Cooking a whole steer?????

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Bigfoot

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Where having a little function at the Cowboy Church in April. We've got a 500-550 pound grass fed Jersey steer. We'd like to cook the whole thing. I have cooked a whole hog before. I used to have a mobil pit, that cooked with indirect heat. Using that, big pieces of meat weren't a problem. I loaned it to gentlemen, and he moved and took it with him.

Two schools of thought:
1. Break the carcass down, and cook it on electric smokers (my preference)

2. Cook rotisserie style, over a bed of coals. (I'll have to build this)

What idea you got?
 
M-5":1hc5qse7 said:
Will it be aged?? If not that's a good way to solve the problem with cook outs. No one will come back again.

If we slaughter it, there won't be any aging. I'd get it slaughtered at a slaughter house, just to age it. All plans aren't made yet though.
 
slick4591":um0ce8zg said:
My first thought. Of course I've never done a whole one.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/cDWVwEkCdO4[/youtube]

I saw either a sheep, or a goat cooked that way once. I wasn't in on the cooking though, it was in a campground I was visiting. I do remember it was between two pieces of chain link fence. They didn't have a sheet of tin behind it reflecting heat, they spun it every now and then.
 
My fear would be it takes six times to get one done right. Sounds like this will be a one & done.

I sure want to hear how it goes. I have tried to find examples of cooking a whole beef like you see in the old cowboy movies. I came to the conclusion it is a myth.
 
HDRider":2jxx5m95 said:
My fear would be it takes six times to get one done right. Sounds like this will be a one & done.

I sure want to hear how it goes. I have tried to find examples of cooking a whole beef like you see in the old cowboy movies. I came to the conclusion it is a myth.

That old western image is what people want to achieve. I think it'll be hard to do, and require a lot of shoveling coals. I'm all for breaking the carcass down, and putting it in several different electric smokers. Should be fool proof, and if one were to fail, it would ruin the meal. The other way is one, and done.
 
This is what I'd do.. You can cook to the degree you want, break it down and get that cowboy feel..

asadoalaestaca.jpeg
 
Leaning seems to be a part of that type of cooking. I guess it's the only way to cook evenly.
 
Whole steer on a spit. Used half a 250 gallon propane tank for the pit. Made the spit out of a piece of pipe. Used hickory wood for lots of coals. You need the fire going well in advance so you are cooking on coals.
 

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