Summer 2013 Pig Roast Palooza

These are notes on our Great Pig Roast of 2013 in New Hampshire. Fed about 80 people with lots of leftovers--and the best pulled pork I've had. (Writing this now as I'm wishing for summer while fall sets in I guess.)

The recipe was a variation of Ian Knauer's Whole Roast Pig directions in The Farm (Houghton Mifflin, 2012.)



THE PREP
With the help of the backhoe attachment on the tractor, my cousin John was able to dig the size hole that Ian Knauer recommends: a 4 x 6 foot hole that's 4 feet deep. Finishing was done by shovel, and the whole thing took about 2 1/2 hrs.

Instead of one 5 x 8 ft. sheet of corrugated roofing, we got two sheets that were 4 x 8 and overlapped them. This worked particularly well for the thermometer. (See below.)

Instead of 4-ft. lengths of iron piped coupled for spitting, we used a 10-ft. length of electrical conduit pipe, about 3/4 in. diameter and stainless steel coating. This went through the pig well from end to end, and the extra length was good since the 6 ft. long hole can "expand" a little if sides collapse in a bit. 2 feet extra at each end was just right. Also we used a 5 ft. length of same piping for inserting in the ribs to stabilize. Worked just fine.

We lined the bottom and sides of the pit with about 15 pieces of 4-ft. long wood split for large fireplace use. Mixed hardwoods from the pile in the field. Covered the bottom of the pit (no way to leave an opening there for a pan as Knauer describes, and then up the sides. Also bought three small bags of MatchLight charcoal to get it going in the morning. This worked extremely well. Had other bags of charcoal on hand to beef up the temperature quickly if need be but never needed them.

The thermometer we used to monitor the interior temperature of the pit (I was very nervous about this having never done this before and since we invited 80+ people to come over and eat it.) was Wireless Barbecue Thermometer Set by Maverick with the extra 6-foot extension cable as well.



THE PIG
Used a 110 pound pig from White Gates Farm in Tamworth, New Hampshire. Hank Letarte met us at his farm when we went there one day to pick up ribs his stand didn't have at the Tamworth Saturday Market. He raises food in with rotation and self-sustaining practices like Pollyface (in Omnivore's Dilemma) and beyond that. Hank makes his own bio-diesel from restaurant oil, he heats his greenhouses with compost heat (130 degrees H2O temp. in January!), and rotates cows, chickens, and grass in his pastures. Pigs forage in a woodlot and are fed organic foods as well.

Hank had the pig prepped and ready for us to pick up from the walk-in fridge on his property so we could get it at day-break (4:30 am) on the day of the roast.