Suckling Pig

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windward

Forager
Sep 28, 2006
192
0
62
Edinburgh
Has anyone here done a suckling pig? I'm helping to arrange a BBQ in June and was hoping to do something over an open fire like a pig or lamb. It's for a group of 60. How long would a pig take to cook that way?

Any other suggestions?

Vince
 

Damascus

Native
Dec 3, 2005
1,674
203
66
Norwich
Contact your local butcher and get him to get you one or better still, I have in the past got him to make up a joint of pork rolled for the spit. This works out cheaper and you get more meat for your money as its easy to carve up.

As for cooking times serveral hours, is the best description depends on the size of the meat again speak with your butcher he will give you a good cook time.

Hope this is some help.

D:beerchug:
 
May 12, 2007
1,663
1
69
Derby, UK
www.berax.co.uk
Hi Windward

When i do a spit roast pig,i start at 5 in the morning to make sure it is well cooked,depending on size you'll get it right for the evening,when its right just move away from the charcoal and just keep it warm till you need it,if you weren't so far away you could borrow my spit roasting setup.and sort you with a pig.

Bernie
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
I and a few others cooked a suckling pig in a hangi last summer, it took about 8hrs to cook and came out brilliant, but I would say that there wouldn't be enough meat to feed 60 people on a suckling pig, but then again I'm no expert and I have a healthy appetite if you know what I mean:D .
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
One interesting thing I saw at Hill Holt Woods last year was that there are two fire pits with a strip of earth directly under the pig. This is so that when any fat drips down, it drips onto bare earth and doesn't flare up as it would if it dripped on to hot coals and thus burn the pig. Make sure that nobody adds any rubbish to the fire you are cooking over because it will taint the flavour of the pig, this goes for cigarette butts, paper and plastic. Set a smaller fire to one side if people want to burn rubbish, and throw people onto it if they ignore your protests at burning rubbish below the food you will all soon be eating!
 
Hi there,
I know guy who does hog roasting events. He starts them off 8 hours before they are due to be served, this depends on the size of course.
As an earlier post mentioned it may be a safer bet to go with a few big joints of different meats cooked in the oven, including a nice honey roast ham. This way you will know for sure everything is cooked and you could always have a big BBQ to finish the joints to give them a smokey taste.
You may find that with a spit roast you spend all your time faffing with it. my friend has had nightmares with hog roasts even though he has done loads of them.


HTH

Bodge:)
 

Mike B

Tenderfoot
Feb 13, 2006
76
0
59
Wakefield West Yorks
Hi Windward
I've got to go with the majority on this one and say about 8hrs minimum isn't far off.
But I will add that the majority of novice spitroasters have a tendency to get the roast too close to the heatsource,which means that the crackling(the best bit) either gets charred black, or you have to start carving thin slices of the meat off throughout the cooking,as no doubt you will be well aware that Pork is one of those meats that cannot be served pink.
When I do one which is getting rarer these days I'm not far off Bernies timings and start very early with the preparation and roasting.
I would suggest for a first go to go with your second choice of a lamb, as it contains more fat throughout the meat as opposed to pork,which has the majority of it's fat in the outer areas,and can dry out if you are forced to slice throughout the roasting. This will in turn mean you need to spend more attention on the basting,and lamb can be served pink.
But definately go for it as it's real fun and much more visually impressive than joints on a barbie or a pit roast.
 

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