Need Help Scalding a Pig for a Pig roast

[FarmGirl01]

Do you know what type of pit your going to use? We built ours out of cinder blocks. It really worked well. We paid 40 dollars to have our pig scalled and butterflied. The next we will do ourselves. Not toooo hard. I have pics if you are interested. Didn't want to post them if their not welcome.

 

[Solace]

We've never tried to dunk the pig in the boiling water. We just used a ladle to pour the boiling water on the hog. Then we shave them right up with no problems.

 

[nautical_bouy]

They make hog scrapers that only cost a few dollars but the hacksaw blade works as well for me.

boiling water cooks the skin and sets the hair. 170 degrees F relaxes it, just like on a chicken.

If you shave the skin there is still hair in the skin, and eating that is like chewing on a shaving brush.

 

[Kanchii]

FarmGirl, I'd be interested in seeing those pictures, but I'm not sure if they're welcome on this site... Maybe you could pm them to me?

 

[chicks for better health]

Has anyone ever roasted a pig with the skin removed? What is the best method.

Thanks

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Quote:
We only roasted 1/2 a pig. Slow roasted it with skin side down. When I flipped it over to make sure it was finished fat started dripping down and caused a major flare up on the grill and charred the meat. So I vote for skin on roasting for keeping the drippings in.

 

[chicks for better health]

The pig has been butchered as of this morning. My first experience killing and butchering a pig. All in all it went very well. Killed at 4:30 started butchering at 6:30 finished up at 7:30. can't wait for the BBQ

I think I will get some wide aluminum foil to wrap the pig in so that it holds in the juices and doesn't get chared

 

[boilerjoe_96]

Quote:
If you wrap it in alum foil, you might as well put it in the oven...

No foil... cook SLOWLY!!! For my 80 lb dressed pig I only started off with about 7 or 8 lbs of charcoal, in 3 piles. It took my 2 hours to even touch 200 degrees 4 inches above the pig(air temp)... Maybe that was too slow, but it was fine. the best part of my pig was where there was no skin....the flavor was to die for....smoking in there between 200-250 for 8.5 hours(well took 2 to get to temp)....yummmy.... I would raise up to 225 and then cook it there for hours.... a nice smokey 225 will give you a yummy pig to eat in a number of hours....

 

[Aneesa's Muse]

I'm coming in on this late, but I recall my Daddy having a pulley type thing hanging from one of the big trees ..the barrel sat underneath it ...and it took 2 or more people to work that pulley (depending on size of pig/hog) ..but it was easier to manage, nonetheless.


...and I definitely agree with nautical_bouy regarding the shaving vs. completely removing all the hair with a blade. There's a huge difference in NO hair and stubble'y hair ..pig skin

 

[cjeanean]

Future reference, the reason u scald and scrape and not shave is so the hair roots/follicles don't stay in the skin. It would be like shaving a chicken instead of plucking it....the feather shafts would still be in the skin. Not too tasty!!! The idea is to pull the hairs out. You could always go get a wax kit and do it that way!!! Duct tape??? LOL!!!!