What is the best way to build a pit for cooking/smoking a whole hog?!
Answers: What do I line the pit with? depth? amount of cover?
Boy did you ask a loaded question. If you google it as mentioned before it comes up with 650,000 hits and I bet most every one of them tells you a different way. This is an excerpt from a method that I have used. Its just 5 steps of 19 steps total from a method given in the BBQarchives
Build a pit of concrete blocks two blocks high, five blocks long, and three blocks wide (for one hawg) on flat ground or slightly sloping ground which will help drain the grease away. This takes a total of 32 blocks. If you are short a few blocks, you can get by with 28 blocks by making the pit four blocks long. Line the bottom of the pit with freezer foil, not regular aluminum foil as it is too thin. Spread out a few bricks (five or six) in the bottom of the pit. Place a fine steel grate (or fine wire mesh) on the bricks in the bottom of the pit. This will prevent large grease fires if you pay attention and immediately put out the small fires which start when grease drops down on the hot coals. (use a water (squirt) bottle for this. I think that's cheatin' and should be done by using the small coal shovel to spread the coals away from the small fires.) Place the rods across the top of the blocks with another piece of fine steel grate on top of the rods. The hawg will go on top of this grate.
If you would like to look at the whole method email me and I will reply with it. (to large to post on here)
Wow screw turkey. That is so what I'm going to suggest for xmas dinner!
google "whole hog" and you will find several sights to help you out.
Season the hog with marinade and cover the whole hog in aluminum foil.
Dig a deep pit (at least 3 feet depth) that is big enough to hold the coals and the pig.
Ignite at least 4 large bags of coals in the pit first.
As soon as there is no more visible flames, remove half the smoldering coals to one side for covering.
Place the hog onto the coals and cover with the rest of the coals completely.
Cover the whole pile with a layer of foil before covering with soil completely.
After 4 hours, the hog should be cooked and ready to be eaten.
The last time I went to Hawaii on my morning walk I watched them put the pig into the Imu for the Luau that night, yes it takes all day to cook.
First dig a hole about 5 feet deep.
Fill the pit with wood and smooth rocks.
Start a fire to make a bunch of coals and hot rocks.
Take the pig and place it on chicken wire that will wrap around the pig.
Get a shovel or big tongs to put hot rocks in the pig cavity.
Enclose in the chicken wire to keep the rocks in.
Cover the coals and rocks with banana and tea leaves, a bunch.
Place the pig on the leaves.
Cover the pig with more banana and tea leaves.
Cover the pig with wet burlap sacks.
Bury the pig so that no smoke or steam escapes.
Dig it up in about 9 hours.
Lots of luck.