South Carolina Whole Hog BBQ
Slow-smoked whole hog pulled tender and tossed in tangy mustard-based sauce.
Dietary
Keto, Wheat free, Dairy free, Nut free
Allergens
Red meat
This Lowcountry tradition cooks an entire hog over low, steady wood coals for most of a day, yielding smoky, tender meat pulled apart by hand. The signature South Carolina touch is a tangy mustard-based sauce stirred in at the end, giving the pork a bright, piquant finish. It's a feast built for large gatherings, church fundraisers, and weekend pig pickin's.
Ingredients
- 1 whole hog, dressed, 80 to 100 pounds
- 2 cups kosher salt
- 1 cup black pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 cup paprika
- 1/2 cup cayenne pepper
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar, for basting
- 2 cups water, for basting
- 20 pounds hardwood charcoal or seasoned oak and hickory logs
- 6 cups South Carolina mustard BBQ sauce
Method
-
The night before cooking, lay the whole hog open flat (butterflied by the butcher) skin-side down on a large cleaned table or cooling rack.
-
Combine the kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a bowl to make the dry rub.
-
Rub the seasoning mixture generously over the entire cavity side of the hog, working it into every crevice and around the bones.
-
Cover the hog loosely and let it sit refrigerated or in a cold-cooled area overnight, about 8 hours, to let the salt penetrate the meat.
-
Light the charcoal or burn down the oak and hickory logs to coals in a separate fire pit, preparing enough coals to maintain a steady supply.
-
Set up the whole hog pit or cooker with the hog skin-side up over indirect heat, shoveling coals evenly beneath the shoulders, hams, and loin areas to maintain 225°F to 250°F throughout the pit.
-
Cook the hog skin-side up for the first several hours, adding fresh coals every 30 to 45 minutes to maintain steady low heat.
-
Mix the apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle or basting bucket for mopping the meat.
-
Baste the exposed meat and skin with the vinegar-water mixture every hour to keep the hog moist and help render the skin.
-
After about 6 hours, carefully flip the hog so the cavity side faces up, continuing to tend the coal fire and baste regularly.
-
Continue cooking cavity-side up, monitoring internal temperature in the shoulders and hams, until the thickest parts of the shoulder and ham reach 195°F to 205°F and the meat pulls easily from the bone.
-
Transfer the hog, or work directly at the pit, and begin pulling the meat from the bones by hand, discarding excess fat pockets and any bones.
-
Chop or shred the pulled pork to the desired texture, mixing lean meat with some of the crisped skin and fattier pieces for flavor balance.
-
Drizzle the South Carolina mustard BBQ sauce over the pulled pork and toss thoroughly to coat, adding more sauce to taste.
-
Serve the pork warm with extra mustard sauce on the side for guests to add as desired.
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South Carolina Whole Hog BBQ
This Lowcountry tradition cooks an entire hog over low, steady wood coals for most of a day, yielding smoky, tender meat pulled apart by hand. The signature South Carolina touch is a tangy mustard-based sauce stirred in at the end, giving the pork a bright, piquant finish. It's a feast built for large gatherings, church fundraisers, and weekend pig pickin's.
17 hr 40 servings 420 cal
Ingredients
- 1 whole hog, dressed, 80 to 100 pounds
- 2 cups kosher salt
- 1 cup black pepper, coarsely ground
- 1 cup paprika
- 1/2 cup cayenne pepper
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar, for basting
- 2 cups water, for basting
- 20 pounds hardwood charcoal or seasoned oak and hickory logs
- 6 cups South Carolina mustard BBQ sauce
Method
- 1
The night before cooking, lay the whole hog open flat (butterflied by the butcher) skin-side down on a large cleaned table or cooling rack.
- 2
Combine the kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper in a bowl to make the dry rub.
- 3
Rub the seasoning mixture generously over the entire cavity side of the hog, working it into every crevice and around the bones.
- 4
Cover the hog loosely and let it sit refrigerated or in a cold-cooled area overnight, about 8 hours, to let the salt penetrate the meat.
- 5
Light the charcoal or burn down the oak and hickory logs to coals in a separate fire pit, preparing enough coals to maintain a steady supply.
- 6
Set up the whole hog pit or cooker with the hog skin-side up over indirect heat, shoveling coals evenly beneath the shoulders, hams, and loin areas to maintain 225°F to 250°F throughout the pit.
- 7
Cook the hog skin-side up for the first several hours, adding fresh coals every 30 to 45 minutes to maintain steady low heat.
- 8
Mix the apple cider vinegar and water in a spray bottle or basting bucket for mopping the meat.
- 9
Baste the exposed meat and skin with the vinegar-water mixture every hour to keep the hog moist and help render the skin.
- 10
After about 6 hours, carefully flip the hog so the cavity side faces up, continuing to tend the coal fire and baste regularly.
- 11
Continue cooking cavity-side up, monitoring internal temperature in the shoulders and hams, until the thickest parts of the shoulder and ham reach 195°F to 205°F and the meat pulls easily from the bone.
- 12
Transfer the hog, or work directly at the pit, and begin pulling the meat from the bones by hand, discarding excess fat pockets and any bones.
- 13
Chop or shred the pulled pork to the desired texture, mixing lean meat with some of the crisped skin and fattier pieces for flavor balance.
- 14
Drizzle the South Carolina mustard BBQ sauce over the pulled pork and toss thoroughly to coat, adding more sauce to taste.
- 15
Serve the pork warm with extra mustard sauce on the side for guests to add as desired.
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