The Whole Hog
One of my growing hobbies is BBQ and smoking meats. I’ve taken numerous classes, called BBQ Bootcamp, via Mason-Dixon BBQ, a local shop selling smokers, grills, griddles, and all the accessories, spices, and sauces you’d need to make amazing meals.
Earlier this summer, I attended the Hog Bootcamp class, where each student smokes a pork butt for making their own pulled pork, along with a single whole hog that the class collectively prepares and smokes. This class happened to be an overnight class, which was a lot more fun than I expected it to be, mostly because the instructor pool for this class was great, and the students attending were of a similar mindset.
The class starts a light dinner, since most of us were coming straight from work. This allowed for getting to know the instructors, and each other, while learning a few simple recipes. After dinner, we jumped in with a butchering lesson by a local master butcher, Roger from Penn Avenue Meats in Hagerstown. We then prepared our individual pork butts to get them ready for the smokers. Once all the butts were wrapped in spice and juice and placed in the cooler to soak it all up, we then worked as a group on the big pig. It was almost midnight before we even lit the smokers!
Admittedly, once we were done with the hog prep and smokers were lit up, most of the class wandered off to their cars, tents, or trucks to get a few hours of shut eye. A few of us enjoyed some fine cigars, good craft beer, and lots of talk and laughter, all while sitting around a campfire and enjoying a few smoked appetizers and snacks! I may have been exhausted by the end of the class, but I wouldn’t have missed the campfire talk for anything.
As the sun rose, we took the hog off the smoker, letting it rest before we all assisted in pulling it to pieces! And did it ever taste amazing! While not the most cost efficient way of cooking pork, the whole hog experience was fun and entertaining. The pork butts were more educational and useful, at least to my future plans, and tasted just as good.
I highly recommend the BBQ Bootcamps at Mason Dixon BBQ. Eric and the gang he has assisting him do an amazing job, and don’t take much of anything seriously, which just adds to the fun factor.
I didn’t take a ton of pictures, but here’s a few from the evening… enjoy!
