Tried a whole hog overnight in my backyard offset and almost started a grease fire at 3am

I bought a 60 pound pig from a farm outside Nashville and thought I had it all figured out after watching some competition videos. Got the fire dialed in around 10pm, wrapped the shoulders and hams, all seemed good. Woke up at 3am to the temperature spiking to 350 because a fat render turned into a grease fire in the drip pan. Lost about 15 degrees of bark on the shoulder side and had to pull the whole thing early at 195 internal. Learned that you need way more drip management for a whole hog than a brisket or butt, and those small water pans are not enough. Anyone else had a late night grease flare up on a long cook and how did you keep your temps stable?

2 comments

2 Comments

claireg8110h ago

That 60 pound pig from outside Nashville sounds like it was a beauty. I'm curious though about your fire management strategy before the flare up. Were you using a split log fire or adding charcoal throughout the night? I ask because I've had good luck with water pans that are two inches deep and placed directly under the grate to catch drips, but I run a smaller rig for butts and shoulders. Did you have a drip pan positioned under the hog or were you relying on the offset's built in grease drain?

parker_bailey7h agoMost Upvoted

Yeah man Ive been there. I typically go with a mix of splits and a few chunks of charcoal through the night to keep the heat steady, but on bigger hogs like that I'll run a water pan right under the grate, about two inches deep, to catch drips and add some moisture. Works way better than relying on the offset's built in drain for a cook that size.