Monk: Last month, I cooked my second whole hog for my neighborhood swim club event to close out the season. In case you missed my post leading up to it, here’s a link to refresh your memory on what I thought I would do differently for this hog cook:

Utilizing our patented 5 hogs scale, I’ll rate how well I changed up each thing for hog #2 and total it up at the end. Let’s see how I did:

Thing #1: I’m going to use a pig cooker (a BQ Grill, specifically)
Verdict: 5 hogs

I’m fortunate that a neighbor 1) owned a BQ Grill pig cooker and 2) let me borrow it for free. And boy, was I glad that I had that instead of having to haul the cinder blocks to and from the swim club parking lot. There isn’t a super steep learning curve to the BQ coming from a cinder block pit and the BQ drew a lot of positive attention from the crowd. I can’t wait to borrow it again.

Thing #2: I will get a bunch of wood coals going before I start the cook
Verdict: 3 hogs

That same neighbor who let me borrow the pig cooker is the one who I bought a burn barrel from several years back. I finally got a chance to use that burn barrel and built up a good base of coals for about an hour plus starting at 10pm that Friday night before I finally put them into the cooker. I did a decent job with this part but found myself without coals at times and having to play catch up. Once again, I went through a half cord of wood and then some.

Thing #3: I’m going to crisp up the skin and chop it into the pork
Verdict: 0 hogs

I said earlier there wasn’t a steep learning curve to the BQ Grill but I really should have said “other than the deflector plate.” I had a vague understanding of how removing it would crisp up the skin at the end but no real sense of how mechanically to do that considering how heavy and hot it was. I will have to do more research ahead of time next time but for this time around I made a business decision not to mess with it in case I messed up the pig right before the party start time.

Thing #4: I’ll probably throw some pork butts on (just in case)
Verdict: 4 hogs

I got a little bit bigger pig this time around – 157 pounds vs 126 pounds – but was also feeding a much larger crowd (~350 vs 100). I ended up only grabbing two extra pork butts but the crowd ate every last bit of the pork that was available, with only a half full gallon Ziploc bag remaining after the party.

Thing #5: I will try the head this time
Verdict: 5 hogs

I most certainly tried (and started) the cheeks from the head and absolutely found them to be extremely tender and flavorful. From this point on, I will definitely not be wasting the head.

Thing #6: I will not waste any pig this time around
Verdict: 5 hogs

As a reminder, last time close to a quarter of the pig fell onto the ground of the cinder block pit due to carelessness on my part, although I was able to salvage most of what fell. Thankfully, that did not happen this time around but next time I will use the grated screen next time so I could cook the pork butts on that instead of resting in the cavity of the pig. The consistency of the butts didn’t quite come out the way I wanted.

Thing #7: I’m going to recruit a crew to not only help out but enjoy the cook
Verdict: 4 hogs

I had a crew of folks hanging out for the start of the pig cook with a couple of guys even making it until about 3am and helping me flip the pig before they went to their respective homes. And not only did they help flip the pig but they came through in the clutch with a late night McDonald’s order of cheeseburgers. Then, in the morning, my neighbor came back out for an hour or two to see where he could be of help. And then, of course, I have to mention the guys helping me serve the crowd.

Final Tally: 26 hogs (out of a possibly 35)

The main thing for next time is figuring out the best way to crisp up the pork skin. The pig turned out amazing but that will be next level for me. Until next time!

Monk: As we near the end of the summer and fall starts to get close, my mind inevitably turns to the question I’ve thought about off and on since Father’s Day of 2019: “when am I going to smoke another whole hog?”

Well, 2025 is the year I am making firm plans to do just that. I was quite happy with how everything turned out last time but I did learn some lessons from the initial cook that I plan on changing up for my second pig 6 years later. In no particular order, here’s what I’m going to do differently:

I’m going to use a pig cooker (a BQ Grill, specifically)

As fun as a cinder block and rebar pit was, for me that experience may end up being a one and done. Thankfully, I at least didn’t have to purchase 80-odd cinder blocks and instead was able to borrow them from Garren of Jon G’s Barbecue. And while Garren graciously offered to drop them off and pick them up, those blocks were a pain to get from the driveway to my backyard and then back again when time came to pick them back up. Not to mention I was out of town when Garren needed to pick them up and my poor dad had to do it by himself in the July summer heat.

I will get a bunch of wood coals going before I start the cook

One of the lessons learned from the first time around was that I didn’t get enough coals going so I was constantly playing catch up in terms of waiting for coals to burn down before I could add them to keep the temperature consistent. So much so to the point that Speedy made a middle of the night run to a 24-hour Wal-mart to pick up a few bags of charcoal to get help kickstart the fire. This time around, I’m loading the burn barrel full of wood and will keep that adding more and more while also going ahead and proactively getting a couple bags of charcoal in case I need them.

I’m going to crisp up the skin and chop it into the pork

Last time around I made a half hearted attempt to crisp up the skin as party attendees arrived but ultimately did not get it crispy enough so that you had a contrast between the texture of the crispy skin and the pork. Thinking back to some of the best pork I’ve had both this year (at City Limits Barbeque in West Columbia, SC) and all-time (from Skylight Inn in Ayden, NC and from Sam Jones’ pop ups as well as his restaurants in Winterville and Raleigh), those crispy bits are really what set it apart. I’m going to make it a point to recreate that as best I can.

I’ll probably throw some pork butts on (just in case)

In hindsight, I played a slightly risky game smoking the pig last time around with no plan B. What if I struggled to get the fire going? What if Speedy and I both fell asleep (literally) on the job? What if the pig cook took longer than I had planned? What if people started showing up and I couldn’t tell them when the food would be ready? That’s the nightmare of any cook, barbecue or not, so I’m going to make sure I am well prepared just in case.

I will try the head this time

The head was included with the pig last time around and I may have thrown it on the pit for show but I did not even think of trying any part of it, which as any barbecue afficionado knows is known for being really tasty. Had I researched ahead of time I would have realized that the muscles in a pig’s head, especially the cheeks, are known for being tender and flavorful due to their high fat and collagen content. Next time around I’m going to make sure I at least try some pig cheeks.

I will not waste any pig this time around

Due to carelessness, not enough rebar, and a lack of sleep, last time around I ended up accidentally dropping a whole quarter of the pig onto the ground of the pit. Now, I was able to salvage most of what dropped but the last thing you want to do is spend all that time, energy, and money on a pig only to (accidentally or not) waste any of it.

I’m going to recruit a crew to not only help out but enjoy the cook

Last time around it was just Speedy and me, and while we more than managed, we were both pretty pooped the next day for the actual party after taking shift through the night. I’ve got some friends who I’m planning to call upon to not only help out with the cook but also help make the time passing more enjoyable. Because if you’re going to do a whole hog, you might as well enjoy the process right?

Want to see how cook #2 goes? Follow along on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, and we’ll have a follow up post next month.