Learn how to cook a whole hog and throw a legendary BBQ party in one day!
Masters Class
Ready to Up Your BBQ Game?
Even if you are not interested in cooking a whole hog, you will have a blast watching students do it, and maybe you will change your mind once you see our simplified method that takes only 8 hours from start to finish. Plus you can invite your friends to help us eat it at our end-of-day banquet.
There is a lot more to the class that will help every serious BBQ cook up their game.
And finally, if you are going to be cooking for a group or event you need a plan and our manual has a very comprehensive guide to do just that.
TIP: To save time and money you can always cook one or two 15-30 lb. suckling pigs as shown here—->
Don’t have a smoker? Borrow or rent one, or have fun building this dry-stack cinder block smoker like the one above. You will get to see how great it cooks because we will be using it in class.
Start small if you like by cooking piglet(s) using our methods.
Class is in session
Pitmaster Don and Professor Pete discuss where to go for a drink after class.
Let prep some extra pork butts in case they eat up the entire hog
Butts are ready to foil
Chef Tim goes over the up-scale sides he created just for this class
Students working on sides
Cast-iron corn bread is always a hit
Vegies to be lightly smoked read to go in smoker
Our professional mixologists showing the how to make the batch cocktails they invented for this class
Our sommelier and professor Dave go over what wines pair with BBQ.
Time to rotate Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is done and it's only 3:00 PM
Professor Pete and Chef Katherine show how to dress up Miss Piggy to go on stage
And here is the star of the show - Miss Piggy
Chef Katherine cuts a flap opposite the serving line so she can leave Miss Piggy looking her best for our guests
I want the ribs
Hungry student demolish the sides and Miss Piggy. Good thing we cooked some extra pork butts.
Professor Rick digs thru the left overs.
Class Overview
7:15 am - Upon your arrival, we will give you a step-by-step illustrated manual can use to follow along with our instructions and take home. We will also give you an apron to wear apron because you are going to need it. Next, proceed to our hot our hot breakfast buffet.
7:30 am - Class will begin with us demonstrating how to prepare a 60-65 lb. whole hog. You can watch on our BBQ cam and we will be discussing not only what to do but also the rationale behind each step - very important.
9:00 am - Move hog to our dry-stacked cinder block smoker.
9:15 am - Prepare pork butts to be used to supplement hog (this is a caterer’s trick) and move to trailer smoker.
9:45 am - Prepare lunch items, lectures on wine pairing and making your own sauces/rubs, sauce-making lab,
11:30 pm - Lunch break
12:30 pm - Prepare and cook sides for the evening banquet
3:00 pm - Lectures on cooking ahead, storing and reheating meats, planning and conducting a BBQ event, and other need-to-know topics.
4:00 pm - Pull pork butts, dress up Miss Piggy, and prepare for banquet.
4:30 pm - Lecture on preparing batch cocktails. What, you don’t have to make cocktails one-by-one?
5:00 pm - Cocktail hour begins, and those who have met our strict academic standards will receive a frame-worthy diploma.
5:30 pm - Banquet service begins for students and their guests.
WHAT YOU LEARN
How to:
plan, promote, and conduct a successful BBQ event.
cook ahead, store, and re-heat BBQ meats and sides thus taking much of the risk out of putting on an event.
determine how much food to prepare
properly set up a serving line
control portions so you don’t run out
find help for your event
prepare, cook, and serve a whole hog or piglets
prepare and cook a variety of unique and delicious side items that were developed just for this class by professional chefs
prepare and serve batch cocktails created by our mixologist. (Yes, you don’t have to make cocktails one at a time when you use our recipes)
pair wines with BBQ
develop your own sauces from scratch or “doctor” bottled sauces (there is no shame in going this route).
WHAT YOU GET
• 10 hours of hands-on instruction
• Step-by-step illustrated manual containing what you learn in class. We teach out of this manual so you can follow along and take notes.
• Recipes for rubs, sauces, injections, and crowd-tested sides, and batch cocktails
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Invite a guest to the end of day whole-hog banquet.
• Diploma, worthy of framing
• Southern Thunder Cooking School of BBQ apron
• Life-long skills that will make you a master BBQ pitmaster.
WHAT TO EXPECT
We think you will find cooking a whole hog a less daunting task than you thought. In addition to cooking skills, we will cover other topics you need to know to plan and conduct a successful event. Armed with this information you will discover putting on your own BBQ banquet is fun and rewarding. There will be plenty of time to interact with us instructors and our pitmaster, and ask questions. We guarantee you will have a lot of fun and probably make some new friends.