Need insight...last pig going on the smoker &....

[bswiv]

So the last wild hog of the season ( Unless the brother in law comes through on his lease with one for Labor day. ) is going on the grill tomorrow morning at about sunrise. Now it's not that we have not cooked a lot of wild hogs over the years it's just that I've been "almost" convinced by a friend to do this one different.

In the past we've never used a "brine" the night before. Usually a salt and pepper rub, maybe a little other spice, and then smoke and heat...... Have not had a bad one. Even though a couple were not on the grill long enough to get as tender as we'd like.

So my buddy swears that if we brine it over night it will hold moisture even better and get tender faster. He says that the French ( Yes I know "the French"; but they love to hunt and love wild game. And lets face it they can cook.)brine wild boar, as do the Italians and Spanish, for these exact reasons.

I'm inclined to try it. In fact Louann just left to get the last few items for tomorrows feeding and I asked her to get extra salt.

But we've got 50 or 60 folks coming so I'm a little worried about trying something new.

So have any of you used brine on your hogs before and was it better?? And mind you this is your typical Piney Woods Rooter, kind of lean.......

[langenc]

Why switch if you have a good system?

[Hog Buster]

Down here in Cajun Country we cook quite a bit of wild hog using all sorts of methods and recipes, but I never heard of brining a hog. Makes me think of salt meat. Can you imagine what that would taste like barbecued? I think I’d just stick to rubs, spices and marinades. If you do try it just have plenty of beer to wash it down with.

Drape some bacon over that lean oinker while cooking, it will improve the flavor. How much depends on how big it is. I use about a pound on a 30 or 40 pounder.

[B. Lahey]

I can't imagine it would hurt. Test it out on one chunk, do the rest with the proven recipe, and see how it compares.

The bacon idea sounds like a winner too.

[2damnold4this]

I almost always use a brine to cook wild or domestic pork and I enjoy it quite a bit. The few times I have cooked a whole hog, I have not used a brine.

[hogdogs]

I don't brine but here is a recipe i did on a small grill size roaster.... Forget the mention mof pics... P-bucket lost them years ago...

My first try at a stuffed pig for b-b-que.
I prepared this little pig as a way to offer a neighborly hand. I think it will turn out good!
This is not for me. Rather, it is for a family that asked for my help preparing a pig I took to them for their fourth of July celebration. So this is my first attempt at a skinned, stuffed pig on the bar-b-que! They are cooking it...I only got it to the point of wrapped and he set it on the grill! The pics start out showing the plate of "tidbits" for the slits shown in the next pics. In each stab I packed "fat back" bacon diced to fit in the slits, fresh garlic cloves halved or so to fit, apple diced to fit and canned Angry pineapple Angry Fresh is high dollar here! Angry In the "stuffing" is celery, apple, onion, lemon, garlic cloves, pineapple (canned) with juice, and left over cube of fatback. Foil wrapped and the fat back were used to retain juicyness! The "dry rub" is black pepper garlic powder and parsley with a touch of salt. My "stitches" are stainless steel tie wire. Brent

Brent

[2damnold4this]

Brining pork chops, Boston butt (front shoulder) pork loin or green hams seem to add a lot of flavor. It's not too salty after the brine but don't try and put a rub on top of the brine.

Here is a link that might help:

http://bbq.about.com/cs/pork/a/aa011803a.htm

[jgcoastie]

I've found that a marinade injector works very well... Especially when you inject a pint or two of your favorite alcoholic beverage...

Typically I'll use:
Vodka for rabbits
Beer (pale ales) for turkey
Jim Beam for deer
Captain Morgan for chicken
Jim Beam for ribs

Beer (dark lager) also really brings out the flavor when you soak you bacon strips in it prior to wrapping it around deer tenderloin chunks...

[simonkenton]

Here's how we cook 'em in North Carolina.

How do you "brine" them?

Let me know how it works out, I am always willing to learn a new trick.

[bswiv]

OK......

So with good advice recieved I think we'll be going the safe route and, as someone suggested, brining only a portion of it.

It will not turn out as beautiful as the hog on the spit, a thread that made me hungry the first time I saw it and did so again, but I'll keep close track of which pieces get the brine and which don't. Will report back..........

[shortround60]

SimonK, That looks like the pigs my father-in-law (God rest his soul) used to cook in the Philippines. He used soy sauce, pineapple juice, scallions and sewed the porker up with tie wire like Hogdogs does it. Oh and he used a bamboo pole versus wood.

[riverwalker76]

Brine and a good 'Dip' will keep the meat juicy. Look up BBQ Dip on the net, and you will find a whole list of recipes. That's how we cook our pork and beef on the Pit here in KY, and it's always a favorite. You just mop it on with a new / clean cloth mop every so often, and it keeps the meat moist.

I've tried many recipes, but this guy makes the absolute best in my opinion ....

http://www.boogaloubbq.com/index.php

[TXGunNut]

I like the idea of wild game cooking threads on a hunting forum, for the record. Combining two of my passions seems ideal to me. Wish I could sample the results! Brining turkeys and domestic hams before smoking is nothing new. Hope it works out!

[Fat White Boy]

I brine my turkeys, they come out great. A little extra salt shouldn't hurt...

[Irish80prf]

How did it turn out today?