[Sca-cooks] Pit roast Pig

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> We are being given the opportunity to pit roast a whole pig in a month's
> time. We have the pit (almost dug), we have the pig ready for slaughtering
> (by the professional butcher). Now all we need is a period method of
cooking
> it and some sauces and stuff to go with it. Does anyone have any ideas?
>
> Yours in service,
> Mistress Nicolette Dufay OP, OWL, LOG, OST, AoA
> House Woodrose, Canton of Krae Glas
> Barony of Stormhold, Kingdom of Lochac

Well, it kinda depends on what you intend to do with the pig- what sort of
meat are you planning to get? There are basicly two intended results. The
first is "dry" roasted, where you're intending to have an entire pig roasted
as one might roast anything else- rather "grilled", actually. The second
method is what it done with "real" barbecue, where the pig is roasted in its
own juices until it's falling apart. Not only do Southern Americans use this
method, but it is also used quite extensively by the Polynesian folks too.
It's very low-tech- I suspect some variant of this method has been used
throughout history, but so far, I haven't found any specific documentation-
Sabina Welserin, for example refers to roast piglet, but never details the
method(s) of roasting. One can only assume that the roasting of animals was
such a common thing, that it wasn't mentioned, sorta like we moderns might
refer to our "morning ritual" but seldom describe the details- urinate,
brush teeth, wash face, pick pimples, that sort of thing.

Let me know what you want, and I'll try to help.

Phlip, who rather suspects that most Polynesians and Southerners would get a
bit of a giggle out of newbies, starting by digging the pit a month ahead of
time ;-)

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....