Pig Lessons

It was a very long day that started at 9:00 a.m. and the pig was finally ready at 8:00 p.m. It was supposed to be done at 2:00 p.m. but the pig was 30 pounds bigger than we asked for and the temperature outside never got above 49 degrees. Needless to say we felt awful that it wasn't ready but we figured our guests did not want to die. For those of you that left, you missed a great pig well worth the wait.
The first task was to move the pig to the cooker and it was no small task. A 115 pound pig that has been in brine gets a bit heavy. My great friends - Scott, Bobby, and Brent - helped me. We each grabbed a leg and heaved it in. We felt good when we finally got the coals going.
The cooking was slow and steady but it never seemed to get hot enough inside. Since we could not open it, we had to trust it. We went through a bunch of charcoal but we weren't close to the desired temperature at the beginning of the party. Not tragic but embarrassing.
Once we hit a comfortable temperature, we flipped him to get the skin crispy and this was his last close-up before our friends ate the eyeballs, tongue, and ears.
Thanks to all our friends and especially the ones that hung in there to the bitter end. It was a great way to start 2009.
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