[Sca-cooks] Has anyone roasted a pig on a spit?

[Susan Fox-Davis]

Yeke Delger wrote:

> Hello all, I am Yeke Delger, Chevetain of the Barony of Stromgaard Cooking Guild,
> Kingdom of An Tir.

Welcome and well met!  I am not familiar with that particular job title, I take it from context
that this is a chief [or chef] type position.  Where does it come from and what does it mean
exactly?

> As the Chevetain of this newly founded cooking guild (6/03), I have
> been asked to roast a whole pig on a spit at our upcoming Fall Festival & Sergeantry
> Trials. I have never done this before, and so far as I can find out neither has anyone else
> in our Barony.

I have not done so myself, but I too am a big believer in learning from other people's trial
and error.  All human knowlege can be found on the Internet, no matter how trivial, and I find
several pages on this topic:

http://www.outlawcook.com/Page1515.html
http://www.bbq-porch.org/recipes/html/C36.htm
http://www.bbq.com/recipes/pigroast.html
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/bipolarplanet/howtos.html [HOW TO ROAST A MASTODON]

Now, if it were me I would probably go for the pit method. It seems to me that less of the heat
is lost to the cold cold air that way.    This method is seen in  Táin Bó Cúalnge:

‘Go before us to yonder house,’ said Conchobar, ‘and make a fire for me there.’ He kindled a
big fire for him.’

‘‘Well,’ said Conchobar, ‘if I now had a roast pig, I should live.’ ‘I will go and fetch one,’
said Cú
Chulainn. He went off then and saw a man at a cooking-pit in the middle of the wood, with one
hand holding his weapons, the other cooking a pig. Great was the fearsomeness of the man.
Nevertheless he attacked him and carried off his head and his pig. Afterwards Conchobar ate the
pig. ‘Let us go to our house,’ said Conchobar. They met Cúscraid mac Conchobair. He too bore
severe wounds, Cú Chulainn carried him on his back. The three of them went on to Emain Macha.’
[Táin Bó Cúalnge, translation of lines  492-527}
<http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301012/T301012.html>

OK so it's not an ancient Irish luau but you get the picture.  Other citations describe the
digging of two pits, one filled with water, the other filled with rocks and fire kindled
therein.  The hot rocks are dropped into the water to heat and boil, and meat is roasted in the
dry pit as well.

Have fun and bon appetit!

Dame Selene Colfox
OP, OLC, OHA, ODC, SR etc.
Sable Fret Pursuivant, Altavia, Caid
selene at earthlink.net