John, Yes we put it in the freezer. It will last if you have a smoke house to leave it hanging in so that nothing can get to it. But when it starts warming up it will go bad. It will keep in the freezer for about 2 years without any difference in the taste .
Kelvin, Not to many questions at all. I enjoy shareing my experiances so others that don't have the means or facilities my have a chance to enjoy and learn or try it them selves. We kept the temp. at between 165 and 180 for 6 hours. You can smoke it up to 8 hours before it starts to try and dry out and shrink or over cook. Any temp over 185 is cooking and not smoking .
Monteria, No we do not trim the fat off. No reason to. If it is a far SOW and the fat is pretty and white it is as good as any you would buy. If the fat has a yellow tent to it then that means the hog is loosing weight and the fat " May " not be as good. If I were you i would keep all the fat on . We usually try and use a 25 or 30 percent fat to lean ratio .
Craig, 6 - 8 hours at 165 -180 degrees
Oh one more thing. Even the smoker was homemade by my dad .
Thanks for all the comments . I hope that this passes down some of the family traditons to my kids and grand kids.
