Nearly Suckling

One 45 lb pig raised with love by the fine folks at New Creation. With the help of a spit (which I previously praised but am no long so enamored with--great motor, shit supports for the spit), a bunch of charcoal, and some very elementary ingenuity, 5.5 hours yielded a fully cooked pig, falling apart tender in the fatty parts (shoulder, cheek, hocks, belly, back, rib, etc.) and pleasantly cooked in the lean (i.e. the ham).

I had put some salt, pepper, and garlic heads in the pig's belly after impaling it on the spit just prior to sewing it shut. Also, some salt was sprinkled on the pig while it was spinning. I didn't brine, and I wouldn't change that, but maybe next time I'd pre-salt the carcass for a while if I had the time. I don't know, it tasted pretty good as is. The only complaints were from two related eaters who declared the finished product "a little piggy." I thought that was a good thing.

The skin . . . it was soft when the pig was turning on the spit, but turned to leather after the swine took a long rest. Some folks suggested I fry up pieces of the skin, and that would probably have been great, but there was eating and drinking to do (Lake Erie Monster). And either way, there was no shortage of tasty flesh and rich fat hiding just below skin.

There's the "pit." Those foil covered rectangles helped keep the heat in around the pigs midsection and behind. The pig spun over the aluminum pans, with the coals burning off center.

Regarding coals, we just went with standard briquettes. Nice lump would have been nice, but that would have required a special trip to the burbs, and we needed to get the thing cooking. Soaked hickory chips thrown on the hot coals every hour or so added a pleasant smokiness.

Sadly, it's not kosher. But that shoulder really was something else. Also, you can kind of see how the hocks just melted off the legs. Seriously. The fatty parts were something to behold. And those hands aren't those of The CFT--cutting food on a plate is just unseemly.

That mac and cheese in the background was a hot item too, but it was no pig.

And some scallop ceviche, because you've got to have sides. There were some great slaws too.

Thanks Stuart for the pics.