raising whole roasting pigs

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Hello, I have a customer want's me to raise a pig for him to roast whole. Are there any changes in how these pigs are raised? besides not being halved are there any differences in slaughtering them?( skinned or scaulded) What is the tipical weight for a roasting pig? anyone done this or sold them this way? thanks Keith

-- Keith (peepee125@hotmail.com), January 27, 2002

Answers

Well, I'd imagine that he'd want the carcase a good deal smaller than you'd normally think of. Find out what weight he DOES want it, and when - you may not be able to accomodate him. Find out what dressing prercentage you'll get at that approximate weight, so you can figure out approximately what liveweight you need to aim for and slaughter at. Make sure he understands that things are approximate - the carcase will be what it is, although you'll do your best to accomodate his desires in this respect.

As for the rest, check with him as well. However, my sister-in-law is a Filipina, and they do roasted pigs a lot in their celebrations. Basically they use a gutted pig FULLSTOP. Find out whether your friend wants the head, and if so then on or off the carcase. They will probably want the hair pulled, skin on, and they will probably then cross-hatch the skin and rub it with salt to produce a crisp roast skin.

However, get your instructions from the customer, and try to make sure that whoever does the slaughtering also gets their instructions from the customer - that way a smaller-than-average pig won't be your responsibility if things go wrong.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), January 27, 2002.


Keith:

I've done about eight, maybe more, pig roasts. A pig will go a lot further than you think. In Ohio a group I belonged to would buy a processed market hog (220 pounds, gutted, de-haired with head). Even with 40 people, only about half was eaten at that time. (Lots of take home.)

A 100 pound pig should yield a carcass of about 60 pounds with the head. About 50-60% of that will be bone and fat. (Can't find the table in my references but these should be reasonably close.) If you were to plan on one and one-half pounds per person (a lot), it should feed about 30-35.

This is roughly in line with my observation from the pig roasts I have done.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 27, 2002.


Here is a link to a web site that discusses one way to spit-roast a pig, perhaps it will give you some insight to roasting pigs: Spit-Roasting, http://www.3men.com/spitroasting.htm is a interesting and informative article on roasting pigs and spit roasting techniques with a couple of recipes.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 27, 2002.

I had a motor made that spins 3 revolutions/minute. It and the spit fit into an outdoor fireplace I had professionally built. 50 pound skinned pigs fit nicely on the spit. I use wood on one level below the spit and charcoal on the other level. It takes 24 hours to cook the pig. Fantastic eating!!

A funny happening with this method ~ as the pig turns towards the ground, his tongue hangs out. It goes back in his mouth as his body turns up!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), January 28, 2002.


Keith, There is no difference in the way the pigs are raised. The night before slaughtering, you will want to skip their feed and just supply fresh water. I take it your customer is going to process the hog himself? He should know about the cleaning and chilling of the meat. When we cook a hog in the ground, we usually skin it. But when we cook one over coals, we leave the skin on. (Either way tastes great). Pork with the skin on doesn't take the dry rubs as well as the skinned ones, but you can just re-season during the cooking process and use lots of mop sauce.

As far as weight goes. Whole hogs are roasted anywhere from suckling pig size to feed the whole neighborhood size. It depends on what your customer wants. A 100 pound one is a good size-easy to work with and move around, will provide about 60 pounds of meat. We have raised and cooked pigs of all sizes and have never had a bad one! LOL! Something about whole hogs and outdoor cooking, just tastes SOOOO GOOD! Hope you are invited to the party!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 28, 2002.



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