La Caja China


 
Bill Freiberger

Bill Freiberger

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I know that this isn't really grilling, but because there's no smoke it's not barbecuing either. I didn't know where to post this, so I made the random choice that this page would do.

On Father's Day, I picked up a used La Caja China from Craigslist. I've wanted one for a while, but I'm not a big fan of paying list price. Especially for something that I may only use once or twice a year. I have a lot of cookers, but none will do a whole pig, and that's the next thing I want to try. So, I've been searching Craigslist for a couple of years. After several near misses, I finally found one and picked it up.

Since a whole pig is very expensive and I've never used this kind of thing before I thought a test run would be in order. So, I pulled a pork shoulder out of the freezer, thawed it, injected it and cooked it on La Caja China for the 4th. Here are some pics. Click the thumbnail for a larger picture.

Here I am tending to the coals.



Here's the pattern I used for the coals since I was only cooking 10lbs of meat.



The finished pork shoulder.



And here's a close up.



All in all, the guests and I were pretty pleased with the results. One or two more test runs and then I'll be cooking a whole pig.

Bill
 
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Now that's a cooker that you don't see at every house on the block. I would like to try a whole pig sometime.
Enjoy the La Caja Bill!
 
Nice very nice! When you cook that whole pig you prolly need some addl kalifornians to assist :)
 
I will indeed need some help with it since my wife has already told me she won't be involved. She's not a big fan of foods that look the same cooked as they did when they were alive.

Bill
 
very nice! i know those are pretty popular in south florida, don't think i've gotten to try anything made on one yet, looks good! now onto the whole hog!
 
Nice find Bill. I've always wanted one since I saw them on "Throwdown" with Bobby Flay many years ago.



It just doesn't seem like it could work, really. It seems like all the heat just wisps off over the top. Enough heat to cook really radiates downward?

Can you describe its construction? The sides look like they are plywood, right? Is there insulation between the inside metal box (aluminum?)and the wood? I just have a hard time believing that enough heat radiates downward, yet it still stays cool enough not to scorch the plywood (or to melt the glue that holds each ply together).



Is yours the small one (70lbs) or big one (100lbs)? Warren Demontague can't be more than about 45 or 50lbs right? He'd fit right in there. He still owes me money.
 
Darrel,

There's a piece of metal on each playwood wall (as well as the top and bottom) which, I assume reflects the heat around the box and protects the wood. I don't think there's any other insulation built into it. I don't know how hot it gets inside, but it did cook the pork shoulder in 4 1/2 hours so I guess the thing works as advertised.

I got the small one, but there's room inside for not only Warren, but Greg the Bunny and Count Blah as well.

Bill
 
I've read about a couple of methods to get smoke flavor but I have plenty of smokers. This is a different kind of cooker so my plan is to use it without smoke for now.

Bill
 
Awesome! Don't wait to try the whole pig. Some friends and I went in on one for our camp up in the UP of Michigan. We did a whole hog, it was absolutely amazing. Didn't even get it into the cabin, after we took it out, we all just stood around and ate. Their instructions are really easy.

IMG_2823 by clasko2596, on Flickr
 
I went to a pickin' that used one. It seemed pretty straightforward.

20131013_145455.jpg
 
T Perkins said:
Is there any way to get smoke inside the box for a smoky flavor to the meat?
Click to expand...

La Caja China sells a Smoke Pistol as an add-on, and I've read where folks are using the A-Maze-N Tube or the Tray inside the box for added smoke. I've even seen an LCC with a Char-Griller side firebox modification. Check out their Facebook page.

I got a Smoke Daddy Big Kahuna cold smoke generator, but haven't pulled the plug on installing it yet.
 
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