Mtnbkr, wanna pass along your recipe?
Sure, well, as much of a recipe that it is...
Depending on the number of people we're feeding and what sort of grill facilities we have, we use anywhere from a single shoulder to an entire hog. A 50lb (Dressed) hog will make enough bbq to feed 50-60 people. That's what we use for our yearly bbq at my aunt and uncle's house. When my parents make bbq for us ('rents, brother, me, my wife, and daughter), they use 2 shoulders and have plenty left over.
Cook said pork over low or indirect flame. If using a gas grill, put the meat at one end and turn the burner on at the other end (if possible). It'll take anwhere from 3hrs to all day to cook depending on amount and heat. Slower is better. When doing a whole hog, the carcass is over direct flame and it takes 6-8hrs to cook, though about 4hrs into the process, we're pulling ribs for lunch. If you're cooking a whole hog, make sure you put a piece of chicken wire or something similar on the cook surface before you lay the hog down. Have another piece handy when it's time to flip the hog (about halfway through). You'll make a "hog sandwhich" with the chicken wire and flip the hog using that instead of grabbing it by the legs like some people do. I've seen a hog fall apart when folks try to flip it by the legs. It'll make you cry.
Also, smear lard on the skin to make it crisp. This is VERY tasty, though not very healthy. Then again, this isn't about your cholesterol numbers...
The sauce is the final part. I don't have the recipe handy, but it's roughly 1gal cider vinegar, 1 12oz bottle of ketchup, 1/4lb of dried pepper flakes, a small bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce, juice of one lemon, salt, and probably a few other ingredients I've left out (but those are the main ones). It's not a "cast in stone" recipe, just whatever you think is right. However, this is a thin, watery sauce. It is not like KC Masterpiece or any of the other thick sauces you get at the store. Mix the ingredients while it cooks over medium heat. If cooked indoors, it will open your sinuses.
Let cool, bottle, and you're set.
As you cook the pork, liberally bath the meat in this sauce. Once meat is cooked completely, you cut it off the bone, then transfer to your chopping block in small batches. Chop it till most of the piecs are 1/4" to 1/2" in size (and some larger). Add sauce to personal preference as you chop. This is messy and you will get it on you so wear an apron and do this outside.
Most of the time, there's not much to do, so fill in the emptyness by sitting around and bullshittin', drinkin' beer, etc. It's a glorious way to spend a fall day.
That's basically it. Here are some pics from our last family bbq:
After about an hour of cooking
Making the skin crisp
The hog is split down the spine to let it lay flat like this
Chopping the bbq (Btw, the cleaver is made from an old bush ax, I have one like it)
Time to eat
BTW, in the latest Stuff magazine, they do a cross country tour of the best bbq shacks. Wilbur's in Goldsboro (same town my grandparents live in) was on the list. Wilbur's is much like what my family makes. The sauce is nearly identical.
Sorry for the thread drift...
Chris
