4th of July 100 Pound Pig Roast

Mom and Dad decided to come up from Yuma, Arizona to visit all of us children over the 4th of July. All the way to Raymond, Washington and Port Orchard. I wanted to make this a trip they wouldn't forget in a long time so my sister and I discussed having a pig roast. Why not? Now, I have never done a pig roast but just how hard could it be?

Actually, figuring out HOW I wanted to roast the pig turned into a huge event. There is roasting the pig underground, like a Hawaiin tradition, roasting a pig using a rotiserrie over a spit, rotisserrie in a LARGE BBQ, just sitting in a large BBQ using indirect heat, or using a La Caja grill. All methods required 15 to 18 hours of cooking time EXCEPT the La Caja grill. Well, I didn't own a La Caja grill BUT I watched Bobby Flay use one on the FoodNetwork show one night a little while ago. I got onto the internet, looked up La Caja and there it was. . .the grill on wheels. After working for 3 weeks on how I was going to grill this pig and asking everyone that I found having experience, I really wanted to have this part of research over with so that we could get down to the nitty gritty on what was going to be added to the pig for flavoring. The whole process looked so easy. The rack to cinch the pig down ahead of time is already there and because the pig is laid open and squeezed as thin as possible, cooking time is dropped drastically. Since the pig is being roasted at my sister's house, 2 hours away, I really didn't want to take 2 days to BBQ. So I ordered the grill, coming out of Florida, and in 1 and 1/2 weeks, there it was, on my doorstep in pieces. Hubby put the grill together and I ordered the pig.

Farmer George is a local butcher shop in downtown Port Orchard and the butchers are used to dressing out pigs on a regular basis. In fact, pig roasting around here is pretty popular. Who knew? Well, now I am added to the list. By using the La Caja for cooking the pig, I no longer had to worry about what I was filling the empty stomach cavity with ~ so the stomach didn't cave in on itself during the final stages of cooking. A dry rub is all that is necessary, although many pros also inject a marinade. Piggy was picked up the night before, spine was split using a cleaver and hammer so the pig would lay flat, and olive oil along with a dry rub was adhered. Everything was put onto ice and chilled overnight and for the 2 hour drive down to Raymond. For future reference, a 100 pound pig gives 40 pounds of meat. The rest is carcass, head, and the innards before the butcher cleans the pig out.

Once down at Rachel's house, the fun begins. The pig is taken out of the body bag, laid out on the table and cinched down between 2 metal racks so that the whole pig can fit into the La Caja grill. This is the hardest part to the process. My hubby and brother-in-law are working on the process here in the picture. Did we mention learning curve?




The weather is drizzily, which does not do well for gathering outside and socializing. Mom is hiding out under the tarp.






Yay! The pig is cinched down and now everyone was worried about whether the pig would fit into the box or not. Feet and head are stiff so flexibility is limited. Also, the pig is at maximum weight for the grill. . .and maybe the pig is freakishly long for it's weight =D!



Nope, piggy slipped right into the box. Head, feet, and tail are all covered with aluminum so that each part does not turn black. My first learning experience is just around the corner. You see, the dry rub I used had a LOT of brown sugar in it and when the charcoal got hot, the brown sugar blackened the pig's skin. Scared the majeebees out of me. I thought I ruined the pig right off the get go. The pig was fine, just the skin got black but the meat was perfect in the end.

The weather rained off and on so the charcoal had to be kept under a tarp. What a pain in the butt.





The directions on the grill stated that 12 pounds of charcoal needed to be lit to get the cooking process started. We put a thermometer through the side of the grill to measure the inside temperature and after lighting 10 pounds of charcoal, the temperature was 500 degrees! My sugar based dry rub blackened instantly on one side of the pig! Next time, I will use less sugar AND cover the whole pig in foil until close to the end. Then uncover the pig to get the skin brown.

To flip the pig over, the charcoal tray has to be lifted off first. Then flipping the pig is a two-person process.







5 hours later, the pig is done. I was hurrying, trying to get all the blackened skin off before anyone started taking pictures. I didn't want my first cooking event scaring the heck out of onlookers =D. See, the meat is perfect under the skin.

Dad and family friend are supervising.








The rest of the group starts jumping in to help strip the meat off of the carcass. We had one expert pig carver present and he saved my bacon (pun intended =D). I would still be there pulling pork off the bones if the gentlemen in suspenders was not there showing me how it is done. I think he had the whole pig dissected in about 30 minutes. Then it was all about pulling pork off of individual bone pieces. No biggie.

I left the head and hoped I could later figure out what to do with it. I was soon to find out that there is a LOT of tender meat on piggy's head!





Everyone else left to clean themselves up and I am here to finish cleaning the pork off of the bones. What a job. Tomorrow, I will let everyone know what I did with all the meat with recipes and pictures to go with. Also, I will include food that I made here at the BBQ. I had a blast but I was so TIRED after the whole thing was done.





Comments

Peter M said…
Shandy, this is a fantastic post...I saw a Cuban pig roast like this on TV and I was in awe and now you've got me gaping again!

Looks like friends and neighbors will be talking about this for years to come!
ChichaJo said…
If I could do this in my own backyard I would be in heaven! What an amazing celebration you must have had with that awesome looking roast pig!
Flourchild said…
Shandy,
I just love all of your photos! Thanks for sharing this. What a great time you had and a memory you will cherish forever!
Unknown said…
Shandy, my jaw is still on the floor! What a July 4th you had...no WONDER you're a bit tired after it all!! I remember pig roasts from my "youth" in MN - great stuff, and unbelievable flavor (I've only had them over an open pit on a spit - your method was a new one to me, but looks delicious). Your photos are your usual - excellent...great story to go along with them. Thank you for sharing your experience - I think we are all living vicariously through it, wishing we had been there, too!!
Krum
Anonymous said…
This site definitely has all of the info I needed about this subject
and didn't know who to ask.
Also visit my website : gagner de l'argent
Anonymous said…
What's up, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this blog post. It was inspiring. Keep on posting!
Also visit my homepage - join vidacup
Anonymous said…
After I originally commented I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I
recieve 4 emails with the same comment. Is there a way you are able to
remove me from that service? Kudos!
Feel free to visit my blog - cheap dr. dre pro headphones online
Anonymous said…
Hello there! Quick question that's completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone. I'm trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem.

If you have any recommendations, please share.
Appreciate it!
Also visit my blog post - Tony Mendoza
Anonymous said…
Malaysia & Singapore & brunei greatest internet blogshop for wholesale & supply korean add-ons, accessories, earstuds,
necklace, rings, hair, trinket & bracelet accessories. Promotion
35 % wholesale markdown. Ship Worldwide
My webpage ... brunei korean accessories shop
Anonymous said…
Malaysia & Singapore & brunei ultimate on the internet blogshop for wholesale & quantity korean add-ons, earrings, earstuds,
locket, rings, bracelet, bangle & hair add-ons.

Offer 35 % wholesale price cut. Ship Worldwide
Feel free to surf my web blog :: kawat stitching
Anonymous said…
Hi there this is kinda of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs
use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
I'm starting a blog soon but have no coding skills so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Feel free to surf my website ... click the next website page
Anonymous said…
Very good info. Lucky me I came across your site by accident (stumbleupon).
I have book-marked it for later!

My blog post: hot girl sex cam
Anonymous said…
This is a topic that's near to my heart... Cheers! Where are your contact details though?

Here is my weblog ... hotgirlsexcam.com
Anonymous said…
wonderful issues altogether, you simply won a emblem new reader.

What could you suggest in regards to your publish
that you just made some days ago? Any sure?

Here is my webpage :: video voyeur
Anonymous said…
When I originally commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox
and now each time a comment is added I get three e-mails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Bless you!

Also visit my web site; xxx-fuck.net
Anonymous said…
Keep on writing, great job!

Feel free to visit my site ... www.xxxmoviegalls.com
Anonymous said…
I like the helpful info you supply on your articles. I'll bookmark your weblog and check once more here regularly. I am moderately certain I'll learn many new stuff proper right here!
Good luck for the next!

My web blog http://www.cuteteenporn.net
Anonymous said…
Thank you for another fantastic post. The place else
could anybody get that type of info in such an ideal means of writing?
I've a presentation subsequent week, and I'm at the look for such information.


Also visit my web site; www.cfnmfever.net
Anonymous said…
We stumbled over here from a different web address and thought I
might check things out. I like what I see so i
am just following you. Look forward to finding out about your web
page again.

Here is my website :: www.babesflick.com
Unknown said…
Wow thank you very much for this creative content, this has really helped me a lot,specially first post of this site.
i was at this confused point in my Scrambler Method but after reading,this gave me more idea about how better my life could be.
Thank you very much for the effort and kindly keep posting something like this every time, it goes a long way to help people like us.
I also got help from another cool site Scrambler Method like your too called Perfect Scrambler Method which describes a lot about handling health. Thank you very much and I am gonna be here often.
Masud said…
I am a regular visitor of your blog. thanks for the information. Nice article. Flat Belly Overnight Reviews By Andrew Raposo is an outstanding tricks and tips to lose belly fat overnight.Flat Belly Overnight Program Reviews for who struggling with belly fat. Flat Belly Overnight system provide some trick to lose 2 pound belly fat by sleeping.
agen sbobet said…
Thank you....
I Like..
Judi Online Hbo365
Hbo365 Poker Online
Casino Online Hbo365
quotes4home said…
Shop from any USA online stores and Ship to your Doorstep anywhere in the world. We provide Free USA Address so you can shop from USA and Ship Internationally.

shop and ship
myus
us forwarding address
Aaban Raqib said…
Black Cobra 125 - (Sildenafil Citrate) 125mg - Original India Cobra Tablets in Urdu: Cobra tablets in Urdu are the tablets which are for the most part talked about subjects on web crawler these days because of its prominence. Cobra tablets ...
Shariful said…
Get real sugar mummy connections, Whatsapp numbers Here. Meet real sugar Momma and Daddy in USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa Here. rich sugar mummy online
fatima said…
WebnWays is a company providing professional-level website design and development solution, Web development, Brand designs, Mobile apps Development Full-featured online stores, Software development, SEO Services ,etc.
Seo experts Islamabad Pakistan
Seo services Islamabad Pakistan

Mobile apps development Islamabad Pakistan

Website development Islamabad Pakistan

Digital marketing Islamabad Pakistan

Popular Posts