Smoked 286 lbs of pork this weekend. It's NOT icky!!

[KDM]

Decided to do something a bit wacky this weekend and it turned out AWESOME!!! Gained a couple dozen pounds "sampling" the finished product. Just thought I'd share a few photos. Try not to drool on your keyboards. (Grin) Oh and this is NOT all the meat. Just a sampling......

 

[snow1]

Com-on man....KDM share the fixens,did ya brine? use mustard? type of smoke?(hard wood or fruit wood?) temp?...so many questions as I have a large pork shoulder roast getting happy in a yellow mustard glaze and a bunch of dry herbs,your pig flesh looks great.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Man does that make the mouth water! :;:thumbsup

 

[KDM]

Com-on man....KDM share the fixens,did ya brine? use mustard? type of smoke?(hard wood or fruit wood?) temp?...so many questions as I have a large pork shoulder roast getting happy in a yellow mustard glaze and a bunch of dry herbs,your pig flesh looks great.

OK, Just for you snow1, here goes.......

Rub: For 18-20 lbs of meat 1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup paprika, 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup garlic powder, 1/4 onion powder, 1/8 cup cayenne pepper, 1/8 cup black pepper, 1/4 cup dry mustard, 1tbsp cumin. Mix well and just apply to all surfaces of meat. We let the meat stand for 12+ hours after putting the rub on in the fridge or other cold area.

Wood: Apple (enough to have heavy smoke for at least 2 hours)

Temp: Shot for 180-190 degrees F for 8-12 hours. (160 degree internal temp) Of course this depends on amount of meat you are smoking and thickness of cuts.

PIG OUT like it's your last meal and die smiling!!!!!

 

[snow1]

Thanx KDM,dry mustard eh?I use all the other you touched on,only lather yellow mustard instead of the dry.neighbor is a self appointed pit master,his smoker he built is a 500lb propane tank cut in half on wheels,big side wood box attached...one of those guyz...he tells me to brine the pork roasts over night in a brown sugar.koshar salt mix then like you another day or two in a dry rub,tried his method can't say that brining makes a difference,but the yellow mustard glaze adds good flavor,also keep the pork chilled before hitting the smoker as it seems to make a better bark but yours looks great,iifin a guy goes thru all this prep work ,pounds a few beers preping,chef choice of course does it really matter if the pig flesh is room temp or chilled? me thinks no...steak yes when grilled but hard to screw up a pork roast.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

286 pounds? Holey Moley.

 

[LBrandt]

Thats a lot of pig. WHICH freezer and does it have a lock on it.:::

 

[KDM]

286 pounds? Holey Moley.

3 down and got 7 or 8 more hogs on the hoof that are in line for the smoker this winter. One biggun that's 450+ and 6 or 7 littleins around 140 right now. If'n I smoke all of'em, I figure I'll have put 1500 lbs of pork through the smoker by spring.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

3 down and got 7 or 8 more hogs on the hoof that are in line for the smoker this winter. One biggun that's 450+ and 6 or 7 littleins around 140 right now. If'n I smoke all of'em, I figure I'll have put 1500 lbs of pork through the smoker by spring.

what are you doing with it?

 

[KDM]

The guy with the hogs is using it as "Thank You's" for those that helped him throughout the year. I work cheap (meaning for beer and part of the finished product) and am fair to middlin with my smoker so he's asked me to make it a bit more "special" for his folks.

 

[BP338]

That looks amazing!

We just inherited a Traeger and have been experimenting. We had smoked/seared burgers last night. It was the first time for some of my kids to eat their entire burger! It's been fun!

 

[wslayer]

Awesome KDM, that is sure a lot of piggy, but ohhhhh so good !

 

[Prairie Doggin']

I was pretty pleased with the 4 lbs of pork chops I smoked yesterday...way to crush my spirit 70 times over...;:;bowdown

 

[CatDaddy]

What style smoker? I'm betting you've got something big and homemade that puts my commercially licensed brand to shame

 

[KDM]

What style smoker? I'm betting you've got something big and homemade that puts my commercially licensed brand to shame

Homemade 4X8X8 box with a gable roof and a shelf in the middle. It will hold 250 lbs of hanging sausage at a whack. Using the shelf, it will only hold around 180 lbs. It's a fun and useful little toy I can tell you that.

 

[snow1]

Hmmm,kinda surprised MossyMo hasn't chimed in on this thread,actually ole mossy has been MIA for a long time.

 

[Jiffy]

I've always wanted to try a whole suckling pig on the smoker.

I can't fit a whole hog on mine.

When's the party?!?! :;:cheers

 

[KDM]

I've always wanted to try a whole suckling pig on the smoker.

I can't fit a whole hog on mine.

When's the party?!?! :;:cheers

I did 3 of those last year and they turned out FANTASTIC!! The downside is the 2 days it takes to get one done. You're welcome to come out and use the smoker if you want to give it a whirl yourself. Just keep in mind the 2 day thing. One to prep and let the rub soak in and one to smoke. It took me about 18 hours to smoke a 65 lb carcass give'er take. It takes so long as the shoulders insulate the ribs and meat on the inside of that part of the pig and it takes more time to get that part of the pig cooked right. If you cut the carcass in half down the spine, it takes about 10 hours to finish, but I kind of like the whole pig look when you set it on the table. It's quite impressive if I do say so myself to lay a whole hog on the table and watch folks dig in. As far as the party, everyday is a party when you have beer and smoked pork readily available. All we need is a few folks at Fort KDM and it's on.

 

[TFX 186]

Homemade 4X8X8 box with a gable roof and a shelf in the middle. It will hold 250 lbs of hanging sausage at a whack. Using the shelf, it will only hold around 180 lbs. It's a fun and useful little toy I can tell you that.

KDM, My brother and I are doing a smoker build about the same size as yours. (4x8x61/2) We are gonna put a smoke generator on it and use it for a cold smoker. Just curious of any recommendations for finishing the inside and also what kind of heat system to use for making it a double duty smoker? Wondering what works the best for keeping the heat constant in the bigger smoker?
Thanks Fish On!

 

[KDM]

KDM, My brother and I are doing a smoker build about the same size as yours. (4x8x61/2) We are gonna put a smoke generator on it and use it for a cold smoker. Just curious of any recommendations for finishing the inside and also what kind of heat system to use for making it a double duty smoker? Wondering what works the best for keeping the heat constant in the bigger smoker?
Thanks Fish On!

For cold smoke the heat source can be just about anything as you're not really cooking the meat or cheese or whatever. Wood is your huckleberry for cold smoking, hands down, all day long. For hot smoking, propane is the most stable heating. Wood is good if you're using just coals, but if you have or get flames going, you can burn the whole smoker down real quick. Use solid wood on the inside. It doesn't have to be thick. Paneling will work just fine. I recommend cedar, but any hardwood will due just fine. What you want to avoid is plywood, particle board, or anything that has an adhesive. The fumes from the glues is NOT a good thing when cooking your food. I would also put dividers inside my smoker if I were to build another one. Having to heat and smoke the entire inside of the smoker for a couple chickens or a small batch of sausage just plain SUCKS. I would have 2 shelves about 16 inches apart for smoking whole meats or birds and a set of runners towards the top where you can slide sticks across the smoker to hold hanging sausages. I would put multiple thermometers in the side of the smoker at different levels so you KNOW what the temp is at meat level. I only have one at the top and guessing what the temp is at meat level gets real interesting sometimes. Put vents on each side of the smoker that you can open and close to make small changes to temps. Using the propane regulator to make temp changes gets problematic as you can't watch the flame levels change. As always "If you're lookin' you're not cookin." Good Luck. Hope this helps.