Hit 50 whole hog cooks this summer and never thought I'd get there

Bought my first cooker back in 2015 and figured I'd do maybe a dozen pigs in my lifetime, but after this weekend's church fundraiser I counted up 50 and it hit me how much time I've actually spent learning the fire.

3 comments

3 Comments

reese_lee91mo ago

Man, I still feel like I'm winging it half the time and just getting lucky. @margaretramirez is right about the fire feeling like second nature though, but idk if that's always a good thing. I mean, last cook I spaced out on the fire management and ended up with a spotty bark on one shoulder because I was too busy talking to someone. Still tasted fine, but my ego took a hit for sure.

blakestone1mo ago

Idk man, getting too comfortable with the fire is exactly when stuff goes sideways. Like you said, you get complacent and suddenly you're fixing mistakes instead of preventing them.

margaretramirez1mo ago

Isn't it wild how the fire starts to feel like second nature after that many cooks?