Yesterday we had our pig party, and everything worked splendidly. I’ve
been wanting to roast a pig for a while, and this seemed like a great
opportunity. We used the 3 Guys from Miami
Method. Alan and I got to
James and Nathan’s house a little after 9. We put together the grill and
were well underway having the charcoal lit at 10:30. At some point
Nathan came home and helped us reinforce the remesh with rebar, while we
were waiting for the charcoal to get going. When it finally was going,
we had fun shuffling the charcoal into the corners with a tool that
wasn’t really long enough. {{\< figure
src=“/images/2008/06-Pig_Party/img_0987.jpg” >}} The previous night I
had picked up the pig from the butcher. Shortly after I had it confined
inside a tarp with some marinade, covered in ice. It was time to bring
the pig out, which we did. We hoisted it onto the remesh without too
much difficulty, and made a pig sandwich per the Internet’s directions.
Then we moved the whole thing onto the grill, and covered it in tin
foil. As it cooked, occasionally I’d remove a cinder block and toss in
some more charcoal. Then we spent 4.5 pleasant hours lounging about,
shifting our chairs to stay in the shade. It was a hot day, with the
temperature hovering just under 90 from noon onwards. But being lazy in
the shade it wasn’t so bad. {{\< figure
src=“/images/2008/06-Pig_Party/img_1028.jpg” >}} About 3 hours in
Nathan and Alan flipped the pig, while I tossed in some more charcoal.
Then finally after 4.5 hours, we decided the pig was probably done.
Cutting into it showed nothing but tasty goodness, so we took off the
foil and rotated the pig to let it cool off a bit. It probably cooled
for at least an hour before we moved it onto the table (remesh and all)
and started serving it. At this point some guests had started to arrive,
and we all had our first round of pig. More people arrived, brought side
dishes, ate pig, milled around, and generally had a nice relaxing time.
I technically only filled my plate once, but I munched on pig throughout
the evening. It tasted excellent, and stayed hot (on the inside) until
after 9pm. The tastiest meat is found between the ribs and the back.
It’s got great texture, flavor, and is very juicy. (Really, it was all
good though.) Overall, the party was a great time, and I’d love to cook
another pig at some point in the future. Thanks to everybody who helped,
brought sides, and showed up in general.
