Whole Hog
intro
Slow-smoked whole hog is the iconic centerpiece of Southern American BBQ, with juicy pull-apart meat and crispy seasoned skin made to feed a large, hungry crowd.
Ingredients
Steps
12 hours before you plan to start cooking, pat the 50lb dressed whole hog completely dry with heavy-duty paper towels. Rub the entire exterior skin with 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil, then evenly coat the outside surface and inner cavity with the pre-mixed dry rub (2 cups kosher salt, 1 cup packed dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup smoked paprika, 1/4 cup coarse black pepper, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp dried rubbed sage). Set the hog on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate uncovered to let the rub penetrate and the skin air-dry for crispier cracklins.
30 minutes before cooking, pull the hog out of the refrigerator to come up to room temperature. Preheat your offset smoker to 225°F (107°C) set up for indirect heat, using 12lbs of lump hardwood charcoal as the base heat source. Once the coals are coated in light gray ash, add 1lb of pre-soaked hickory wood chunks for smoke, and set a metal water pan filled with 1 gallon (3.8L) of hot tap water in the indirect cooking zone to maintain moist cooking air.
Place the hog on the smoker grate breast-side up, spreading the legs slightly to allow even air flow around the entire carcass. Insert two leave-in digital meat probes: one in the thickest part of the pork shoulder (avoiding contact with bone) and one in the thickest part of the ham. Close the smoker lid, maintain a consistent internal cooking temperature of 225°F (107°C) for the first 8 hours of cook time, adding 1lb of fresh charcoal and 8oz (227g) of soaked hickory chunks every 2 hours as needed to sustain heat and steady smoke.
After the first 4 hours of cooking, spritz the entire exterior of the hog every 90 minutes with a mixed solution of 2 cups apple juice and 2 cups apple cider vinegar to keep the meat moist and build a deep mahogany bark. Continue cooking, maintaining 225°F, until the internal temperature at both the shoulder and ham reaches 165°F (74°C), which takes approximately 8 total hours of cook time from when the hog first went on the smoker.
Once the hog reaches 165°F (74°C), wrap it tightly in two overlapping layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil to trap moisture, then return it to the smoker. Increase the smoker temperature to 275°F (135°C), and continue cooking until the internal temperature of both the shoulder and ham hits 195°F (90°C), which takes approximately 2.5 to 3 additional hours. At this temperature, all tough connective tissue will break down into tender, pull-apart meat.
Carefully remove the foil-wrapped hog from the smoker, and set it in a warm, draft-free spot to rest for 45 minutes to allow meat juices to redistribute. Unwrap the hog, use a sharp chef’s knife to score the skin in 2-inch (5cm) crosshatch cuts, taking care not to slice down into the meat. Return the unwrapped hog to the smoker, increase the temperature to 375°F (190°C), and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the skin puffs into crispy, golden-brown cracklins.
Transfer the finished whole hog to a sturdy table lined with brown butcher paper. Use heat-resistant gloves to pull the tender smoked meat away from the bones, chop the crispy cracklins into bite-sized pieces, and serve with your preferred BBQ sides and extra vinegar-based sauce. The meat will stay food-safe and warm for up to 2 hours when tented loosely with foil.
Tips
2.Avoid thick, white smoke when cooking: this comes from unlit or green wood and will leave a bitter, ashy taste on the meat. Aim for thin, wispy blue smoke for the best smoked flavor.
3.Never skip the resting step: cutting or pulling the meat immediately after cooking will cause all the flavorful juices to run out onto the platter, leaving the pork dry.
OMG, y’all, this whole hog was the star of our annual family reunion last weekend! Drove 3 hours to my cousin’s place with my offset smoker, followed the dry brine to a T, and every single person was raving. The crust was perfect, the meat pulled so easy, even my picky 7 year old asked for thirds. 24 hours sounds intimidating but it’s SO worth the effort. Game changer for my summer cookouts!
Made this for my neighborhood potluck and people were lined up for seconds before I even finished pulling the meat! Only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I miscalculated my smoker temp 8 hours in and it ran a little hot, so the shoulder end was a touch drier than I wanted. Still got asked for the recipe by 6 different neighbors, ha!
I was so nervous to tackle a whole hog for my oldest’s high school graduation party, but this recipe walked me through every single step! The dry brine had so much flavor, we didn’t even need extra sauce for half the meat. My boys and their friends ate almost the entire 80lb hog in 2 hours. 10/10 will be making this for every big family event from now on.
Tried this for a fraternity tailgate and it was solid, but wow is this ever labor intensive. I split the cook with two of my roommates and we still pulled an all nighter tending the smoker. The flavor was great, but I don’t know if I’ve got it in me to do a full 24 hour cook again anytime soon. Might do a pork shoulder next time for smaller groups.
My grandbabies said this was the best BBQ they’ve ever had, and I’ve been smoking hogs for over 40 years! The brine ratio in this recipe is better than the one I got from my own daddy, no lie. Let it rest the full recommended time like the recipe says, folks — that step makes all the difference in how juicy the meat stays.
As someone who’s only ever smoked ribs and brisket before, this was a huge learning curve! Had to rent a bigger smoker because my regular patio one was way too small, but the end result was insane. The only note I have is I wish the recipe specified what wood pairs best — I used hickory and it was a little strong for my taste, next time I’ll mix in apple.
Did this for our annual Fourth of July pre-party last year and it was such a hit we’re doing it again this year! The meat freezes really well too — we vacuum sealed the leftovers and had pulled pork sandwiches for quick dinners for almost a month after. Total meal prep win.
Pro tip for anyone at higher altitude: you’ll need to add about 15% more cook time, and keep a closer eye on your humidity levels in the smoker! I learned that the hard way on my first attempt, but the second time following this recipe (adjusted for altitude) it came out absolutely perfect. Brought it to my work potluck and my boss offered me a raise just for the pulled pork, no joke.
I’ve tried 3 different whole hog recipes over the years and this one is hands down the best. The dry brine has the perfect amount of salt and paprika, no weird fancy ingredients that you have to run to 3 different stores to find. My whole extended family came over for my dad’s 60th birthday and everyone said it was the best BBQ they’d had in the state. SO good.
Flavor was 10/10, but I messed up the resting step! I pulled it off the smoker and started carving right away because my guests were hungry, and half the juices ran out onto the table. The meat was still tasty, just not as juicy as I know it could have been. Don’t be like me, y’all — let it rest!!
Made this for a summer camping trip with 20 of my closest friends, and we spent the whole day hanging around the smoker drinking beer and snacking on appetizers while it cooked. The smell alone was drawing people from neighboring campsites over to ask what we were making! Ended up sharing a few pounds of meat with the camp hosts, they said it was better than any BBQ they’d had at restaurants in Seattle.
This recipe is no joke hard, but the payoff is unreal. I practiced on two pork butts first to get my smoker temp dialed in before I committed to a whole hog, and I’m so glad I did. The only thing I changed was adding a little extra brown sugar to the brine for a sweeter crust, which my kids loved. Will absolutely make again, just need to recover from the 24 hour cook first!
Y’all, I entered this whole hog in our local small town BBQ contest and won first place! I followed every single step exactly as written, didn’t cut any corners on the brine or the cook time, and the judges couldn’t get enough. The trophy is sitting on my mantle right now and I owe it all to this recipe.
I really wanted this to work out, but I severely underestimated how big a whole hog is! It didn’t fit on my smoker at all, I had to run to my neighbor’s house at 5am to borrow his bigger offset. By the time I got it set up my cook timeline was totally thrown off, and parts of it were underdone. Definitely measure your smoker before you buy the hog, lesson learned the hard way.
Game changer. I’ve been smoking meat for 15 years and this recipe gave me the juiciest, most flavorful whole hog I’ve ever made. The 12 hour dry brine in the fridge is the secret, don’t skip that step even if you’re in a hurry. I served it with vinegar based coleslaw and cornbread, and every single plate was cleaned at my family’s Fourth of July cookout.
Just pulled this off the smoker an hour ago and my house smells like absolute heaven! Letting it rest right now, but the little bits I picked off the edge to test are insane. My husband is already planning to invite his buddies over to watch the game tomorrow to eat the leftovers, he says this is the best thing I’ve ever cooked.
Bookmarking this for my Labor Day block party! I’ve been looking for a no-fuss whole hog recipe that doesn’t require a bunch of fancy equipment or weird ingredients, and this looks exactly like what I need. Will report back with photos once I make it, but the reviews all have me so pumped.