For my 50th birthday (yikes!), we decided to do a pig roast! I mean, why not? We've been wanting to have a huge party for years with a pig roast as the main attraction.
My birthday was the perfect opportunity for a huge party. Once I got past the fact that I was turning 50, I was okay with celebrating this milestone!
Rod is a great BBQ griller, sausage maker, and slow smoker of meats. However, a whole pig was a new challenge for him. He wanted to use a smoker rather than dig a hole in the ground and bury the pig in coals. The problem is our current smoker is tall with a few racks. This is perfect for hanging a chain of sausage links, making homemade bacon or smoking a couple of large hind quarters. But a whole pig? This just wouldn't work so Rod designed and built a new smoker!
He started with a pressure tank that he nabbed from a discard pile sometime last year. I know...a discard pile??? Luckily, most of his "finds" turn into wonderful treasures. Otherwise we'd look like we had a junk yard! He sliced the pressure tank in half, added a grill, hinge, legs, supports, handles and a few other elements.
Then he added a fire box below. To build the fire box, he had another, smaller pressure tank...I know...how many old pressure tanks can a person have in stock? He's been building this smoker in his mind for a few years now so he's been gathering parts as he goes.
Two days before the party, he finished building the smoker, brought it home and lit a fire to test out the smoker. He wanted to see how hot the temp was, what the smoke was like, and if there were any other potential problems. The above pictures were taken as he was lighting the first fire.
Rod did decide to burn off all the blue paint before pig roasting day. The paint had an odor that was emitted when the smoker became hot. We didn't want that smell to affect the meat at all. He used a blow torch to burn away the paint. We had no problem with any other smells. We just had the deliciousness of slow smoked pork!
The pig was given a dry rub of Rod's secret mixture of seasonings and brown sugar. Then the pig was on the grill at 5:00 in the morning. He also added two pork shoulder roasts. He was afraid we just might not have enough meat! 12 hours later.... the pork was smoked to perfection!
The pork was absolutely perfect! It was moist and tender. You can see in the picture below the nice smoke ring around the outside of the meat. That's what Rod is always looking for...a beautiful smoke ring. I'm just looking for a beautiful taste!
My dear sisters, decided to play on the whole pig theme...they carved a watermelon pig...and a another watermelon with a big 'ol 50 on the front. Just in case anyone might forget how old I was!
The pig roast/birthday party was a great success! Now we need to find another event worthy of doing it all again!
Allana Kim says
Looks delish Kathy, especially love the watermelon pig! Have give that a try summer this year 🙂
Kathy says
Thanks! The watermelon pig always adds a fun touch!
kevin says
Happy 50th Kathy ! That was so much fun.
Kathy says
Thanks!
Kathy @ Living A Creative Life says
Happy 50th Kathy!! LOVE the pig watermelon, too... So creative! Thanks for sharing!
Kathy says
The pig watermelon was certainly a hit! Thanks!
Emanuele @ guyslovecooking says
Wow, that is amazing. Did he actually build it himself?? I was watching a cookery show the other day, they had one and I thought I had never seen one for real.
I can only imagine how soft and moist it must have turned out...Great job
Kathy says
He did build it himself. He had the tank, bought the grate and parts, but had to do all the cutting and welding himself. It turned out great and the pork was amazing!
Annie @ The Garlic Diaries says
Happy Birthday!!! I've never had a pig roast before (or even been to one), but it looks so fun! Such a fun thing to do in summer :).
Kathy says
I had never been to one either! Lots of fun!
Lori from LL Farm says
Happy Birthday Kathy! What a great way to celebrate. We had a hog roast a couple years ago...the guy asked if he could start roasting at his house early then bring it to our house later. I was very disappointed when he brought the meat in containers not the pig in the smoker!!!
Kathy says
Oh no! Next time insist it is smoked at your place. So much fun to see and so wonderful to smell!
Laura @ Raise Your Garden says
Happy Birthday! I don't like, I LOVE this idea. Pork is my favorite, pulled pork. BBQ Pork. Bacon. Love it. Pork is the way to celebrate 50 years old for sure! I am going to nag, scratch that, ask my husband to get on this. How fun for our next party!!! Thanks for sharing. Love this post.
Kathy says
Definitely get your husband on this!
Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker says
Happy Birthday! That smoker is AMAZING!!! My hubby would be so jealous!
Kathy says
Thanks. I think this whole smoker thing is a total guy thing!