How To Cook a Pig In The Ground?
Need to know how to cook a pig in the ground? Cooking a whole pig in the ground is exciting, and even if the cooking time goes from 4-9 hours, the tastiness of the pig cooked this way is definitely worth the waiting!
To make your pig roast, start with prepping your whole hog with a marinade, spices, and sauces. Then fill the cavity of your whole pig with hot rocks wrapped in aluminum foil. Prep the pit in the ground and cook the whole hog, covering it with banana leaves ( if you can’t find banana leaves, use cabbage leaves to cover any steam holes). Whole pigs usually take 6-8 hours to cook, so check the pit and the meat every hour.
Whether you’re planning your first pig roast or you’re just curious about the traditional Hawaiian cooking method for cooking a whole pig underground, called kalua pork, the next paragraphs are for you!
Table of Contents
How do you cook a pig in the ground Cuban style?
A slow-cooked whole hog cooked in the ground prepared following the traditional Cuban style is what you need when you want to gather friends and family for a delicious meal. Here’s how to do it:
1. Get an entire pig from your local butcher.
2. Make the perfect marinade: get some freshly squeezed sour orange juice from your Latin grocery store, pureed garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, rock salt, and mix it all in a blender. Inject the marinade into the pig, trying not to pierce the skin or make it too moist. Then let the pig rest for 24 hours and fill the cavity of your whole pig with hot rocks wrapped in aluminum foil.
3. Dig a pit in the ground of your backyard, lining it with hardwood, stones, rocks (try to avoid those that have been in salt water), bricks, and hot coals. Then fire up! You want to reach 250°F.
4. Place the whole pig in the pit in the ground, covering it with banana leaves (if you can’t find banana leaves from a banana tree, you can use cabbage leaves) to trap in the heat and steam from the cooking.
5. After 6 hours of cooking time, check its temperature with a digital thermometer, then flip the whole hog.
6. After 2 hours from having turned the pig, coat it with your favorite sauce (you can choose from several sauces you find at the grocery store: bbq, soy sauce, Worcestershire…) and keep on cooking the pig for another hour
7. With a digital thermometer, check if your kalua pig is ready, then serve with an ice-cold beer!
Another step by step guide on cooking a whole pig in the ground.
How do you cook a pig in the ground cajun style?
For cooking a whole pig Cajun-style, you’re going to need lots of different spices and a Cajun Microwave. What’s that, you might ask? Well, it’s a hog roaster that makes preparing a delicious, whole hog much easier, and the food cooked in here is simply finger-licking!
To cook a whole hog in one of these “Caja china” (that’s another name for these boxes), you need to inject your hog with your favorite Cajun rub, spices, rock salt, and sauces, then place the entire hog in the hardwood box, seal it and add charcoal: some cajun microwaves require to add it to the top of the lid some others below the food. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the whole hog, but the whole process usually takes no less than a couple of hours. You better start planning your cooking!
How long does it take to cook a pig in the ground?
If it is your first time making a pig roast, then you’re probably wondering how to cook a pig in the ground and how long is it going to take. Well, though it’s very difficult to say how long it will take for you to cook a pig in the ground, a general rule that’s quite effective is that it takes one hour and 15 minutes of cooking for every 10 lb of pig’s meat. So, the cooking process for making a whole pig underground oven can be very long, but the result will be worth waiting!
How long does it take to cook a 50 lb whole pig in the ground?
Cooking a whole suckling pig in the ground usually requires more than a few hours and a lot of patience, but the amazing flavor and tender meat you will get will make it worth waiting. There’s not a way to know the exact time it’s going to take to cook a pig in the ground, so keep in mind several hours of the cooking process are guaranteed. So you better start planning your cooking the whole hog many hours in advance!
To cook a 50 lb whole suckling pig in the ground usually takes 7 to 8 hours of cooking time, depending on the heat source you’re going to use. Another factor that will influence the cooking time of your suckling pig is whether it is stuffed or you’re just cooking the meat in the pit.
How do you roast a pig in your backyard?
If you’re planning a garden party with all your friends and family, maybe you’re thinking about making a roasted pig in your backyard. Just let me tell you: whether it’s your first pig roast or you consider yourself a real pitmaster, I’m sure the next tips I’m going to give you will come in hand! Let’s get started:
First of all, you need to know how much meat you’re going to need and order your whole pig from your local butcher. Keep in mind that, in general, you’re supposed to get 1,5 lb of meat for each guest. Therefore the amount of meat coming from a young pig of 30 lb will serve around two people.
Once you get your whole hog, you will need to start prepping the pit to make your roasted pig. Here’s how you make your kalua pig:
1. Prepare the pit stacking about 30 cinder blocks (bricks help the fire to burn long and help hold heat in)and forming a rectangular pit, around 4 feet deep. Place a grate at the bottom of the pit on top of which you will place the whole pig, skin side up. Hot coals, wood
2. Slow cook your pig for 6-8 hours, depending on the size of the pig and the amount of vegetables you stuffed inside of it (a young pig of 50 lb will take around 7 hours of cooking time)
3. Enjoy your juicy and delicious pig cooked in an underground oven!
When you cook a pig in the ground, remember to add more wood to your fire if it starts to slow down and fill the cavity of your whole pig with hot rocks wrapped in aluminum foil.
Summary
Now you know how to cook a pig in the ground! Sure, it may take quite a bit of time, but the result will be outstanding! Try it out!
