Pig in a pit

[MinotBob]

This summer I plan to cook a 30# pig in a pit but I have a question. What is the best/easiest way to remove the hair from a pig?

[AlchemyAcres]

Scald and scrape....dunk the pig in 145 to 150 degree water until the hair loosens, usually takes 3-5 minutes....remove and scrape with a bell scraper (not very handy for smallpigs) or a knife.


~Martin

[DM]

I went over to my distant neighbors house yesterday. He cooks a LOT of pigs (sells the meat) and in fact had two pop belly pigs in his big cooker when i was there...

When he opened the door, i was surprised to see the hair still on the pigs... He said he no longer takes the hair off them, and just skins the pig after it's cooked and they come out perfectly!

DM

[MinotBob]

That's what I was wondering. I don't usually eat the skin anyway. Have any of you cooked a pig in a pit? If so how long did it take?

[AlchemyAcres]

It's a matter of personal preference. I don't leave the hair on because I don't want to take a chance of singeing the hair and tainting the meat with hair smoke. I'm guessing that DM's neighbor may be using indirect heat, so that's not so much of an issue.
The smallest pigs I've done over a pit were about 60lb. 'Butterflied' they took 4-5 hours.

~Martin

[Besos]

Here we have black wild pigs. They are all the rage with the hunters but not great for the household piggery as they are too hard to sell.
Most people skin them as the black pigment on the surface will go into the skin. So no crackling with these guys.
Some who don't care about the colour scauld. They do this in a bathtub with a fire beneath.