Overview

Eastern North Carolina whole-hog flavor, adapted to a half hog on a backyard offset. Clean fire, simple seasoning, and vinegar sauce deliver authentic pig pickin’ results without a trailer pit.

Ingredients

• Carolina rub (enough for one half hog): kosher salt 180 g (about 1 1/4 cups Diamond Crystal or 3/4 cup Morton), coarse black pepper 40 g (~1/4 cup), sweet paprika 30 g (~1/4 cup), light brown sugar 25 g (2 Tbsp), granulated garlic 10 g (1 Tbsp)
• Mop: apple cider vinegar 480 ml (2 cups), water 240 ml (1 cup), kosher salt 12 g (2 tsp), white sugar 12 g (1 Tbsp), crushed red pepper flakes 4 g (2 tsp), ground black pepper 2 g (1 tsp)
• Finishing sauce: apple cider vinegar 720 ml (3 cups), white vinegar 240 ml (1 cup), kosher salt 15 g (1 Tbsp), white sugar 24 g (2 Tbsp), crushed red pepper flakes 6 g (1 Tbsp), ground black pepper 4 g (2 tsp), Texas Pete or similar hot sauce 10 ml (2 tsp)
• Neutral oil 30 ml (2 Tbsp) to lightly oil the grate; optional
• Coarse sea salt to finish, as needed

Equipment

• Small offset smoker (20–24 in diameter cook chamber) with clean grates
• Charcoal chimney and lump or briquettes to establish a coal bed
• Seasoned wood splits (see wood recommendation)
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil and unwaxed butcher paper
• Basting mop and/or spray bottle
• Boning knife, heavy chef’s knife or cleaver, and a meat saw or reciprocating saw
• Digital leave-in probes and an instant-read thermometer
• Sheet pans or hotel pans for prep, rest, and chopping
• Heat-resistant and food-safe disposable gloves; cut-resistant glove
• Cooler or warm oven for holding; foil-wrapped bricks or small water pan as heat baffles

Wood

White oak or post oak as the base fuel with 20–30% hickory mixed in for Carolina character; use well-seasoned splits and burn clean.

Time & Temp

Time & Temp
Smoke temp: 260 °F (127 °C)
Target internal: 200 °F (93 °C)
Approx duration: 10.5 hours

What We’re Cooking and Assumptions

This guide walks you through cooking a skin-on half hog—shoulder, loin, belly, and ham attached—on a small offset stick-burner at Carolina pig-pickin’ temperatures. We’ll assume a 30–40 lb (13.5–18 kg) half, head and feet removed, that can fit your grate with minimal trimming; if needed, we’ll cover how to separate shoulder and ham to fit shorter cook chambers while keeping the seasoning, mop, and finishing sauce true to Eastern North Carolina style.

Sourcing and Trimming the Half Hog

Ask your butcher for a split half hog, skin-on, head-off, about 30–40 lb (13.5–18 kg) so it will fit most 20–24 in diameter backyard offsets. Request it butterflied cavity-open with the spine trimmed flush; if length is an issue, have them take the shank back and square the ham. At home, dry the skin thoroughly and trim loose flaps of belly or ragged edges that will burn. If your pit is short, separate at the natural seam between the shoulder and loin/ham with a boning knife and a clean cut through the vertebrae using a saw; you can cook the shoulder and ham/loin sections nose-to-tail across the grate with a small gap between them. Keep as much skin intact as possible for insulation and moisture retention.

Fire Management on a Small Offset

Run the pit at 250–265°F (121–129°C) with a clean-burning fire: a small, steady bed of coals and frequent small splits to maintain thin blue smoke. Start with a full chimney of lump or briquettes to establish coals, then feed seasoned oak splits about wrist-size, adding a short piece of hickory every second or third addition for Carolina character without over-smoking. Place a small water pan near the firebox side as a heat buffer if your pit runs hot there. Keep exhaust wide open and control temps with the fire size and the intake; avoid smoldering, white smoke, or heavy bark on your splits that can push acrid notes into the skin.

Seasoning, Mop, and Finishing Sauce

Eastern-style hog is about pork, smoke, and vinegar. Use a light hand with a simple rub on the meat side only and keep the skin clean so it can render and protect. Start with an even coat of the rub on the cavity, shoulders, ham, and belly; go lighter over the loin area. Save the mop for after the bark sets so you don’t wash off seasoning, and reserve the finishing sauce for chopping and service—do not cook the hog in the finishing sauce. Taste your sauce before service and adjust salt, pepper, and heat to match the fattiness of your chop.

Setup, Orientation, and Shielding the Loin

Lay the half hog skin-side down, cavity up, thicker shoulder toward the firebox and ham toward the stack for balanced heat; rotate 180° every 2–3 hours if your pit is uneven. Form a loose foil tent over the loin area early in the cook to reduce direct heat and keep the lean muscle from drying out. You can also tuck a narrow strip of foil as a heat shield under the edge where the loin meets the ribs if that area colors too quickly. Keep any foil off the bark so it doesn’t steam the surface. If you separated the cuts, place the shoulder closer to the fire and the ham/loin section closer to the stack end.

Cooking Timeline and Mop Schedule

At 250–265°F (121–129°C), plan 8–12 hours for a 30–40 lb half hog, plus a hold. Smoke dry for the first 3 hours to set bark, then begin mopping lightly every 60–90 minutes. Expect the loin to reach 145–150°F (63–66°C) well before the ham and shoulder; at that point either keep it tented and let it climb to 155°F (68°C) for a more traditional texture in the final chop or carefully lift out the loin meat, wrap it, and hold warm to reincorporate at the end. The shoulder will typically hit 198–203°F (92–95°C) when probe-tender, and the ham will be done around 195–200°F (90–93°C) when a skewer slides in with little resistance at the roundest portion near the femur.

Doneness Checks, Holding, and Skin

Judge doneness by feel. Use a thin probe or skewer and look for butter-like resistance in the shoulder and ham muscles; numbers guide you, but tenderness decides. When both major sections are probe-tender, pull the hog and rest loosely tented 20–30 minutes, then hold hot at 150–165°F (66–74°C) in a dry cooler or warm oven for up to 3 hours to let juices redistribute. If you want cracklin’, remove a section of skin and render it over medium heat in a skillet or over the firebox grate until blistered and crisp; most backyard offsets won’t fully blister the skin during the low-and-slow cook without over-smoking the meat, so crisping small pieces at the end is safer.

Chopping, Saucing, and Serving

Pull meat from shoulder, ham, belly, and loin, discarding large pockets of fat and gristle but keeping some to balance moisture. Chop on a sheet pan with a cleaver or heavy chef’s knife to a coarse mix, blending dark shoulder with lean loin for classic Eastern texture. Sprinkle in finishing sauce a little at a time while tossing until the meat wakes up—bright but not soggy—and adjust with salt and a pinch more pepper. Serve on trays for a true pig pickin’ with white slaw, hushpuppies, and soft rolls, keeping extra sauce on the side instead of drowning the meat.

Food Safety and Yield

Handle raw pork with separate boards and gloves, sanitize contact surfaces, and keep the meat cold (≤40°F / ≤4°C) until seasoning. During the cook, keep your mop and brushes clean and avoid cross-contamination. Hot-hold cooked pork above 135°F (57°C) and serve within 2 hours out of the safe zone. Cool leftovers from 135°F to 70°F (57°C to 21°C) within 2 hours and from 70°F to 40°F (21°C to 4°C) within 4 more; refrigerate up to 3–4 days and reheat rapidly to 165°F (74°C). Expect 40–50% yield from a skin-on half hog; a 35 lb (15.9 kg) half should produce roughly 14–17 lb (6.4–7.7 kg) of chopped pork, feeding 25–35 people at 6–8 oz (170–225 g) per serving.

Troubleshooting Small-Pit Constraints

If the ham lags behind and dries on the surface, wrap just the ham in unwaxed butcher paper once color is set to push it through the stall while preserving bark. If your pit runs hot on the firebox side, slide a shallow water pan or a foil-wrapped firebrick under the shoulder edge as a heat baffle. If smoke gets heavy, open the firebox door a crack and burn down to clean coals before adding another split. In a downpour or wind, expect longer cook times and use smaller, more frequent splits for stable temps. When in doubt, rotate the hog and trust the probe for tenderness over the clock.

Notes

• Target internal temperature refers to the shoulder/ham; pull when probe-tender: shoulder 198–203°F (92–95°C), ham 195–200°F (90–93°C), loin 145–155°F (63–68°C) depending on desired texture for the final chop.
• If your half hog still won’t fit, remove the loin section at the rib seam before cooking; smoke the shoulder and ham together and add smoked loin back during chopping.
• Salt brands vary by crystal size; measure by weight where possible. Start with 180 g salt in the rub and back off slightly if your hog is on the smaller side.
• Avoid heavy hickory loads in a small offset; bitterness builds fast. One small hickory split for every two oak splits keeps smoke sweet.
• Expect a stall between 155–170°F (68–77°C) in the shoulder and ham; ride it out with steady heat or paper-wrap the lagging section once color is set.
• For service, sauce the meat lightly and keep extra vinegar sauce on the side; Eastern style is bright and peppery, not soupy.