Woody Cavenaugh

The best time of year to BBQ pork in the whole is early spring or late fall. As it is June 9th, and 4:30am the cooks will have to contend with the forces of outrageous nature as well cooking with oak.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees then using some old newspaper, scrub the grate clean.

Place guest of honor skin side up in the center of the grill.

As you are cooking with wood, care must be taken that you keep a steady supply of coals and watch the cooking temperature carefully.

Note, it is 5am, and the coffee is hot. It remains to be seen if it will remain plentiful.

As we have been using oak to make coals, I am finding that while this is the method that produces the best results, it can be time consuming, as you are constantly making coals and firing the cooker. I've got my shovel and I'm not afraid to use it.

Note the placement of the coals such that the thickest part of the hog, the shoulders and hams get the direct heat and all other parts get the ambient. This assures even cooking.


Here's where I spend most of my time looking. 400 or over close the vent, 300 or less fire it. Most of the long hot four hours has been spent just trying to reach 350.

Ding pig is done! Its noon, and time for the big unveiling. Am I worthy? Was the 4am wake up and 5am cooking start time worth the effort. Lets find out...

Not bad for my first attempt as I do say so myself.

The skin is crisp, and the color is right. Interior temperature is a little warmer than I would want it, but when we knifed it for sauce it was plenty juicy.
Meanwhile the guest and chef's are roasting as well...

I'll tell you how it taste as soon as we get it served.

Bon Appétit!

We begin with the chopping. About half of any crowd prefers it chopped, and the other half will prefer to pick it off of the carcass themselves. I myself prefer to pick my own bones.

And to your left, the vegetables. Bacon with snap beans and new potatoes, bacon baked beans, fresh garden peas with pastry (dumplings if you prefer to use this term) seasoned with bacon grease, coleslaw, and hush puppies.

The crowd swarms as the lids are removed, it is a jungle out there. Even the women and children eat with wild abandon. This was as close as I could safely get to these feeding little girls, they made no bones about it, I am either a part of the solution, or I'm a part of a complete breakfast. (Yes, they're family.) This is their mother, and my cousin. She's not smiling, she's snarling. No really...

I myself took time to eat just a smidgen of our wondrous bounty. OK, I had a deviled egg, four hush puppies, and three pounds of tenderloin. What? You DARE mock my baco-vegetarian lifestyle?

After everyone ate, here's what it looks like.

As for me, I'm done. Nap time.

The End