Dear TEAM: I would like some information on how to cook a whole pig on a spit and cooking pork or beef in a pit. Any recipes and marinades would be greatly appreciated. Are there any plans on how to build a barbecue for doing this? – D.C., Luseland, Sask.
Dear D.C.: Summer Delights with Saskatchewan Pork, A Guide to Barbecuing, is available from SPI Marketing Group, 502 – 45th St. West, Saskatoon, Sask., S7L 6H2, 306-653-3014 or toll-free 1-800-667-2003.
This booklets contains information on barbecuing either a whole pig or pork pieces. They have a propane barbecue for rent, capable of cooking a whole pig up to 150 pounds, dressed.
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B.C. Pork in Abbotsford, B.C., 604-853-9461 or Manitoba Pork, Winnipeg, Man., 204-233-4991, also have pork information.
Barbecues for barbecuing a whole pig may be purchased, rented or made at home. Jack Elliott at Elrose, Sask., S0L 2V0, 306-378-2973, has had experience with all three options and may be contacted for more information.
Spit barbecue guidelines
- Overall height about 24 inches (60 cm).
- Overall length about eight feet (2.4 m).
- Width for bottom and top, four feet (1.2 m), using four foot (1.2 m) sheet metal, crimped to the shape desired.
Baking oven
- Make from sheet metal, barrel or whatever.
- Set on a one inch (2.5 cm) square tube frame, on skids or wheels.
- Drain hole in the bottom to allow grease to flow into a big drip pan kept well away from the fire.
Fire
- Gas recommended, as flare-ups may occur and gas can be easily shut off and quickly started.
- Burner – 11Ú4 inch (31Ú4 cm) square tubing with slots about 1Ú8 inch apart, cut with a saw.
Lid:
A handle for opening and a heat gauge (thermometer.)
Motor
- Gear box mechanism, i.e. old pump jack.
- Spit should turn about three times per minute.
- Can be driven from either end.
Spit
- Some clamps or device on the spit is needed to keep the pig centred.
- Because the pig will shrink when cooking, you need a way to tighten the clamps.
Preparing the pig
- Wash the pig thoroughly, inside and out, with cold water. Dry completely.
- Rub the cavity with pepper and other spices such as thyme or garlic. Salt will draw the moisture out of the meat.
- The cavity may be stuffed. Oven bags work well as they contain the stuffing and make for ease in removing.
- Sew up the opening with stove pipe wire, available from a hardware store. String will burn off.
- The tail, head, ears and feet may be left on or removed. If left on, cover the tail and ears with foil and put a roll of foil in the mouth, the size of an apple.
Tie the front legs so the feet are pointing forward and near the corners of the mouth and the hind legs close to the side of the pig.
- Centre the pig on the spit. Secure in place.
- Insert a meat thermometer in the meatiest part of the shoulder, being careful not to touch the bone. When done, the internal temperature will read between 165 F and 170 F (75 C) and the juices will run clear, not pink.
- Baste during the last hour of cooking to bronze and crisp the skin. A sweet basting sauce tends to char, so do not use until the last half-hour of cooking.
- Allow the cooked pig to rest for 20 to 60 minutes so the meat will firm, the juices set and carving will be easier.
- To garnish, place an apple in the mouth and maraschino cherries or olives in the eyes. Place pineapple rings with maraschino cherry centres along the back of the pig. Drape a garland of green fruit (grapes, for example) around the neck and place parsley in and around the ears. Serve on a bed of greens.
Basting sauces to try
Lemon-garlic basting sauce – Mash two cloves of garlic with one teaspoon (5 mL) salt in a bowl. Stir in one cup (250 mL) lemon juice, four tablespoons (90 mL) chopped onion, one teaspoon (5 mL) pepper and one teaspoon (5 mL) dried thyme. Allow to stand an hour to blend flavors. Baste the pig two or three times during the last hour of cooking. Makes two cups (500 mL).
Orange-honey basting sauce – Blend together one cup (250 mL) honey, one cup (250 mL) orange juice and two tablespoons (30 mL) soy sauce. Cook five minutes over medium heat. Baste the pig during the last half hour of cooking. Makes two cups (500 mL) of sauce.
Source: Saskatchewan Pork.
Famous recipes
People in west-central Saskat-chewan have for many years enjoyed Schroeder beef. It was beef cooked in a pit barbecue and served to many large gatherings by Arnold and June Schroeder of Elrose, Sask.
The following illustration of how to make a pit barbecue, the procedure for preparing and cooking the meat and the sauce recipe are provided by the Schroeders. The sauce became their trademark.
Pit barbecue
- 31Ú2 feet (1.05 metres) deep.
Three feet x five feet (one m x 1.5 m) could hold enough meat for up to 300 people.
For home use with a single roast, 21Ú2 feet (0.75 m) deep by 21Ú2 feet x 2 1Ú2 feet (0.75 m x 0.75 m) should be sufficient.
Fire
Use poplar or willow wood.
Do not use treated wood or fir, spruce or tamarack. Stay with deciduous woods. A hardwood like maple or Siberian elm isn’t recommended as it burns to powdery ash rather than coals.
Wood size – six to eight inches (15 to 20 cm).
Amount of wood – approximately four to five times the size of the hole. Wind and cold temperatures will increase the amount needed.
It requires about four to six hours for coals to reach the proper level of heat. When coals are ready, remove partially burned logs. Sprinkle with a fine cover of sand or earth.
Meat preparation
- Cover liberally with salt and pepper.
- Pour a cup or two of the following sauce over each roast. Save remaining sauce for serving:
Sauce
1 25-oz. bottle 700 mL
barbecue sauce
2 ounces onion 56 g
powder
2 ounces seasoned 56 g
salt
Tabasco to taste
1 bottle of beer 1
- Wrap in two sheets of brown locker paper.
- Wrap in four sheets of wet newspaper.
- Tie with wire.
- Set on coals.
Procedure: Once meat is on the coals, work fast. Put supports in place and cover with plywood. Cover plywood with eight inches (20 cm) of earth.
Timing: Meat should stay on coals a minimum of 10 hours and a maximum of 18 hours. A 20 pound (10 kg) roast would take approximately 12 hours.
When the meat is taken out, drain excess juice into a container to use in the sauce. Add the juice from the meat to sauce recipe above. Bring to a boil and serve. Unwrap the meat just before serving.
Missing song
Dear TEAM: I would like the words to the song Father O’ Flynn. My father used to sing this song. I remember the tune but not all the words. – D.B., Wartime, Sask.
