Sorry for the delay. I can't seem to copy and post Joe's pics but I'll try to link
them. Thats a nice rig Joe.
Below is a copy of Jennifer"s mail and Joe's response.
Hi Joe,
Thanks so much for being willing to give me some advice. Sounds like you sure know how to roast a whole pig!!
I'm excited to be in charge of making a pig roast for our neighborhood party, but after seeing everything that went wrong over the weekend, I started to get worried. The questions I posted on the site are these:
1. Should the pig have been skinned first?
2. Obviously 7-8 hours wasn't long enough for this cook - what is the norm for a 75 pounder?
3. About 30 lbs of briquettes were used, and they looked to be burning okay. Was this enough?
4. I looked closely at the pit. The coals were on a sheet of expanded metal over an area of dug up grass. Then the concrete bricks were built up around it. Drip trays went in a line down the middle. Is there anything else that could have improved this pit?
5. The pig was cooked facing down - skin on top. Is this the best way?
6. Is it a good idea to inject a pig with brine for a whole hog cook? This one wasn't injected or rubbed.
Our neighborhood party usually kicks off pretty early and the babysitters take the little kids to bed around 7pm. So, my pig will need to be ready to eat some time between 5-6pm. I'm assuming it'll take a while to rest it and cut it up. I'll be doing the cutting and chopping myself, too, so any tips about that would also be welcome. I have a good set of sharp knives - do I need anything else?
One thing I thought about was cutting off some skin to make crackling. I usually make that in my oven. But if the skin should stay on the pig for best results, it's easy to buy a separate skin roll from the local butcher.
Thanks for your help!
Jennifer
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Hi...
First of all I use a large rotisserie, homemade from salvaged material. I find that rotissing the hog keeps it moister since the pig is sewn "shut" and the internal juices remain within the hog. It takes about 5-1/2 hours to cook the hog over coals. The placement of the fire is very improtant since the hog has thicker regions, shoulders and hind quarters as opposed to the belly portons.
In regards to your questions:
1.) The hog is scalded and the hair is scraped off mechanically or hand.
2.) Using a rotisserie and with good fire management I do a 120 pounder in under 6 hours to cook the hog completely.
3.) I use seasoned wood; alder, maple or mesquite. For "fine tuning" the coals I will use about 20 lbs of charcoal.
4.) The pit you described would work provided if proper fire management itakes place. The set-up you described is very similar to the Cuban way of roasting a whole hog.
5.) I would cook the hog skin up for at least 2/3 of the time then turn it over.
6.) I don't inject the hogs, I just use table or sea salt and sometimes stuff with "lemon grass", a very fragrant asian spice.
The method I use is very different from the method used in the roast that "did not turn out". You can make a simple rotisserie from 1-1/4" diameter galvanized pipe and use a scrapped steering wheel as the "turner."
I am sending you several pics of my set-up. There are several manufacturers of hog rotisseries but in my opinion they seem to be over priced. You can "Google" for info also some one replied to you re: "LaCajaChina" website. It is a good system that works and the method you describe replicates somewhat this method.
Look over the pics and I know you will have some other questions. I will be glad to answer them...
joe