Farm rasied pig

A surprise email popped up a few weeks ago from one of my diabolical food friends. This friend might be the death of me one day but for now he hooked me up with Jake from Dickson Farmstand, upstate New York. Check the above link for more information. So I end up getting two 22lb pigs, gutted, cleaned and hair free. Had my butcher cut it up and invited some friends to a Sunday pig pickin' pot luck dinner. Started doing some research and decided on 2 dishes to start with.

The first little pig was going to brined and then slow roasted for a Carolina bbq meal with two bbq sauces. A mustard based South Carolina sauce and a North Carolina vinegar based sauce.

Brined piggy with basic brine, liquid hickory smoke and green market apples. He sat overnight and then removed to air dry in walk in fridge for another 12hrs. Laid out flat on sheet tray skin side up to get the skin going and then flipped to belly up half way through to finish. After about 4hrs at 225F I flipped him back over and cranked up the heat to crisp the skin. during the whole process I basted piggy with a mix of White and apple cider vinegar, pepper flakes, liquid smoke, touch of sugar.

*For those of you upset about the liquid smoke, have to say it's the first time I used it and was pleasantly surprised. There was no in-kitchen smoking option available this time around.

The results were amazing and delicious. Was happy with the simple and straight forward cooking method and the way the meat just pulled apart so soft and tender. The skin was perfect after scraped and recrisped in the oven later on.