Pig roast…
It was early on a Friday morning when I woke up and realized that today was the day that we would play our part in the slaughtering, butchering, and cooking of a beautiful pig.
A while back all of the Coursemen were thinking of ways that we could give back to our community for all of the support and help throughout the years and we realized a party was in order. As much as we wish we could accommodate everyone interested in dining with the 4 Coursemen we simply do not have the means to do so. We all agreed that we would have an event that would not require a stressful RSVP process and instead invite everyone. The idea of roasting a whole pig was not new to us, but we just needed the right excuse and what better than friends, food, music, and a little beer. It just so happened that a good friend of ours, Hank Hambright of 3 Pigs Farms in Winterville had been raising a beautiful Duroc, Tamworth, and Berkshire cross pig named “Chester” that was growing closer to slaughter by the day. We had also just done a beer dinner with Eric Johnson of Wild Heaven Craft Brewing and Trappeze Pub in Athens, and once he heard we were throwing a party he was more than willing to donate 2 barrels of beer for the party. Luna Bread Company also offered to supply us with some of their artisanal breads for the roast; needless to say things were working out in our favor.
The Friday before the party we all met up at the Coursemen house around dawn and carpooled out to 3 Pigs Farm. There was a cloud of excitement and nervousness that set in over all of us in anticipation of the day’s events to follow. We arrived on the farm around 7 a.m. and met with Hank and Nat and discussed in detail how we were going to approach the next few hours. A few of us have experienced the slaughtering and butchering of an animal, but the majority had never witnessed let alone participated in such an intense and beautiful process. For the record, Hank along with his friend Nat were experienced in the areas of slaughtering and butchery. Sparing details, the pig was slaughtered humanly and it was now time to move onto the cleaning process. We removed all of the hair and then proceeded to hang the pig. The pig hung at 356 lb.’s about 100 lb.’s more than we anticipated. After hanging the pig we began removing the pigs’ innards. This is a delicate process for obvious reasons, you don’t want to puncture any of the organs and have them spill fluids onto the meat potentially damaging or worse rendering the meat completely useless. After removing the organs the pig weighed in at 275 lb.’s. From this point we took a small torch and flash burned some of the few remaining stubborn hairs. The pig was then lowered onto the bed of a truck were we made a lateral break down the backbone in order to splay the pig flat. After this was completed it was onto the house where we were prepping up for the long night ahead.
At the house we had borrowed a “Gentlemen’s Smoker” set up along with a miniature coal producing plant (two steel drums welded together with rebar at the base to filter the coals) appropriately named R2D2. The day before we purchased a half cord of pecan with a little oak mixed to spice things up. As a collective we have probably cooked every cut of pork that exist and then some, so as a group we decided that we wanted to rub the pig with a dry rub before cooking it, just as we have done with the shoulders and butts of the past. The dry rub was comprised of salt, paprika, toasted fennel seeds, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little bit of brown sugar. I feel that it’s worth mentioning that if you ever roast a 256 lb. pig you will need roughly a gallon of dry rub. About 8 o’clock rolled around and we decided that we would rather be safe than sorry, so the decision was made to set the pig in the Gentlemen’s Smoker. The coals were hot and the thermometers were set (one internal thermometer to gauge the meat, and another in the smoker to gauge the heat) so 6 of us corned the splayed beast and hoisted him in to what would be his home for the next 18.5 hours.
We wanted to keep the smoker around 200(F) for nearly the entire process which managed to be easier than expected thanks to the thermometer. Every few hours we would open the doors on the smoker and carefully scatter coals as to not unload any directly underneath the pig ensuring that we don’t burn the meat and end up with a pig on fire and failure following closely behind. The entire cooking process was more fun than you could imagine, we had a handful of visitors throughout the night coming by to check out the “status” of the pig. Jokes were told, friends were made, and the pig was crackling. The night went on and the friends started to fade, in the end, Hank and I were the only two brave souls that were able to sacrifice a nights’ sleep in the name of Pork and the greater good (Matt you almost made it). The sun was beginning to breach the oak trees that surround the house and the shadows of night were fading into the morning dew. After the rest of the guys showed up Saturday morning we were able to open the smoker and take a gander at what a pig that’s been cooking for 13 hours looks like. It was beautiful. We started prepping for the party and let the pig continue to cook. A Peach BBQ sauce was made, kegs were iced, and the tables set. The final step before the pig was to be unveiled was to open the smoker, flip the pig, get the fire blazing, and then mop the pig’s skin with a vinegar sauce. The pig was ready to go and the guests started to arrive.
The unveiling of the pig was by far the most exciting part of the process in my eyes. As a group we lifted the pig out of the smoker and placed it on the table for serving. All of the guests had brought side dishes to accompany and they all turned out to be fantastic. The pig was delightful, the people were amazing, and the community of people who share a love for food came together to celebrate together. The day could not have been better, until our good friends the Darnell Boys showed up and filled the air with the sweet sound of music. The night was topped off with a heavy dose of GA thunderstorm and the refreshing cold air that follows. Bellies were full and smiles were abundant. A successful pig roast indeed. Thanks to all that came out and celebrated and for those who were unable to attend fret not we will be making this an annual tradition.
