From Punxsutawney to Pulled Pork: A Wyoming Chef’s Guide to ‘Whistle Pig’ Barbecue

Every February, a single groundhog in Pennsylvania holds the nation’s attention, forecasting the weather from his burrow. But for a select group of adventurous Wyomingites, this time of year sparks a different question: what if that plump marmot wasn’t just a prognosticator, but dinner? For those curious about transforming ‘whistle pigs’ into a meal, one of Wyoming’s top barbecue masters has a simple prescription: treat it like pork and smoke it low and slow.

The Chef’s Smoker Secret
Ric Schuyler, the proprietor of the renowned Pokey’s BBQ in Gillette, has cooked everything from raccoon to muskrat. When posed with the hypothetical of preparing a groundhog, his professional instincts kicked in immediately. “I’ll smoke anything once, twice if I like it,” Schuyler declared. While he’s never had a groundhog on his smoker grates, he’s certain of the best approach.

His method mirrors that of a tough pork shoulder. The key, he explains, is the “stall”—the period around 160 degrees Fahrenheit where the meat’s connective tissue slowly breaks down. “The longer you can keep meat in that stall, the more it breaks down… and the more tender the end product will be,” Schuyler said. His final, emphatic piece of advice? “Use lots of ketchup.”

A Firsthand Taste of ‘Rock Chuck’
The culinary question isn’t purely theoretical for everyone. Cowboy State Daily reporter Mark Heinz has firsthand experience. As a teenager on a Montana backpacking trip, he shot a “rock chuck”—the Western term for groundhog—after his father insisted, “If you shoot it, we’re going to eat it.”

The group skinned the animal, put it on a spit, and slow-roasted it over their campfire, basting it with barbecue sauce. “It wasn’t half bad and tasted vaguely like chicken,” Heinz recalled. When he told Schuyler the story, the chef laughed but approved of the technique. “Cooking it over a campfire, that’s pretty much like smoking it,” Schuyler said, even extending an invitation for a future, more controlled smokehouse experiment.

The Practicalities of a Groundhog Feast
Beyond the technique, practical questions remain. When would a groundhog be at its prime for eating? Schuyler mused that a fall animal, fattened from a summer of foraging, might be ideal. Alternatively, a late-spring groundhog that has had a month or two to regain its winter weight could also be succulent.

Whether anyone will take the chef up on his offer for a collaborative groundhog cook-off remains to be seen. But for those seeking the ultimate Groundhog Day celebration that goes beyond watching for a shadow, the path forward is now clear: a reliable smoker, a good pork rub, and perhaps a healthy dose of curiosity and ketchup.