Hi, I’m Chef Tony Matassa with BBQGuys.com, in this video we will be roasting a whole
suckling pig on the rotisserie of our Blaze Pro grill.
Let’s get to it!
We’ll start by mixing up the brine…..
Over medium heat, stir in some sugar & salt until completely dissolved.
Next, add in some sliced lemon & orange.
Here I have some sprigs of fresh sage, rosemary & thyme.
Now i’ll throw in some bay leaves, fresh ginger, & diced garlic.
At this point, you can turn off the burner, we’ll let this steep for a really flavorful
brine.
Finish it off with some red pepper flakes, and black peppercorns.
Allow this to steep for about 20 minutes, and it’s time to soak this pig!
Pour the brine over some ice to make sure it is completely cooled off before adding
the pig.
Then place your pig in the brine, and cover well with ice to ensure it is completely submerged.
You’ll want to brine for a minimum of 4 hours, if you have the time let it soak overnight
like I’m doing with this one.
While you wait on the pig to brine, it’s a good time to pre grill some vegetables to
have ready to serve as a side.
Don’t worry about cooking the vegetables until they are completely tender now, we will
let them finish cooking in the drip pan while the pig roasts.
Once the veggies have some good smokey flavor on them, just set them aside in the fridge
for later.
I’ll be cooking the pig on the rotisserie of my Blaze 44 inch Professional Gas grill,
you’ll want to remove the cooking grids to get the most clearance possible.
We’ll be putting the drip pan in the middle, so go ahead and remove the center flame tamers
& heat zone separators as well.
Now, i’ll place smoker boxes over the far left & right burners of the grill.
I have two boxes filled with cherry & two filled with Pecan chips.
Set a drip pan on the middle two burners & we are ready to prep the pig for the grill!
The pig I have here is 21 LBs.
you’ll want to get one around this size to allow enough room for it to turn in front
of the infrared burner.
I have the pork skin coated in bacon fat & i’ll score it to help it crisp up.
Season the inside with some kosher salt & creole seasoning blend.
I’ll put the recipe in the video’s description if you want to make the one I am using today.
I picked up a stainless steel U bolt & pipe clamp from the hardware store to secure the
middle of the pig to the rotisserie rod.
You’ll want to secure that through the ribs before you truss the pig.
Now, use a large needle and some kitchen twine to truss the belly of the pig together.
Always remember to tighten the rotisserie forks with some pliers so they stay put during
the cook.
Next, turn the far left and right burners to medium low heat & fill the drip pan with
some red wine & beef stock.
For the first portion of the cook, I’ll keep the rear infrared burner off.
Use the burners under the smoker boxes to reach an ambient grill temperature of 325
to 350 degrees for the first hour and a half of roasting.
Down here in Louisiana, a whole roast pig is referred to as a Cochon De Lait, and is
traditionally roasted over a pecan wood fire.
From the looks of the smoke rising, this guy will have some of that classic smoky pecan
flavor.
I’ll be using the drip pan mixture for basting, so I’ll add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
and sage….
And Now for the secret weapon, a few spoons of rendered bacon fat.
I’ll go ahead and bast this cochon & let him roast a little longer.
Alright, it’s been about an hour and a half, this little piggy is lookin good!
I’ll go ahead and turn the far left and right burners to low.. and light the rear
infrared burner.
It’s a good time to add the grilled vegetables to our drip pan, so they can stew in the flavorful
drippings.
I reserved some bacon fat to baste my pig with during this last portion of the cook,
this will ensure that our pork skin gets nice and crispy!
It’s starting to smell like cracklins out here!
I’ll baste the pig one last time & let it crisp for 10 more minutes.
Alright, this guy is looking done, let’s shut off the burners and check the internal
temp to be sure.
Once the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, it’s time to let it rest for about
30 minutes with all burners turned off and the lid closed.
And now for the finishing touch..
Some aviators for when pigs fly!
This, right here is my favorite part..the crispy skin..
Delicious!
Thank you for watching.
I hope you enjoyed it, please subscribe & check out more of our videos.
I’m Chef Tony Matassa, and remember at BBQGuys.com… we smoke..
The competition!