whole hog barbecue

Seven Things I’m Going to Do Differently when I Smoke My Second Whole Hog This Fall

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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.

Tales from the Pits Interviews Each Other

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Monk: After over 200 episodes of Tales from the Pits, in this episode we get to know the guys behind the podcast a little better. And what better way for that to happen than for them to interview each other? Andrew and Bryan each pose 10 questions to each other that neither was aware of before hitting record.

The questions start off predictably around barbecue before delving into more personal stories about celebrity encounters and favorite concerts, which is where there listener gets an even better sense of them as people outside the context of barbecue.

While technically this is the first time they’ve done a podcast in this format, I do feel like that its along the lines of the conversations they’ve been having over the past seven year. And that’s not a bad thing by any means.

Link to web version

Description: In this episode we do something we’ve never done: interview each other. We chose ten random questions to ask one another with neither of us having any indication as to what the questions would be before recording.

This is a fun one that goes off on some tangents and includes a challenge we hope Daniel Vaughn takes us up on!

Linkdown: 9/18/24 – The Pig Pickin’ Edition

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Featured

Good news: the Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue returns for its 93rd iteration on Thursday, October 24! And after a couple years hiatus, dine-in eating returns! Mark your calendars.

Native News

File under “things you love to see”: Old Colony Smokehouse in Edenton has added whole hog barbecue to its daily menu

Speaking of whole hog, the Carolina Barbecue Festival is hosting a new fall event: the Fall Pig Pickin’ will take place on Sunday, October 6th from 12-4

Sam Jones will be at the Louisburg College’s Norris Theatre this Thursday at 7pm for an event that is free to the public

In this video on the Kevin’s BBQ Joints Instagram page, Michael Letchworth from Sam Jones BBQ walks through the whole hog process

Ronald Simmons from Master Blend Family Farms recaps this year’s Pinehurst Barbecue Festival

Congrats to The Smoke Pit for winning The CharlotteFive Readers’ Choice for Best Barbecue in Charlotte

The Best Bites at last month’s Second Annual Jon G’s Jubilee

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Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.

Monk: The Jon G’s Jubilee is part barbecue festival and part birthday celebration, with the first edition in 2023 created in honor of the 40th birthday of co-owner and pitmaster Garren Kirkman. This year, I made my way to Peachland around 4pm on a Saturday in late June – which, by the way, is an odd feeling if you’ve ever woken up closer to the crack of dawn to leave for a Barbecue Saturday – for this year’s edition of the Jubilee featuring contributions from N. Sea Oyster Co., Lawrence Barbecue, Elliott Moss, and of course Jon G’s Barbecue.

Most attendees at the Jubilee started with oysters from N. Sea Oyster Co. from Hampstead which is located near Topsail Beach on the North Carolina coast. They offered both raw and the barbecued oysters that were cooked on a Kudu grill next to the tent. The oysters were a touch on the small side for my liking but the raw with a “hog wash mignonette” were nice and briney while the barbecued with a chipotle bourbon butter were sublime.

Lawrence Barbecue‘s beef fat caramel wings were probably the food highlight of the evening for me. If I am recalling the process correctly, beef fat drippings from briskets are rendered into a caramel sauce with sugar and cumin, and then that is what the wings are dipped in after they are fried. These don’t appear to be a regular menu item at their shop in Durham but if they are ever on special, grab a friend and get as many as you can. Just ridiculously tasty.

Elliot Moss and his mobile BQ smoker was actually the first sight attendees saw when walking into the Jubilee in the the lawn area behind the Jon G’s building. Moss was a last minute addition to the festivities, announced just the week leading into the festival, but he was certainly a welcome one for barbecue fans in the know. He’s made some moves in his hometown of Florence that are still to be announced publicly (but are consistent with what he told me at the Carolina BBQ Festival) and safe to say that big things are in the works. I can’t wait to hear the full scope of his plans, which we should hopefully know more about in the coming weeks.

His whole hog was served pig pickin’ style straight from the pig cooker with a pot of vinegar pepper sauce and a white slaw. And it was as sublime as you would have expected from a fresh hog cooked on site the night before to be.

Finally, Jon G’s Barbecue came through with a beef rib croissant sandwich topped with chimichurri served with a side of burnt ends and a watermelon salad. The sandwich was a super-sized version of the slider beef rib croissant sandwich I had at the first Carolina BBQ Festival and the Smoke and Grapes event as part of 2022’s Charlotte Food and Wine Festival. It’s deliciously luxurious and indulgent and a neighbor at a nearby table noted that the sandwich was “the best thing [she’s] ever eaten” which honestly isn’t too far off from the truth. The usual excellence from Garren, Kelly, and team.

Thankfully, Garren has confirmed that the third edition of the Jon G’s Jubilee is already in the works, possibly with a move in timing (especially if wife and co-owner Kelly has anything to do with it). Whenever it’s announced, for barbecue fans in North and South Carolina it’s worth looking out for and adding to your calendar.