The Process: Part II

Two years ago, I blogged the process for roasting whole pigs.  It was a lot of work and takes a lot of prep (setting up, waiting, cooking, serving) but the end result is all worth the headache. Once that full pig is revealed to the masses present, everyone knows they are in for some good looking cooking.
     The whole pig roast was in jeopardy this year without the McDonald house as the place to cook.  With no definite location to host the usual grill set up, I traveled to J&J Packaging in Brookshire, Texas to place the order for a head, ribs, and shoulder.  Wouldn't you know a customer was passing a suckling pig into his car as I was arriving!  As I approached the door into their facilities, the urge to roast my own babe grew.  My usual Mexican friend was ready to greet me when I entered. "One cabeza" I started (clever Spanish I thought to myself)  "Two ribs and a shoulder," I continued.  Quickly, he explained they were out of ribs.  Feeling dejected, I threw a shot in the dark.  "Do you have any whole pigs?"  "Whole pigs? For roasting?" (You usually need to order whole pigs a week in advance.....) "yeah I have some," he says.  He brings me the smallest one they had, weighing in at 23 pounds.  The perfect pig! 

 ...Now, how to cook it......
     This year, with the help of a friend, I wanted to add some flare to the process.  It would be great if we could create something to allow us to cook a whole pig on the parade grounds where we tailgate for the LSU vs Arkansas game.  We figured a "new" grill is just what we needed.

     Enter my friend, Barton.  The guy is a modern MacGyver.  He had some things around his house to weld together to create our new "Grill Monster."  

 
After a lot of fandangling and nearly 5 hours on Thanksgiving night, the grill was complete.  It even tried to eat him!    
     Now back to the process, the pig needed to be seasoned and kept cold for a couple of days while we transported it to Baton Rouge, LA.  Thankfully the temperature never got above 50 degrees, so with some ice packs and bags, the pig stayed fresh!  I used my grandmother's recipe of adobo sauce from Puerto Rico (garlic, oregano, salt and pepper, and olive oil) and I added some cayenne pepper.  This creates a thick paste to spread onto our meat.

The longer this can marinate, the better.  Ours soaked up the sauce for a couple of days, and boy could we tell!  We arrived at our spot around 6:00am to get the pig on the grill by 6:30.  Grill Monster was one of the few grills (if not the only one) rolling this early on campus! The parade grounds looked like a frozen tundra with temperatures in the mid 20's.

We cooked the pig for 6 and a half hours at a temperature of about 325.  After the initial searing of the meat, we wrapped it in foil to prevent further "burning."  Once the cooking was complete, we let the pig rest for a little while.  (It was tired after all this)  The meat literally fell off the bones and was delicious.  Best pig yet.

The weather was beautiful and the game was exciting (a little more exciting than it probably should have been).  Talk about happy plates.  And happy LSU fans.

And a Happy Grill Monster.

Until the grill monster feeds again....

Happy Happy Happy Plates!

THE PROCESS

Warning:  These pictures may be disturbing to some viewers.  

     Ever have those moments in life where you challenge yourself to do something that some people view as outrageous?  I'm not talking about jumping out of airplanes or bungee jumping off bridges.  I'm thinking of feats in the kitchen (or backyard) that few will conquer.  After much research and contemplation, I decided I was going to roast a pig back in 2007.  5 years and 4 pigs later, I think we have THE PROCESS down.  

     Below are some pictures from this past weekend's pig roast.  My hope is these will challenge you to think outside the box and try something new this week.  Whether it be another culture's cuisine or your neighbor's nachos, get out there and eat something you might usually pass up!       

the tools

43 pound pig.  note: you have to cut the backbone in order for the pigs to lay flat

cutting the backbone.  Place the knife on the vertebrae and gently hit it with the hammer.  Follow this all the way down the spine. 

For this pig, I used a mango/habañero injection 

Be sure to inject this stuff all up inside the pig

post injection, I used a garlic/oregano/cumin/salt/pepper rub to seal in the juices

      After your pig has been injected and rubbed down, give it some time to soak up all the flavors.  My pig sat in an ice-chest on top of some freezer packs for approximately 18 hours.  The freezer packs work really well because- unlike ice- when they melt, they do not get the pig wet and soggy.

     Our family celebrated Thanksgiving in Baton Rouge this year.  So we packed up the family van (pig and all) and made our way east.  My cousin Margaret cooked the food and it was good; just wish we had more!  It was a blessing to spend time with the relatives!

stuff...but no stuffing :(

       Once the family meal was over, my next set of business was upon me; ROAST THE PIG!  Pictures continue the story...

using the leftover rub, I created a basting sauce with mostly butter and some other secrets...

sorry for the dark pic, but here is our cinder block pit.  It has been adjusted over the years, but this seemed to work the best

Barton made me this cage to hold the pig while it cooked.  it eliminated the need for a grate and worked really well as a double sided grill top/holder

Coals underneath and coals on top.  we transferred the coals from the top to bottom while flipping the pig; every 2 hours on average.

this is the pig after 9 hours of roasting. We tried to get it out to the tailgate in one piece, but it completely fell apart.  Exactly what we set out to accomplish.

good job razorbacks...it was a true pig hunt!

Andrew, Barton and Me.  Pig head on a stick- Lord of the Flies style...this created quite a buzz!

      Overall, the pig was by far the best one we've cooked.  Weekend in a nut shell:  Thanksgiving celebration, successful pig roast, LSU dominated after a 14-0 start, celebrated Biscuit's birthday, watched a lot of football, and enjoyed the small things in life.

the weekend tired him out!

Happy Plates!