Pig Roast this weekend.

Hey guys, I'm officiating an outdoor pig roast this weekend. The pig I'm cooking will be around 30lbs. I was thinking of using this set up for the pig: http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

Since the pig will only be 30lbs, should I still butterfly it open and press it between something? Or, should I spit it?

Anyone have any tips on how to cook it better? Anything I should avoid? How about a marinade/rub? I'll be drinking Burgundy with it...

This is my first time, and besides not wanting to throw away $130, if I screw it up it might be my rump over the coals

Thanks,
Joe

I used Chef Carey's Dry Rub & BBQ Sauce recipes on 2 occasions within the past 3 weeks on pork ribs and highly recommend it. There is a thread from May 24 that I started regarding it. I did over 40 lbs of ribs at one and 15 at the other, so the recipe should be more than enough for a 30 lb. pig. Here is a link:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/vil ... php?t=1283

Also view the pictures that were posted regarding NiagaraCOOL, showing me cooking the ribs (cough, cough).

Sorry, I've never cooked a whole pig, so I can't help with any of the cooking details.

Hey guys, I'm officiating an outdoor pig roast this weekend. The pig I'm cooking will be around 30lbs. I was thinking of using this set up for the pig: http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

Since the pig will only be 30lbs, should I still butterfly it open and press it between something? Or, should I spit it?

Anyone have any tips on how to cook it better? Anything I should avoid? How about a marinade/rub? I'll be drinking Burgundy with it...

This is my first time, and besides not wanting to throw away $130, if I screw it up it might be my rump over the coals

Thanks,
Joe

That's not a pig! That's a baby! Ripping them out of the womb? The average pig we cook whole weighs in at a minimum of 120 pounds! And I have cooked 170 pound pigs. The wine's fine.

Hey guys, I'm officiating an outdoor pig roast this weekend. The pig I'm cooking will be around 30lbs. I was thinking of using this set up for the pig: http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

Since the pig will only be 30lbs, should I still butterfly it open and press it between something? Or, should I spit it?

Anyone have any tips on how to cook it better? Anything I should avoid? How about a marinade/rub? I'll be drinking Burgundy with it...

This is my first time, and besides not wanting to throw away $130, if I screw it up it might be my rump over the coals

Thanks,
Joe

I just looked at your link. These people are pig-cooking weenies! There are hundreds of folks who handle the 140-pound plus pigs ever year at the Memphis in May contest. So do Hawaiians on a regular basis. And the occasional Irish-American like me.

I've done several luaus with pigs (kalua pigs) this size and a bunch more of the same size with a "barbecue-style" set up. You need chicken wire to turn the pig, on both sides. Any two people of average strength may then turn the pig over.

You do not need to split an infant like that. Also, if you are paying $130.00 for a 30-pound pig, I would look for a new source for pig acquisition.

Thanks Chef.

You seem to have lot of experience with big pigs! So, your advice to me is not to split the baby pig?

The ones we've done have been quite a bit larger as well. We've brined but never used a rub or sauce. They've come out quite well. We've split ours, but I would defer to Chef on what to do with a 30-pounder. Should go fairly quickly and easily, though!

Mike

I would stuff it and cook it whole on a spit.

Carl, what would you stuff it with? Just the basics, or...?

Should I brine the pig?

Carl, what would you stuff it with? Just the basics, or...?

This is your big chance - stuff the pig - inside a sheep. Stuff a turkey inside the pig and a chicken followed by some game hens - voila - Ukrainian Christmas BBQ (I've seen this done - North African? - and it works well)

Apples and onions. Shouldn't take too many for a 30 lb piglet.

Joe, you need to borrow my Kamado smoker/cooker. Charcoal with the convenience of gas or even electricity. If I were cooking it I would put in a load of charcoal, set the BBQ Guru to 210 degrees and the internal meat temp to 195 degrees and go to bed and forget it. 20 hours after I put the pig on to cook, I would go take it off. Simple as that. Buy a Kamado! Seriously I have some aged zin we could try with the pig!

Joe,

Two years ago we got a whole lamb (minus head), and simply roasted it over a fire of oak and hickory wood on a spit. It was at least 45 lbs I think (the memory fades, but it filled the entire space of the bottom of my refrigerator [took out the bottom shelf and the crisper drawers]; got it the day before we were cooking).

Anyway, while it was opened through the tummy, we did not splay it open as the pig in that website was. And, our spit was turned by hand (we did quarter turns every half hour or so).

What nearly caught us is that we almost didn't figure enough time to get it to proper temp at its thickest points.

But, we simply had a shallow pit that we dug in my backyard, put the sucker on the spit, and began to roast. Added wood as needed. Luckily, my friend is used to cooking over wood fires so was able to keep from getting it too hot which would have burned the outside before penetrating into the meat. But, hot enough to cook.

As we got into the afternoon and began to worry about internal temps, we bagan to 'tent' the lamb with some extra heavy duty foil that I had, which I'm sure helped to speed the cooking a bit.

As for preparation, I think we lightly rubbed some olive oil across the carcass and lightly salted/peppered, but nothing else. We didn't baste it, nor did we have a drip pan underneath.

Anyway, once we got it to appropriate temperature (after dodging the heavy raindrops of a passing thunderstorm), we allowed it to sit a few minutes before carving. But, as our dinner was a little bit of time past when we hoped to be serving, we didn't let it sit as long as we probably would have.

Then, 25 of us committed ourselves to devouring the results. Fan - damn - tabulous. But, we were left with almost no leftovers! Horrors! I expected to have lamb for at least a few days.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat (we got a deal on the lamb... locally farmed). One desire would be to create a largish and appropriately tall slanted tin roof of sorts over the area that I would cook since we are prone to showers here. And, perhaps have expanded slightly the size of the pit (and hence fire) since we did not create tall "walls" or such to help trap the heat.

Good Luck!

Mike

>Two years ago we got a whole lamb (minus head), and simply roasted it over a fire of oak and hickory wood on a spit. It was at least 45 lbs I think (the memory fades, but it filled the entire space of the bottom of my refrigerator [took out the bottom shelf and the crisper drawers]; got it the day before we were cooking).

You say minus head. I must, though you don't mention it, assume it was also minus fleece and eviscerated. I mention this fine point because several years ago I did a series of monthly wine dinners with my good friend Denis Kelly. He did most of the wine stuff and I did most of the food stuff.

I decided I wanted to spit-roast some kids (no, not that kind, although I have felt like eviscerating and roasting *my* kids on several occasions.) I waited to see how many reservations came in and I ordered the kid. I picked it up and hung it in my walk-in.

Apparently a bunch of people wanted to roast kids - or at least eat them after they had been roasted. I got about 30 late reservations. I saw I wasn't going to have enough food. Called my kid guy and asked him if he had another slaughtered and, if so, could I have it. He said, "Yah, but..." I said fine I'll be there in 30 minutes.

Guess I should have waited for the part after the "but" - at least I would have been ready for what I found. I found a dead kid. Head on, guts in, hairy skin intact. He said he had waited for me and now had to leave immediately (it was late Friday afternoon) and I would have to deal with it.

Took it back and hung it in my gazebo behind my restaurant, put a sheet of plastic down and went at it. Skinned it, gutted it, decapitated it. It was a mess.

Gave me an appreciation for those who do this sort of thing on a regular basis. (During this same era I also performed all those functions on a deer on a fella's kitchen table. He wanted to watch.)

Anyway, the dinner went well and folks loved their kids.

Chef,

Yup, your're correct. All fixed up for us mere mortals not used to doing the Mike Filigenzi methodology (and your 'kid' experience).

Although I've never gutted an animal for eats, I certainly have (like you) a significant appreciation for the folks who do it for a living. Ours was fixed up by a few Nigerian ex-patriats who have settled in our area. They did a marvelous job, and our entire expense was (what we thought) rather minimal for the joy of the meal.

How did you do your cooking? Roast in the oven (since you probably have ovens of proper size)?

Thanks,

Mike

Chef,

Yup, your're correct. All fixed up for us mere mortals not used to doing the Mike Filigenzi methodology (and your 'kid' experience).

Although I've never gutted an animal for eats, I certainly have (like you) a significant appreciation for the folks who do it for a living. Ours was fixed up by a few Nigerian ex-patriats who have settled in our area. They did a marvelous job, and our entire expense was (what we thought) rather minimal for the joy of the meal.

How did you do your cooking? Roast in the oven (since you probably have ovens of proper size)?

Thanks,

Mike

Roasted them outside on a spit. Made a fire pit with concrete blocks - first I burned down some mesquite wood, then and piled charcoal on top of it along either side leaving a trough down the middle. Worked well.

Chef,

Bet it was very good. Have thought about the creating of a layer or two of a wall with come concerte blocks for the next time.


So Joe, how did things come out? At least I'm curious!


Thanks,

Mike

You'll have to wait for the notes, Mike