ok - bit of a wuss but need to cook pig minus head

[asimenia]

Re: ok - bit of a wuss but need to cook pig minus head

Maybe I should stick to what I know and use the large BBQ rotisserie that we use for the lamb every year? Think that's a better idea?

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: ok - bit of a wuss but need to cook pig minus head

I'm with Dmun - you don't want to undercook pork. Without knowing your overall oven dimensions, especially the brick mass (dome/floor thickness) and overall insulation, it is hard to say how much heat you will draw out of the oven. Pigs cook best at the magical 225-280F 'low and slow' temperature, which takes them through the all-too-important collagen breakdown phase slowly. At these lower temperatures the fat in the meat renders out slowly, keeping the meat moist and flavorful. You may want to try loading your 15lb piglet into a 325F oven and keep a small amount of charcoal burning in a corner. Slow-cooked pigs have a large margin for error and don't penalize you too much if you overcook them. You don't want to cook them at too high a heat for they tend to dry out.

The Super Bowl pig below (100lbs) was cooked at 228F for nine hours in a CMU block stand (sheet aluminum cover) "oven" fired with oak coals at the corners. The end result was moist and tender smokey-sweet goodness.

John

[dmun]

Re: ok - bit of a wuss but need to cook pig minus head

I'd put the pork in at about 400f degrees, with the fire out of the oven. That's a big roast and you don't want it raw in the center.

As far as firing the night before, I do that for winter roasts, but it's COLD here in the winter, and the oven gets used less. You probably don't have to do this.

It's a bit of a trick to do this without an ordinary oven thermometer. I fire the oven early in the morning, maybe 7am, for a late afternoon holiday dinner. By nine or nine thirty I stop feeding the fire and around 11 I rake out the coals. About an hour later, I put the door on the oven with the thermometer inside, and put the roast in when it gets down to 400 degrees. You'd have to guess the temperature, based on experience. I'd cook a big roast for about three hours or so, with any side dishes going in in the last hour. My smallish oven is down to about 325 by the end. If your roast gets too brown too fast, you can cover it with foil to prevent excessive top browning.

An ordinary meat thermometer will help you to tell when it's safely cooked inside.

[asimenia]

I have no problems cooking a whole lamb on the spit inc head - but piggies are soooo cute (think babe)

Problems - we don't have a thermometer - we have a wood burning oven which has a 40cm (width) opening - we have ordered a 7kilo piglet for Christmas
I wanted a turkey but Greeks can't understand the need for this bird - hence piggy!
So questions
1. if the inside of the oven is white hot - when do we add babe? should we remove the coals/wood?
2. Is it best to light a fire Christmas eve and leave it to cool and then add babe to cook through the night covered? - would I lose crunchy skin doing that?

and I don't want the head on! Butcher has grudgingly agreed to cut it off but is well p'eed with me! I can't - the kids won't eat if they see this head!

I await your replies and hopefully help - I have a feeling I will be putting babe in the normal oven if I don't feel confident enough to use the wood oven - re rarely use it.
Thanks and MERRY CHRISMAS