A whole hog is the summit cook: one animal, one long fire, and a crowd that remembers it. Plan roughly 9 minutes per pound at 250°F – a 100 lb dressed hog runs about 15 hours – and figure a dressed hog yields about 40% of its weight in served meat. Set your serve time below and work the fire schedule backward.
How long to smoke a whole hog
At 250°F, about 9 minutes per pound of dressed weight: a 75 lb hog runs 11 to 12 hours, a 100 pounder about 15, a 120 pounder pushes 18. The hams and shoulders finish last – run them to 195-205°F for pulling while the loin coasts. Belly-up for the first stretch protects the lean loin; finish skin-up if you want blistered, lacquered skin. This is a two-person cook: fire management alone is a shift.
Sizing the hog for your crowd
A dressed hog serves about 40% of its weight as meat once the bone frame, skin, and render come off – so a 100 lb hog feeds roughly 100 people at a one-third-pound serving with sides, or 65-70 people where the pork is the whole show. The calculator above does this backward from your headcount. Order dressed and split from your butcher a week ahead; ask for the hog “packer style” (butterflied, backbone cracked) if your pit is a flat grate.
Pit, fire, and the long night
You need real estate: a 100 lb hog wants roughly a 5-foot cooking surface – a cinder-block pit, an offset with a warming rack removed, or a rented hog cooker. Burn wood down to coals in a barrel and shovel them in around the perimeter, never directly under the hog; add a shovel-full every 30 to 45 minutes per side. Mop after hour six, wrap the ears and snout in foil when they color early, and keep a spray bottle for flare-ups. Rest the whole animal 45 minutes under butcher paper before you pick it.
Catering a pig roast
Whole hog IS an event, which makes it a catering product as much as a cook. Our catering calculator carries whole hog with its real yield chain and timing, so you can quote a pig roast – meat cost, the two-person labor reality, fuel for a 15-hour fire, transport hold – and price it to a margin instead of a guess.
FAQ
How long does it take to smoke a whole hog?
About 9 minutes per pound of dressed weight at 250°F: roughly 11-12 hours for a 75 lb hog, 15 hours for a 100 pounder, and up to 18 for 120 lb. Pull when the hams and shoulders probe 195-205°F.
How big a hog do I need for 100 people?
A 100 lb dressed hog – it yields about 40 lb of served meat, which covers 100 guests at a hearty third-pound serving alongside sides. If pork is the only protein, size up to 120-140 lb or add shoulders to the pit.
Do you smoke a whole hog skin-up or skin-down?
Most of the cook runs belly-up (skin-down) to shield the lean loin and catch rendering fat. Flip or finish skin-up near the end only if you want blistered skin – and expect some drama in the flip; two people and a second grate make it safe.
What temperature do you cook a whole hog at?
250°F is the working standard – hot enough to render a big animal in a long day, gentle enough not to scorch the extremities. Wrap ears and snout in foil when they darken early, and run the hams to 195-205°F for clean pulling.
Times & temperatures
| Style | Method | Pit temp | Approx time | Pull / done temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Hog (Splayed) | Slow and Low | 250°F / 121°C | ~9 min/lb | 195°F / 91°C |
| Whole Hog (Splayed) | Hot and Fast | 300°F / 149°C | ~6.5 min/lb | 195°F / 91°C |
📊 See the full smoking times & temps chart for every cut →
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How much whole hog should you buy?
Set your headcount and we work backward through trim and cook loss to the raw weight to put in the cart.
Fine-tune trim & cook loss
Lost to trim: - · lost to the cook: -
Written by John Kirker, who built the first meat smoking calculator in 2011. Times come from cooks we have actually run and logged; temperature and feel decide the finish, never the clock alone.
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