Pig Roast

Years ago I read about the Caja China box and how you could roast a whole pig in less than four hours.  Totally intrigued me and so with the ease of one click, I bought the box.

For many, seeing the whole head to tail in living color is well basically gross but I could care less.  And so we roasted a whole pig again on Saturday bringing together a mix of people ranging from 14 to 50.  By the time the crowd left there wasn't a crumb left of anything in the house.


The pig needs to be butterflied and beheaded.  I did that myself last time but this time I just asked the butcher to do the honors.  You place the pig between two trays held together by four S hooks.  Set it in the box, skin side down.


45 lbs of charcoal is used over the course of 3.5 hours for a 30 lb pig.


Once the pig is cooked through, you flip the pig to get the skin crispy.  I lathered it up in bbq sauce and sent it back to the box.


And voila, perfectly cooked.  Delicious.  Really an entirely different eating experience.  Thinking of doing a lamb by summers end before we pack it up.

Went for an Asian slant.  Pardon the pictures as my Asian slant had tequila involved.  Cole slaw.

For 45 people:

2 heads red cabbage - sliced and chopped

2 heads Napa cabbage - sliced and chopped

2 bags carrots - sliced and grated

Heat the following ingredients in a sauce pan and then let cool.

3 T. grated ginger

3 T. sesame oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

6 T. rice vinegar

3 T. sugar

3 T. lime juice

Once this mixture had cooled, I whisked mayonnaise in it (maybe 3/4 cup).  The sauce was still relatively thin but the mayo help the cole slaw stick together.  A little kosher salt for taste after mixing the slaw.  Really good.

Red and yellow tomatoes covered with chives and a light vinaigrette;  5 T. rice wine vinegar, 2 T. sesame oil, 1 T. sugar, pinch of kosher salt.  Mix together and dribbled over the tomatoes.  I also sprinkled sesame seeds over the top of the tomatoes.  Think 4 large tomatoes for 10 people and then you are set.  That is mint in the middle.  Strictly for decor.

Corn slathered with a mixture of butter, cumin, cardoman, cinnamon and a hint of lime.  I grilled the corn for ease and cut each ear in half before putting them on the grill.  I could never replicate this as for it was a complete work in motion being doctored as I mixed the ingredients.


Lemon mousse and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  Lemon mousse recipe coming in another blog post.  It is delicious!