want any wiggle or give in your pig, it should move as one with the spit



Go Slow and Easy



1. A whole pig roast takes a long time, you cannot, and should not, rush it. Quickly grilled pork leads to burnt skin and dried out meat. Cook slowly over the fire pit on the rotisserie at lower temperatures (around 250 degrees or so at the surface of your roast is ideal).



2. Whole hogs can take from 4 to 24 hours to cook completely depending on their size and the cooking temperature. So plan ahead and take your time.



3. When you think the roast is nearing doneness, test the doneness with a meat thermometer. All internal temperatures of the deepest meat (the hams and shoulders will be the last to cook thoroughly) should be at least 160 degrees and ideally about 165.



Basting, Basting, and Then More Basting



1. Basting with a good basting mixture helps to develop a nice thick, dark caramelized glaze on the surface of the roast. It also helps prevent the skin and superficial meat from drying out.



2. Baste frequently throughout the cooking period, particularly when you notice the surface getting dry.



3. Basting mixtures vary and can use any number of flavoring ingredients. Some examples of things to include are olive oil, wine, fruit juices, herbs and lemon juice. Even a little honey or sugar can enhance the flavor and help the caramelization. Just be careful not to put too much sugar on the surface of your whole pig roast or it will burn if it gets too hot. Remember, you want caramelization, not charcoal!

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For your brine

* 4 cups apple cider - preferably unfiltered, do not use plain apple juice as this often has lots of water and sugar added.



* 3 1/2 cups water



* 1/2 cup sea salt



* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar



* 3 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper



* 2 tsp dried rubbed sage



* 1 tsp ground cinnamon



* Olive oil



* Pepper



* Herbes de Provence - A mix of herbs native to the south of France such as rosemary, thyme, lavender, fennel, sage, etc.



* Additional apple cider and brown sugar and good herb red wine vinegar for a basting mixture



How to cook it:



1. Mix the cider, water, salt, sugar, pepper, sage and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly until all the sugar and salt have dissolved.

Answer 2

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How to brine a whole pig: Get a clean sturdy tub that will be of sufficient size to enable submersion of the pig. Mix up your favorite brine recipe or pre-packaged mix. Make sure your pig is as clean and gutted as you can get it and then submerge the pig in the brine. Usually 16-24 hours is sufficient.



Another easier way is to clean and gut the pig and then use a salt rub mixture inside and outside the pig and then SLOW roast in either a coal pit or rotisserie.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

how to brine a whole pig?

Answer 4

1 plastic barrel of brine solution of your choice, 1 pig carcass and 24 hours of time. Fire up the smoker and smoke for 18 to 24 hours.

Answer 5

Whole Hog Rotisserie

Answer 6

Tips on How to Cook a Whole Pig



Finding a Whole Hog or Suckling Pig - Without a whole pig, you can't have a pig roast! Sourcing a whole hog can be tricky in some areas. However, there are some tricks to finding a source in your local area and even some farms that ship anywhere in the US. You can find more information about these on my Where to Buy a Whole Hog page.

Your Fire Pit Heat Source - If you are cooking a whole hog, obviously you need a heat source! I don't know how to cook a whole pig without heat! But that's a good thing because I love working with fire! For an outdoor fire pit pig roast you can use any fuel that is good for cooking, either hardwood firewood or charcoal.

Assuming you have an adequate rotisserie, various types of fire pits can be used. For example, pictured above is a temporary fire pit which was built out of landscaping bricks placed on a non-flammable ground area. If you build this on an area you don't want to be stained by the charcoal you can lay down a large piece of sheet metal first to form the floor of your fire pit. The barbecue pit is then simply filled with fuel, charcoal in the case of the picture above, and you have your heat source! Other options are to dig out a shallow area in the ground to act as your fire pit. This can then be filled with firewood and a big fire built and burned down until you have a good core of embers to grill over. You can even cook your whole pig over a portable cast-iron or copper fire pit as long as it is big enough and your rotisserie is tall enough.



Remember that for a large roast like this you don't want high direct heat which will burn the skin of the pig quickly. You want enough heat to cook, but low enough that the pig can cook on a rotisserie slowly over hours. Therefore, don't cook over a large direct flame of an active fire unless your rotisserie is high enough to keep your food away from the flames. Hot embers or charcoal are better. They give off a lot of radiant heat but don't tend to burn nearly as fast as an open flame.



Whatever your fuel, be sure to spread it out so that all parts of your pig roast will cook relatively evenly. To accomplish this, it helps to take a temperature, with a grill thermometer or meat thermometer, at the surface of the pig at several locations. The temperature should be even and you can move coals or embers around to adjust if needed. If there is a differential, I prefer my most intense heat to be on the butt/hindquarters (ham) and shoulder areas where there is thicker meat and will take the longest to cook.



Hog Rotisserie - It is key to remember when learning how to cook a whole pig that a large animal will take a very long time to cook, usually several hours for full sized hogs. During that process you want the meat to cook evenly and the skin to brown nicely and acquire a beautiful caramelized glaze. However, you don't want the skin to burn to a charcoal crisp! The ideal way to accomplish this is a hog rotisserie which will slowly turn your pig roast over your heat source at an adequate distance to keep it from burning quickly. For smaller suckling pigs you may be able to get away with a standard fire pit rotisserie. However, for larger whole hogs you need a heavy duty rotisserie which can hold and turn a large weight. More information about these can be found on my Hog Rotisserie page. The pig rotisserie pictured above and on most of these pages can be purchased from SpitJack.

Trussing Needle and Twine - A good trussing job is essential to successfully learn how to cook a whole pig. Without the trussing job, the roast will fall right off the rotisserie spit! It pays to go extra heavy on the trussing because while a raw pig may seem secure, as it cooks and the tissues become softer and even fall off the bone, the roast can shift and slip. Prevent this by doing an adequate trussing job from the get go! The trussing will consist of several loops of heavy-duty twine going through the back of the pig on either side of the spit and spine, securing the spine to the spit below. This should be done at about six inch intervals all the way down the length of the meat. The legs and head should also be wrapped and secured tightly so they are as close to and as tight against the spit as possible. Finally, the body cavity is sewn shut, after seasoning and filling with any stuffing you want of course. A good trussing needle kit can be purchased from SpitJack.

Meat Injector - As I'll discuss elsewhere, pork, especially from a large hog, can lack some flavor and juiciness in the depths of the meat. One tip on how to cook a whole pig that is delicious is to infuse your roast with more flavor by marinating and/or brining the pig before cooking. However, because of the size of these roasts, much of the marinade or brine may not reach the depths of the meat. A large, heavy-duty meat injector (basically a large syringe with a large needle) can be used to inject marinade or brine deep into the meat.

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Answer 7

It takes ten seconds for Y.A. question to display for me to be able to click on [add your answer] button. is my computer slow??