Tarheel Chapter BMW CCA Pig Pickin' at VIR

event for 250 guests

Korman Autoworks 30th Annual Open House

event for 100 guests

send your event photos to allen@thebleupig.com 

Now, if I only knew when the above pictures were taken or where the rest of them were!  After borrowing a friend's cooker for several years (starting around 1993) it occurred to me I was spending an inordinate amount of time cleaning up after the last person to use it. A donated tank (thanks Alex), a repossessed trailer frame (thanks Dan), and with the welding help of Jimmy Mac I soon made my own. Ken A. and James K. also helped with some of the more specialized materials.

The text above and below contains some lofty prose for describing a pig cooker, but in NC building one is somewhat of an art form. Call it embracing the culture you live in. I spent a couple years looking at every cooker I could find before making the first cut, and more time during construction to come up with the perfect design. If you ever attend a big affair and there are multiple cookers, you'll find that every single one is different. The reason for pondering the construction so long was inspired by a common statement among people with their own cookers who always started with "the next one I build I'm gonna do this different."  Building the first one was fun, but I have a strong feeling the next one might not be as rewarding, my goal was to avoid having to ever say "the next one I build..."

And I haven't.

Notes:

• if you need to drill 400 or so holes in straight lines in schedule 80 pipe, lay them side by side on a flat surface and use a file to mark your lines. And buy a drill press

• shelves on the front of a cooker are the most common design flaw unless you have 4' long arms

• springs on any towed vehicle are always a good idea

• getting the correct jet size in your gas venturis is the same process as jetting a carb

• gas will freeze up on a cold day as the tank is used, keep your tanks inside if it's cold

• controlling temp with gas flow only is hard to do. Dampers in the flues are much more effective.

• install a hot water spigot in your house for clean up, it's all you need as pork fat has an extremely low melting point

• dogs really enjoy laying under the drain holes and letting the grease run into their mouths, it's a cruel man who would interrupt such a thing

• always cook extra for your mom

The area below is for posting event photos and menus. Sorry, no how to on pig-cooker building beyond the above! It's all about the food.

Sauces

Dinky Doo, when translated to French comes out "petite turd," hence just "blanc" (white). Almost traditional eastern NC vinegar based sauce, top secret. It's amazing how something so simple can take so long to perfect. Used during cooking and as a serving sauce.

Mid-State SC mustard based sauce. This sauce traces it's lineage to German settlers who were recruited to farm in SC during the early 1700's. Of course they brought their affinity for mustard with them.

Cochon Dry Rub

For pulled pork. It's so guarded even I don't know what's in it, and I'm the only one who makes it! (I read the recipe blindfolded).

1993-1998 (dark times with borrowed cookers)

• 40th wedding anniversary, 80 guests, chicken picken (new potatoes, peas and pearls as I recall)

• whole pig at my first house

• whole pig for Dani's 1st birthday

Dec. 1998-2008

• Annual Christmas Shoulder Cooking (probably what the photos above are from)

• By the time you cook, prep and package a couple hundred lbs of pork you're ready for a pizza

• Everything gets tiring after you do it 10 years or so

New Equipment 2008 (or 2009?) aka King Kameamea Grill

It's hard to describe the mass of this piece of equipment. Craigslist is the devil. With the side shelves folded in you still have to remove the end handles to get it in a pickup truck bed and close the tailgate. 8 burners, 2 tanks, end shelves are 2'x2'. What do you do with this? Anything you want, but mostly emasculate anyone within a few miles who has an ordinary grill.

2008-2009

• Vacation Bible School Cookout (there is apparently no actual limit to how many hot dogs you can cook at once)

• Fall festival cookout

2010

• Annual canoe trip, James River Virginia. 23 guys for dinner? I don't even think we turned on all the burners.

June 2010, 40th Birthday Party, 100 guests

• Pulled pork

• roasted corn in shuck, drawn butter, Old Bay!

• Most often heard quotes, "Did you build that cooker?" and "Can you do a cookout for me" and "this is great." The answers are yes, no, and thank you.

• where are my pictures and why are those kids eating hot dogs?

Craigslist is the devil. Actually was going to stop at Cost Depot (re: Bernie Mac) on the way home one Friday and get a 2 burner, but guess what popped up on CL about 10 minutes from home? Yeah. 3 burner with griddle. I was actually more enthused about the griddle than the 90,000 BTU's that were now at my disposal. It covers two burners, and ones I priced out for the Event Grill (above) were more than I paid for the stove with the griddle. Primarily for camping, holds a 20" cast iron frying pan, dutch oven, you name it.