Roast a whole pig.
Discussion
Has anyone on PH ever roasted a whole pig on a spit?
I have been asked to make a spit for a family BBQ in June.
I think we are going to start with a suckling pig as i know a large pig would take bloody hours to cook.
Looking at making a spit to sit over a half oil drum.
Any other designs or ideas are appreciated.
I have been asked to make a spit for a family BBQ in June.
I think we are going to start with a suckling pig as i know a large pig would take bloody hours to cook.
Looking at making a spit to sit over a half oil drum.
Any other designs or ideas are appreciated.
Rent one, don't make it - the motor gearing is difficult to get right apparently.
I acted as chef for an event where the guy running it hired a spit, came with gas, motor, everything in fact to do the whole pig even down to the carving knife and steel. A minor hiccough on the day meant we ended up with a lamb not a pig but that actually was better as I love lamb
The price was very reasonable too.
My cooking hints are to start early and don't worry that a good spit will not look like it's cooking the beast for at least a couple of hours. With a reasonable size animal you should let it rest for an hour at least with the motor still running and the lids closed, that enables the juices in the meat to stay in rather than all running out of the bottom and it stays tender.
I acted as chef for an event where the guy running it hired a spit, came with gas, motor, everything in fact to do the whole pig even down to the carving knife and steel. A minor hiccough on the day meant we ended up with a lamb not a pig but that actually was better as I love lamb
The price was very reasonable too.My cooking hints are to start early and don't worry that a good spit will not look like it's cooking the beast for at least a couple of hours. With a reasonable size animal you should let it rest for an hour at least with the motor still running and the lids closed, that enables the juices in the meat to stay in rather than all running out of the bottom and it stays tender.
Don't know how far they are from you but this might help:
http://www.hogroastscotland.com/machines-hire.htm
http://www.hogroastscotland.com/machines-hire.htm
A - W said:
3 man spitroast? I don't think I want to click that link!shakotan said:
A - W said:
3 man spitroast? I don't think I want to click that link!Just dig a small pit/channel for the fat and leave it on for a few hours. Only problem is that last time we did one, all the fat melted at once and the flames nearly hit the barn roof, right in the middle of the raffle. Watch out for that!
But yeah, DIY it. It's more fun and it tastes amazing. Any old wood will do and you can let it carry on as darkness falls to make a bonfire.
But yeah, DIY it. It's more fun and it tastes amazing. Any old wood will do and you can let it carry on as darkness falls to make a bonfire.
The animals are heavy and to give an idea the small lamb we had (feeding 35 people) took 3 hours to cook plus an hour resting - turning all the time, I wouldn't want to do that as a chef!
I like the idea of a fire pit!
Couple of interesting reads from a quick google search:
http://www.shelfordfeast.co.uk/spit.html
http://www.spittingpig.co.uk/machines/machines-hir...
I like the idea of a fire pit!
Couple of interesting reads from a quick google search:
http://www.shelfordfeast.co.uk/spit.html
http://www.spittingpig.co.uk/machines/machines-hir...
We recently pit roasted a lamb. [Insert Scottish joke here]
ETA: When I told my dad about this, he told me he'd once roasted a whole pig but got a baker to pre-roast it for a few hours in his oven, then topped it off with a couple hours on the spit afterwards.
Cheers,
FT.
- Dig a big hole.
- Make a big fire.
- When it gets really hot, chuck in rocks. Try to find the kind that won't explode.
- Put on more wood and let it all burn down till the rocks are red hot.
- Wrap lamb (and garlic and lemons!) in several layers (like 7-10) of foil.
- Chuck it in the pit.
- Cover it with soil. Or sand if you're on a beach.
- Leave it for as long as you like. The bigger it is the longer it needs. We left ours *for about 4.5 hours.
- Go into burke and hare mode and rescue the food from the pit.
ETA: When I told my dad about this, he told me he'd once roasted a whole pig but got a baker to pre-roast it for a few hours in his oven, then topped it off with a couple hours on the spit afterwards.
Cheers,
FT.
Edited by Fume troll on Tuesday 19th May 10:06
Main problem is a pig is quite large. Oil drum might not be big enough.
You want to look for motors from old conveyor belts.
You also want to adjust the height.
You can buy a pig that has been boned for use on spits.
The one I made wasn't too hard. Just welded up a basic frame, then use hooks to adjust the height. The motor I just attached onto the spit, adding on bearings that sat on the hooks, the motor just had a bracket that rested on the hook to stop it from spinning wildly.
Simples.
You want to look for motors from old conveyor belts.
You also want to adjust the height.
You can buy a pig that has been boned for use on spits.
The one I made wasn't too hard. Just welded up a basic frame, then use hooks to adjust the height. The motor I just attached onto the spit, adding on bearings that sat on the hooks, the motor just had a bracket that rested on the hook to stop it from spinning wildly.
Simples.
The 'pit roast' works particularly well. My father would do this in the garden with lamb or pork, derived from the Finnish / Karelian rosvopaisti or 'bandit roast'.
If a deer were poached, or a sheep rustled, it would be buried in a pit lined with stones and a fire built over the top. That way, there was no evidence of a crime, just some men sitting round a fire.
If a deer were poached, or a sheep rustled, it would be buried in a pit lined with stones and a fire built over the top. That way, there was no evidence of a crime, just some men sitting round a fire.
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