AUSTIN, Texas — Roasting a whole pig will produce dozens of pounds of juicy meat and an atmosphere as memorable as the food, but doing so requires some heavy lifting and knowledge about indirect heat and large animals.
Ral Musibay, co-author of the book "Three Cuban Guys in Miami Cook Cuban" and the Web site icuban.com, says the most important preparation is to marinate the pork. He uses his wife's recipe for mojo and applies it the day before. He also recommends keeping the pig several feet above the heat source to keep the pig from cooking too fast.
Chef Jason Dady says you can cover the more delicate areas of the pig, such as the ribs and tenderloin, with aluminum foil to keep them from getting too cooked. "The most important part is to get that outside skin as dark as you can without burning it," he says.
As for seasoning, Dady recommends brining the pig in salt water if you have the tools to do so, but if you can't, just rub salt and black pepper on the skin. "The great thing is you can add anything you want," he says, from toasted coriander or toasted cumin to marinades or fruit juices. (He likes the Goya brand of tropical fruit juices such as guava, pineapple and passion fruit to baste with during cooking.)
he best pigs are 60 to 120 pounds. An 80-pound pig will feed at least 60 people. Ask the butcher to clean it and remove the skin, but leave on the head and feet.
Here are a few of the many ways you can roast the pig.
Open pit: You can roast a pig over just about any fire pit, as long as the pig is elevated above the coals.
Closed pit: Dig a pit in the ground for the coals and the pig and cover it.
Concrete block pit: Build a box with concrete blocks and place the pig on top.
Caja china: These commercially made roasters act as an oven for the pig, with charcoal or wood on top of the box heating the inside of the container.
For detailed information about each method, check out some of the links below:
cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html
lacajachina.com
http://tr.im/pM5D
Addie Broyles writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: abroyles(at)statesman.com.