JeffB wrote:To Cathy's point, the pig is actually much less likely to explode into flame skin off with some of the fatty layer removed. The skin can be pretty volitile when it gets hot, and once it lights up, that's it, showtime. Open pit, open flame on a spit is where a flareup is most likely. Make sure that spit keeps turning. On the other hand, chicharon tastes good. I think it's worth the risk. But skin off, the underlying meat will cook about the same and taste about the same. Not really a consideration.

Thanks - I just learned something new for the day.

I had never heard of a skin-off pig, do you know why this practice developed? Is it a regional thing or more common than I may have thought?

Regards,

JeffB wrote:But skin off, the underlying meat will cook about the same and taste about the same. Not really a consideration.

I have not tried this with a pig, but I've done comparisons of chicken roasted with and without the skin and it makes a big difference. Chicken with no skin is drier and less flavorful, because the fat doesn't baste the meat as it cooks. Why wouldn't this be true of pork?

LAZ--

[Edit-- upon reading the below, I fear the comedic nature of my reply is not readily apparent enough for all audiences. Please don't take the "academic throwdown" tone seriously. I kid.]

* Analogy is a useful tool for hypothesis, but it doesn't cook pigs. You can test your implied hypothesis by roasting skin on and skin off hogs under identical conditions.

*I didn't make a generalization about pork, I spoke of a whole hog.

* I spoke from observation, not hypothesis. Feel free to discount my veracity. As you know by now, I do tend to make crap up.

* To attempt an answer to your (perhaps rhetorical) question, my pigs tend to weigh 120-150 lbs. and a chicken weighs maybe 4 lbs. There are some basic physical differences in surface-area-to-meat ratios that seem self evident. Maybe near the surface you'd see a difference, but when one is cooking a pig for 8-12 hrs, you don't have much "basting" or smoke far past the first few centimeters.

* It seems that pig fat runs throughout the meat in a way that chicken fat does not, allowing internal "basting" which is more important.

* I thought basting was a myth debunked by Cooks Illustrated anyway.

* All that said, I tend to roast hogs in a closed system -- i.e., lid down. Everything stays pretty moist. The charmingly inefficient and risky method of spit roasting over an open flame very well might call for more attention to lost moisture, and the skin might well help retain the juices. In any event, skin tastes good and should be part of the final blend, so I'd leave it on.

We've never had a problem with flare-ups cooking cochon de lait; I could see why spit-roasting the pig OVER the open flame might cause a cracklin' inferno, so maybe consider the "vertical" rotisserie if you're concerned?

Met this lady at the Lincoln Square farmers market last Tuesday, Crystal Nells of C&D Family Farms in Knox, IN.

All natural farm raised free range pork. Their web site is not quite up and running yet. http://www.cdfamilyfarms.com
But my response to e-mail was quite prompt: crystal@cdfamilyfarms.com or you can call
574 722-5334 (office)
574 772-5541 (fax)
773 401-9759 (cell)

You can pre-order and she 'delivers' at the market. The four markets listed on the brochure are;
Beverly; Hyde Park; Lincoln Square; South Shore.

Not sure what the delivery method will be after the farmers markets end.

From the brochure:
Our sows group farrow and in most cases the piglets are self weaned by mom. This means that they have mom's milk for generally three months.
Suckling Pigs 10-24 pounds $125 - $160
Must place order and give three to four weeks for delivery!

I got an assortment of sausages last week and liked the ones we tried so far. Ordered some smoked bacon, smoked jowls, ham cubes, and smoked ham hocks to be collected tomorrow.

Will let you know what we think.

I found a really good place to get suckling pig.
1.49 pound.
its on 41st or 42nd (cant remember) and ashland. cross a bridge going south on ashland, its the
2-3 story building on your left. make a left on the first street 41 or 42. its behind the building.
I think you can pick a live pig. they will take care of the rest.

A friend and I recently acquired a 22 pound suckling pig from Slagel farms (that we conveniently picked up at Mado) for a 4th of July cookout. We were hoping to roast it whole in the oven but it's a little bigger than anticipated. The folks at Mado suggested cutting the pig in half where the ham ends and ribs begin. We were thinking about using two different cooking methods for the front and back half of the pig, probably smoking the front on an 18' WSM and roasting the hams in the oven.

Since this is our first foray into cooking a whole pig I had a few questions for the experts out there:

-When smoking the front half I was planning on opening her up like a book, meat side down to protect the skin, would that work ok?

-Im guessing the front half will weigh about 13 or 14 pounds, any thoughts on a cook time in the WSM at 250 degrees? I was thinking about taking it off when then the shoulder gets to about 180.

-Alot of recipes online call for a brine. Any suggestions?

-Any thoughts on what temp and how long to roast the back half?

-Any suggestions on suckling pig appropriate side dishes would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks. I will post pictures of the little lady after the 4th.

Keith