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Usually carried out outdoors, hog roasts commonly take place at shows and exhibitions and is a spectacle that is increasingly being employed to make any special occasion such as a birthday party or wedding celebration even more visually impressive.
However, they are also perfect for a garden get-together with family and friends. Party Pony Trailers can supply you with the bar you need and you’re good to go. Below, we will tell you more about this tradition, as well as serving it at your own party.
A cultural practice
The tradition of the hog roast usually entails roasting the pig on a spit, turning it frequently under a flame; or sometimes in a huge purpose-made oven. The practice can be traced back many centuries to Saxon times when people hunted the wild boar and roasted it as part of their Yuletide celebrations. In many old pictures and in literature, you will find mention of roasting a pig or hog as the main attraction of notable events and celebrations. Today, of course, many of us hold barbecues in our back gardens in the summer months and the hog roasting is a way to mark an event in an even more special way.
Part of modernity
These days, not many people have the time, skills, or resources to add a hog roast to their party preparations. And yet it is a popular choice, always a crowd-pleaser. This is why we are increasingly seeing specialist companies being established who will either hire you the equipment required or come and prepare the feast for you at the venue of your choice.
Roasting a whole pig on your own: Preparation
If you want to do the roasting yourself, there's no formula for roasting a hog but just the basics to adhere to. A local hog roast service provider may provide you with the machine, ingredients, and instructions on how to operate and cook it. So we're now assuming you have the meat ready for roasting. You should now ready the machine for roasting.
The next step is to fill up the hog with stuffing, then sew the pig's cavity shut so everything is intact (use rice-stuffing or any recipe of your choice to do this). Most of the time, this is already done by the caterer for you and you will just do the roasting.
The roasting process
The rule of thumb here is to keep the fire slow but steady. Using the instructions provided, you can use a meat or grill thermometer to make sure the heat is between 107 and 121 degrees Celsius or 225 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Note that this is the temperature of the fire, so you also have to check the temperature for various parts of the meat to ensure even cooking.
Depending on the size of what you're roasting, the hog should cook on the rotisserie for between 4 to 24 hours. The meat should not be too close to the flame as you risk cooking it too quickly and burning up the skin.
As you can see, this is a skill that’s not easy to master so you may need the expertise of a local few hog roast caterer to do the roasting for you.
