BBQ Bootcamp
It was Friday evening, as a group of strangers began gathering in Greencastle, PA at Mason-Dixon BBQ for the first overnight bootcamp of the season, 25 students and instructors would be smoking 28 Pork Butts and a whole Hog!
If you are wondering how this is possible, we had about 25 smokers, some pellet smokers, some big green eggs, some offset woodfired smokers… it was an army of smokers just for us! We could each pick what we wanted. I chose the offset woodfired since it was the closest one to my smoker.
We began with dinner, a tortilla burger like none I’ve ever had, accompanied by corn, apple cobbler, and strawberries, my mouth waters just thinking about it again. After dinner, it was time to begin. We were divided into groups of 4 (please note, group #1 was and still is the BEST!) and taught how to appropriately prep a pork butt, “backyard” style and “competition” style. We learned about the money muscle (known by this name because, once cooked, it is moist and tender; it’s what wins checks and trophies in BBQ competitions), the tubes, and the horn.
After learning these basics (it was anything but basic; lots of details were shared), it was our turn to demonstrate what we had learned. We each prepped our pork either way we wanted. I chose competition style. Looking back, I probably would have placed pretty far back in a competition since my money muscle-cutting skills were somewhat lacking. We injected our pork with randomly selected rubs and injections. Mine was the Blues Hog Pork Injections with Apple Juice as the liquid and the Sucklebusters Competition Rub. Once prepped, these went into the fridge for a couple of hours before placing them in the smoker for several more hours until our 205° temperature was reached (190° for the money muscle).
Starting our smokers was one of my favorite moments: the smoke, the organized chaos, searching for wood, starting chimneys, placing charcoal, filling the pellet smokers, learning about a new smoker you’ve never used before, and most of all, the camaraderie of helping each other. Watching as the “dirty smoke” switches to a clean burn and finally, placing our pork shoulders.
So, you may be curious about what is done during an overnight camp while our pork is smoking. For starters, make sure your fire is burning at the right temperature throughout the night. I am proud to say mine sustained the temperature throughout.
I checked on it about every 30-45 minutes. Several logs were added throughout to maintain temperature as well as allow the proper air flow.
During the evening, nicknames slowly manifested; we were surrounded by Texas, Number 11, Quiet, Birthday Boy, Maryland, Pappy, Ira… just one way to remember who was there.
We also ate a lot. We had tri-tip, sourdough pastry, chicken wings, candied pork belly, nuts, cookies… everyone helped in the preparation of the overnight meal. We never had a moment where we sat idle (unless you needed a quick catnap).
When morning came, we, of course, were very hungry, so we prepared breakfast, then finished our pork and hog, and tasted it!
Whole Hog
One of the reasons I wanted to take this class was simple: I wanted to have an opportunity to smoke a whole Hog. Not just a pork shoulder or brisket, ribs or bacon, but the whole thing, the type of smoking the pros do, I wanted to be able to say “I smoked a whole Hog!”
Tradition says that when you cook a whole hog, you must name it. Ours was named “PoppaDon”, although once we laid eyes on her, it was clear we should have named her “MommaDonna”, but that’s OK, she didn’t mind.
As you can see in the photo, we were even able to get a smile out of her
When preparing a whole hog, it’s essential to determine the ideal position you want it to cook in; once it’s in the smoker, no changes can be made without risking damage. Ours was set up for presentation -in a sitting position.
The next step is to inject it to keep it moist, and then sprinkle a generous amount of rub. Since our hog was going in a sitting position, we stuffed it to help with moisture retention. We used chicken thighs and breasts as stuffing, then sewed it to keep everything inside. (like a BBQ Build-a-Bear!)
Once prepped, she was placed in the smoker, where she remained until morning. It’s never a “set-it-and-forget-it” process. At one point, she had to be pulled out to take care of the excess heat and fire in the smoker. She got a little “caramelized” (or slightly torched, depending on your point of view), but it was just the skin; all the wonderful meat inside was cooked to perfection.
In the morning, after a much-needed coffee and breakfast, we learned about carving the hog. I managed to say “ME” first and had the honor of slicing her open; it was easier than I thought -I expected the skin to be hard, but once punctured with the tip of the knife, it was soft like butter, except for a small stubborn portion of the skin in the ham.
The cut ran between the shoulders, all the way through the butt, loin, and ham, then down from the shoulder to the jowl and in the back, from the rump down the ham. She was then pried open and the meat exposed, then the pulling of the pork meat began, as well as the chicken meat we had placed as stuffing. We all had a chance to taste and bring some leftovers home.
We were “Happy Boot Campers”.
I cannot say enough about this experience; it was rich with information, packed with a team of people who clearly love to prepare BBQ, everyone, from our instructors to the students, was a joy to be around. I hope to be able to participate in another Bootcamp and learn even more about this craft I love.
Thank you MASON DIXON BBQ SERVICES.
@masondixonbbqservices
Written by: Vanessa Nino
www.platedpix.com or @plated.photography1