Directions

1. To prepare, lay the whole hog on its back on a flat table. With a small pair of handheld pruning shears, cut each rib bone as close to the spine as possible. This allows the hog to be spread out and lay flat (butterfly). When a hog is “butterflied” like this, it reduces the cooking time, enables each piece of meat to be cooked evenly, and makes seasoning the meat easier and uniform. With a sharp knife, score the top of each ham and shoulder with a cut about 1 inch deep to allow better heat penetration.
2. Season the belly of the hog with 2 cups of the dry rub (mixed from all the seasonings in ingredients). Work the rub into all crevices and make sure that all exposed meat is seasoned thoroughly.
3. Flip the hog over so that the skin is facing up. Coat the skin with olive oil. This helps generate a beautiful mahogany skin color during the cooking process.