They say a pig roast is not the best way to cook pork, as you have to take the whole hog to almost 200F, but I say phooey on that! The roast pork is outstanding and the presentation is priceless!
I have a Traeger Texas, which has a 34″ grate. I can get a 20-40# hog on the grill without modifications, or, I grilled 70-80# hogs by removing the head and feet and cooking those along side the pig, or on another grill.
Roasting a pig is really easy. Some people will inject it, some will make a menagerie of rubs, I keep it simple. For a rub, take equal parts salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Later the pig inside and out with yellow mustard and sprinkle the rub all over, saving some to mix with the roast pork before serving.
Place the hog on the grill at 250F and let ‘er go until internal temp reaches 195-200F. For a small hog, that could be 5 hours. The 71# hog I did last week took 9 hours.
When done, carefully remove the hog from the grill and start ripping it apart. I keep 3 pans, one for good meat, 1 for skin, and 1 for bones, cartilage and other stuff no one wants to eat. Some people love the skin. I find it variable, from nice crisp crunchy pieces, to chewy bites that work better as dog toys. For the head, I cut out the eyes (not an easy thing to do) and replace them with cherries. You can also put an apple in it’s mouth.
After you shred the meat, hit it with some rub to taste and serve. Best….food….ever! The pictures below are from the 71 pounder roasted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the hog was COVID compliant!
