La Caja China Hog Roast

[mhiszem]

I am planning a hog roast for my daughters first birthday party in the middle of July. I am currently planning on cooking the pig in a La Caja China http://www.lacajachina.com/70_Lbs_Roaster_1_p/lcc-g100.htm. My brother already has one and it sounds like a fool proof way to cook a whole hog. Has anyone ever used one before? I contemplated making a more permanent pit out of cinder block and expanded metal. I am trying to plan far in advance. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[Travis]

Man, I hear those cookers are cool. I've seen tons of YouTube vids about them. Check out "Smoky Ribs" channel. He has a killer hog roast in the La Caja. Congratulations to your new family.


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[mhiszem]

Thanks! just watched the video and it had a ton of great information. I will try to post the details when we start cooking. Really looking forward to it.

[swamprb]

I have an LCC #2. I'll be blowing the dust off it and using it at my son's wedding rehearsal dinner in a couple weeks.

The instructions are printed on the ends of the box, pretty self explanatory and easy to follow.

Pull the pig out of the ice and let it rest a couple hours before cooking. Use a couple remote probes in the shoulder and hams.

Have something to dispose of ash with. A flat shovel and a steel rake come in handy to spread the coals.

The La Caja Cookbook by Perry Perkins has a lot of really good recipes and tips. Serious BBQ by Adam Perry Lang has an awesome technique for brining/injecting and finishing. I've found that @75 lbs is a good size for the #2.

Here are some pics of the last one we did for my inlaws birthday - he knew the pig breeder and it turned out fantastic!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.655096267904858.1073741840.116187658462391&type=3

[swamprb]

You can do a lot of things with the La Caja!

[Neil_VT00]

A couple friends and I did a pig roast and used one.  For past roasts we rented a stick burner but decided to give this a try one year.

It was very easy to use and the end results were really good.  People absolutely loved the cracklin and we didn't have any left overs.  The one thing that I am not a huge fan of is that you don't get any smoke flavor. I wouldn't hesitate to cook on it again though.

[mhiszem]

Awesome! Thanks for all this information. I am looking forward to doing this. It sounds simple enough.

[Josh G]

We used an A-MAZE-N Pellet Tube Smoker in ours to add a little smoke to it.  Not sure how much difference in made.  Everyone there loved the flavor.  It does cook fast.  I was really surprised how quickly our 50 pound pig was done. 

[swamprb]

We just roasted a 74.7 Mojo marinated pig in the LCC#2 and 16 lbs of Tri-Tip on my buddies Peoria Pit for my son and DIL's Wedding Rehearsal Dinner last weekend-too many pics to upload for now, but the Album is on my Left Hand Smoke page:

https://www.facebook.com/Left-Hand-Smoke-116187658462391/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1075290019218812

It was a screaming success!!

[Travis]

Those were some great pictures man. I bet that was some serious fun.


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[mhiszem]

Great pics. Looks like everything turned out really well. I am really excited for my cook next month. Thanks everyone for all the tips.

[mhiszem]

So now I just ordered the pig for my party next Saturday. My next dilemma is how do I get the pig back to the house. The butcher said it would be about 5' long. We ordered a 60 - 70 lb pig. All standard storage containers are about 36" - 42". What is the cheapest/most efficient way to do this? I will only have to keep it cold for about 18 - 24 hours. I could store it in the bath tub when I get it home but not my first choice.

[Metal Mike]

You could half it into two large coolers & piece it back together into the cage of La Caja...

I want the Ears!!

[Neil_VT00]

I could store it in the bath tub when I get it home but not my first choice.

You wouldn't be the first or last to do this.  We've also used a trash can.

[guitarfish]

@mhiszem  Check with your local Rent-All most have large marine coolers for $5-6 dollars a day. Good luck with the cook!