Tag Archives: cinder-block pit
Whole pig cookery last class in ANSC 117
The 2015 version of the ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue class came to the end on December 4th with the traditional whole pig cookery at our home. We roasted the pig in the cinder-block pit in our backyard. We purchased a 75-pound pig to roast, and it was injected with about a 20% by weight brine solution (salt, sugar, and water) overnight before cooking the next day. The pig was put in the cinder-block pit around 7:00 AM and was cooked until 4:30 PM before it was pulled out… Read More →
Whole hog cooking in ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue
For the sixth year in a row, we finished ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue by cooking a whole pig at the Savell home (here is last year’s post). We used the cinder-block pit located in the backyard, and once again, it performed well with a minimum of wood required to cook the pig. Just like last year, we obtained a smaller pig (around 70 pounds) so that we did not have to worry about a long cooking time. I believe that we will continue to cook whole pigs around… Read More →
Fourth Barbecue Summer Camp held June 6-8, 2014
The very popular Foodways Texas Barbecue Summer Camp was held at the Rosenthal Meat Center at Texas A&M University on June 6-8, 2014. This is the fourth year of the camp, and about 60 participants from all walks of life, but with a common love for all things barbecue were in attendance this year. To start the morning, Marvin Bendele of Foodways Texas and Jeff Savell of the Meat Science Section of the Department of Animal Science gave a welcome to everyone and led the class introductions of… Read More →
Whole pig cooking in Texas Barbecue
The last lecture in Texas Barbecue each year is whole pig cooking at the Savell home. This is always one of the highlights of the semester, and the students enjoy seeing the process of cooking a whole pig in a cinder-block pit. We obtained a smaller pig than our usual ones we have cooked in the past. This pig weighed about 85 pounds and was much easier to handle and cook compared to the usual 150- to 200-pound pigs we usually get to cook. We had planned to… Read More →
Anatomy of a cinder-block pit
Several years ago, my son-in-law, Thomas Larriviere and I built this cinder-block pit in my backyard so that we could host the whole-hog cooking demonstrations for the Texas Barbecue class and Barbecue Summer Camp. We have received many requests for how to build such a pit so here are some photos and tips for how we built this one. Cinder blocks are a great building tool for many things. I like to think of them as “adult Legos.” These blocks are 8 X 8 X 16 inches so… Read More →
