How to cook a piglet?

[Texas Proud]

OK, there are enough people on here that know... I do not... do not have a clue...

We are being given two piglets (wild)... told they were 25 to 30 pounds... they guy that is giving them to us said to cut in half and cook half... but I did not have enough time to ask any questions...


SOOO, how do you cook a half a piglet

Or should I cut it up and cook different pieces differently

I will look online, but thought that some people here will know better...

I do NOT have a smoker yet... I smoke on my grill... I have done enough briskets on it to know what to do... so it is that or an oven...

I need details....

Thanks a bunch....

[braumeister]

I would just bring them to my friendly neighborhood butcher and ask him to work his magic on them, then bring the packages home to the freezer.

[MRG]

You can roast a half a piglet in the oven like a suckling pig. You could put a whole one on a outdoor rotisserie too.

Might have a problem finding a buther. At least around here they can only cut non USDA inspected meat by itself then cleanup to go back to USDA. Maybe a home job.

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG You can roast a half a piglet in the oven like a suckling pig. You could put a whole one on a outdoor rotisserie too. Might have a problem finding a buther. At least around here they can only cut non USDA inspected meat by itself then cleanup to go back to USDA. Maybe a home job.

Not sure about taking it to a butcher... they are pretty small... not as big as I was told... they have already been (not sure if this is the correct word) dressed... IOW, no head, skin or organs... feet are gone... just a small carcass I would say in the 10 to 12 lb range...

[MRG]

The best part of sucking pig is the crispy skin. You don't have that option. I'd probably slow roast split pieces. Past that no ideas. Let us know what you do and how it turns out.

Dressed is the correct word.

[brewer12345]

Google is your friend. The Puerto Ricans do a lot of roast suckling pig. Trawl some PR food sites and see what they say about lechon.

[samclem]

"And in the Hundred Acre Wood, one resident became worried by the awful turn the conversation had taken."

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem "And in the Hundred Acre Wood, one resident became worried by the awful turn the conversation had taken."

Hogwash. Feral hogs are a disaster.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Hogwash. Feral hogs are a disaster.

+ 1

Nasty critters that destroy many thousands acres of anything they root through.

This is about how to prepare two.

[1vertical]

No skin? Wow Wrap em in bacon bacon bacon....that would be a start
Inject em with large amounts of soy sauce. Put them over coals and slow
roast (be careful hot flames will not be slow enough) rotisserie would be
handy. Expect to donate considerable time and diligence to the effort.

The lack of skin will cause them to head toward dry tendency.

You could also reduce the size further and rub em with a favorite rub
then bake in a turkey bag on low heat in the oven....thus retaining
moisture. just my .02 cents. but what do I know I am dryer sheet
challenged.

[Texas Proud]

I have been looking online and most of the things that I see are doing the whole pig... I do not have that option... already dressed down a lot...

Also, most are building or have a pit... too much trouble for me...

I have looked at how to butcher them, but most videos that I see are doing 100 lb half pig... and they are either using some hack saw or band saw...

I am thinking about cutting it up as best I can... not sure how hard it will be with the bones... might have to get my Dewalt out with a new blade...

Since they are free... if I screw it up I only lost time and propane...

My first choice will be if I can cut them in half... I can then freeze a a few of the halfs and try to cook one half... if that turn out bad, unfreeze another and cut it up more...

[audreyh1]

I remember growing up the Fijians/Samoans/Tongans slow roasting a whole fresly slaughtered hog over a open fire suspend from a makeshift wooden frame. The skin would come out super smooth and crispy, and the inside meat - so soft and delicious!

[kitesurfer2]

a butcher is only a man with a sharp knife. why pay a butcher, if you already have the meat?

If you are being given two wild pigs that are alive, pen them up and feed them corn a couple weeks. Wild pigs don't have the fat to drip on the coals.

[ArkTinkerer]

If they are not skinned you have to remove the hair. Never done small ones or a large one whole so I haven't had to do it. Usual method is to pour boiling water on them and then the hair just pulls off.

Don't know about domestic hogs but wild ones smell bad. Boiling water will not improve the aroma. If you don't know how to butcher, it might be worth paying someone to do it. We just take the hindquarters and backstraps off in the field here.

[1vertical]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud My first choice will be if I can cut them in half... I can then freeze a a few of the halfs and try to cook one half... if that turn out bad, unfreeze another and cut it up more...

Honestly, I would use the same mode only quarter them...put
a Quarter into a turkey baking bag rubbed with your favorite seasoning rub and toss in some chunked
onions and whole carrots just because. cook low and slow

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1vertical Honestly, I would use the same mode only quarter them...put a Quarter into a turkey baking bag rubbed with your favorite seasoning rub and toss in some chunked onions and whole carrots just because. cook low and slow

Well... did the first one and did a few more sections than a quarter...

I cut the butt portion off... it is pretty narrow behind the ribs and looks like a natural place to cut...

I then took the Dewalt and cut along the spine... I now had a front leg and a rib together... but the legs were basically held by meat.... so I cut them off... cut the spine on the other side and did the same..

Sooo, have one butt, two rib sections, two front leg sections and the back spine (which has a good amount of meat on it)....

Now trying to think if there is a better way after doing this.... but so far cannot think of one....

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer If they are not skinned you have to remove the hair. Never done small ones or a large one whole so I haven't had to do it. Usual method is to pour boiling water on them and then the hair just pulls off. Don't know about domestic hogs but wild ones smell bad. Boiling water will not improve the aroma. If you don't know how to butcher, it might be worth paying someone to do it. We just take the hindquarters and backstraps off in the field here.

I'm pretty sure they used singeing in the islands. I don't know if that happened naturally over the open fire, or they used something handheld.

They were roasting domestic hogs, so not a heavy hair coat.

[MRG]

I've had the pleasure(not) of processing several domestic pigs, 300+ lbs. plus, as a kid. We always scalded the pig in almost boiling water, then scraped the hair off. The scrapers were not sharp, dull so they wouldn't tear the skin. Long process at the end we'd singe off any remaining hair with a hand held torch. Scraping was not a fun job, hence it was delgated to the youngest, me. Even domestic pigs smell unpleasant(expecially after dunking), don't know about wild.

On domestic pigs IIRC you keep the skin on for cracklins. On suckling pigs not sure how the hair is removed. But the skin is prized, crispy and just the right amount of fat.

OP your technique sounds good, please tell us how it turns out.

[audreyh1]

Costco sells whole suckling pigs down here.

[MRG]

Or check your local ethnic market. I recall being in an Asian market that had fresh whole pigs/piglets. Someone had one in their cart as they passed us, DW was slightly surprised.