Whole Hog Question

[Ruben]

I am cooking a whole hog this weekend, it is a little over 100lbs dressed. I have been reading some conflicting info on the net about weather to put the head toward the firebox (hot) side of my smoker or put it away from the firebox. Does anybody know which it should be? I would think the butts would take longer than the hams but this is my first whole hog.

[bigwheel]

Well I'm taking a wild guess on an typical un tuned offset it will need to be swapped end for end at least once. Do think you are correct on the front end taking longer than the back end..or at least needs to get hotter but betta double check that one. I aint never cooked a whole one. I have cooked a coupla which had been quartered up is about it. I am a badly back slid raw vegan ya know?

bigwheel

[Ruben]

Well I am taking a guess as well, I do know that when I have my pit tuned and temps on my Ashcroft gauges are the same on both sides of my pit the butts that are closest to the firebox will still be done before the ones on the far side even thought the gauges say the temps are equal. I even swapped around the gauges once to see if one was off and it made no difference.

[bigwheel]

Wow thats strange. My pit Fred acts the same way in his offset mode. You can pack it full of briskets and two widely spaced gauges are both reading 250 the briskets closest to the firebox are getting incenerated. Heck contrary to popular belief and whut a person would be lead to believe..even them fancy smancy insulated uprights with hollow walls and heat ducts still cook faster on the bottom than on the top. The ones on the bottom are closer to the fire. Duh:)

bigwheel

[OWENMUSTANG]

100 lbs dressed? that's a big piggy..

Of, course,,, pics are always manditory for cuisine of this caliber..:D:D