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Sous vide a whole pig

rene_vas_23725

Hey guys,

Huge fan and member of your site. I posted a couple of years ago our attempt at sous viding a whole suckling pig (80lbs).

We are going to do it again this year, and with the knowledge i have gained and the results we got from our first attempt, i hope we are going to nail it.

Last year we did an 8% brine for 24 hours and sous vide it at 140 for 30 hours.

I came to the conclusion neither were right. This year i want to do longer brine (40 hours, and then a salt rub for a few hours.

We are planning on doing 54 hours at 150% and then finishing it in a Cajun microwave we’ve built.

I have a couple of questions that i would appreciate y’alls opinion on.

First to the times and temps above seem right to you? Will be an 80lb pig again this year.

Also, potentially we might not be able to cook it off site. So this will mean putting the pig on ice for 5 to 6 hours and then finishing it. Is there any potential health risks with this process?

Our third option it taking it out the night before and totally cooling the whole animal. My concerns here are reheating. It will be a pretty high indirect heat (around 300). Im concerned it will dry out the meat if we try and bring a whole animal up to temperature.

Crossing fingers you have a minute to answer these questions.

thanks

and thank you for your incredible site. It’s really upped my game.

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Comments

trey.winkle

Michael Ruhlman uses a 5% brine as his ideal percentage. I would inject at the ham and butt then submerge the whole thing in whichever brine you choose for at least 24 hours. Low and slow on the reheat. I would suggest trying to cook it in your built "pit" the whole way. Coals near the butt and ham only to keep the leaner cuts cooking indirectly. Try for an internal of just over 200 F for the butt and 175-180 for the ham since it is much leaner.

tshewman

I suspect it will be a touch saltier if 8% is used. If you encountered a problem, you might consider injection brining as well. The overall wt of the hog shouldn't influence the cool down period but rather the density of the tissue the chilling bath has to work through (e.g. shoulder, butt thickness.....will you be cutting it b/t the ribs and opening prior?). As long as there is enough ice in the bath (or try a salt chill brine) you should be ok (but sounds like you'll need a bath tub :-)..). You can or cannot cook it onsite?? If you cook onsite, I'd be tempted to crank that cajun microwave and if you have some welding friends and a couple big stainless steel thermos' like this one http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-3483/Table-Service/Stainless-Steel-Airpot?pricode=WZ758&gadtype=pla&id=H-3483&gclid=CI3fl-uqjMwCFQwxaQod0FkA3A&gclsrc=aw.ds , I would try dumping LN2 on the hog while it's warm (just out of the bath) and finish on/in the cajun microwave. I've done this with whole roasts, whole chickens and every time it's phenomenal. And it's easy. The fly in the ointment is finding someone to sell you the LN2 that will put it in the thermos. Just my .02

Brandon_Byrd_40557

If you put liquid nitrogen in a thermos, DO NOT PUT A LID ON IT.

tshewman

Good tip. With the link posted, I believe (but he will have to check) you can keep the pour spout open for ventilation. I do something similar with my daughters after I fill it from the dewar and bring it in the house.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Yeesh....... 8% for 24 hours? I'd be reluctant to go over around 2% for that length of time.

Robert_Conn_II_123023

I would focus more on your SV cooking time than an exact brine amount. The key is to make the meat naturally juicy and thats best done by letting the fats render out. Using Sous Vide this requires more time. I don't cook any fatty meat less than 48 hours. I have done 72 hours also but the gains from 48-72 arent that much better (but Ive never done a whole pig so take that with a grain of salt).

If you get those fats rendered out you wont need the brine as much anyway.

Your challenge, as I see it is in cooling the pig down after cooking and before finishing. I agree with Todd that a salted ice bath to cool it down would be best (factor in initial bringing though, if your salted/icebath is saltier than your brine you could get in trouble.

Finishing -

If you plan to finish it with a cajun microwave I would advice applying a double layer of heavy duty foil over everything except the really meaty parts (rump and shoulders) to give them a head start and/or Jaccard them, and/or make deep cuts into them from the inside to facilitate quicker retherm times.

I wish you the best of luck and please post your results....I am jealous!

tangma27

8% is going to be really salty, though I dont think in 24 hours will the pig reach equilibrium. So maybe not!

Matthew_Snyder_68770

The full thickness of the entire pig won't reach equilibrium, but the outermost 3-4 inches probably will.