ATTN PIG COOKERS!

[SAXIS ISLANDER]

COOKED A COUPLE OF PIGS THIS WEEKEND. RATHER NEW TO THIS STYLE OF COOKING. COOKED IT SLOW AND LOW. IT WAS GOOD, BUT I THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF I COULD HAVE COOKED IT OVER COALS INSTEAD OF GAS.


GONNA BUILD A COOKER THIS WINTER AS A GARAGE PROJECT. LOOKING FOR IDEAS/TIPS ON THIS BUILD.

COAL/GAS?? OPENING IN TOP OR END?? HELP!

[Thin Blue Line]

Use an old 275 gallon heating oil drum. Cut it lengthwise about a 1/3 of the way down. Build grates and attach hinges ahndle and legs. Use wood to cook your pigs, hardwood. This is the abbreviated version, and dont forget a small pipe of a chimney.

[SAXIS ISLANDER]

Thanks....was thinking about using a 275 tank, but cutting the end out. Tacking on some angle iron on either side about 2/3 of the way down as a track to slide the grate in and out on. By cutting the end out I think i could control the heat better than with a top loading vessel.

Taking all ideas....

[neilinov]

My uncle builds these all the time. He usually uses propane tanks. The last one he built was out of a 500 gallon tank. It is massive.

I am gonna build one this fall for my back yard. I am going to do a modified version of the cuban barbeque pit.

http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

That way I can use wood to smoke it or grill it!

[Thin Blue Line]

When we cook on these mega grills we usually use a bunch of hard wood. We let it burn till it is just glowing embers. We pull them all to one side and put the meat on the opposite side. I think its called the indirect heat method. Good luck.

[Five4Fighting]

Made mine out of a 275 gallon Oil Tank. I mounted mine on a jet ski trailer so I can pull it with the truck and it stands upright. I made it to run on gas or coals. I have used coals only once, I mainly use gas. I start my pigs at home the night before. Then in the morning I shut the gas off and pull the roaster to where the pig roast is going to be. If I used coals there would be ash all over the pig from going down the highway.

I made my own burner. I took a piece of 1” black pipe and drilled 1/16” dia. Holes, ¼” apart at 45° off center. The holes are staggered on the pipe. I welded the one end of the pipe shut and have my gas line hooked up to the other end.

As far as a smoke/wood flavor. I have trays (large angle iron with holes drilled in it) that sit right above the burner. I put my soaked wood chips in there. Works good.

[Nomad]

Temperature control is the key. You should make sure that the meat is not directly above the coals, and that the internal temp of your cooker (the "pit") is controllable, ideally to as low as 200 degrees (it is hard to keep a charcoal firing going any lower than 180, and besides, since you want the meat to get up to about 195 (that is necessary to break it down or it will be too chewy), even 200 is a little low). The best way to control temperature is by controlling the burn rate, and the best way to do that is by controlling (limiting) the amount of oxygen (air) available for combustion. There is a chip-based monitor/controller available from a company called BBQ Guru - a web search should bring them up easily. Without something like that, you will be adjusting the air every hour or so, and if you screw it up it will either get way too hot (temps can easily shoot up to 350-400 with just a little extra air), or die out completely. With practice, you can control within about 50 degrees (ie, plus or minus 25 of 225), but for real consistency, a computer controller is great. Good luck,
Rick

[SAXIS ISLANDER]

I've used gas for all the pig cooking that I've done. Shyed away from coals because I wasn't comfortable controlling the temperature. Thanks for the info.

Keep the build ideas coming!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stressrelief 28.5]

Can any of you post pictures of your units?

[Kahi]

In Miami, the Cuban families use a wonderful cooker called a Caja China to slow roast. The taste is amazing. Try to build it.

www.lacajachina.com