jacklondon Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 evening all..... This is the first season using the KK, the first piglet I've put on there, and this is the first post this evening. This is a suckling piglet - I was in my local butcher shop yesterday when i spotted her on a tray behind the counter. I'd long wanted to cook one of these guys but had never really got around to planning. I also got some Alpine lamb for tomorrow which is pretty exciting - the whole leg is about the size of a typical lambshank.... its marinading now.... anyway - the piggy - stuffed with a whole head of garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano and a load of salt/pepper. olive oil, salt pepper mix on the outside..... steady heat at 230 and 30 mins per turn, 4 turns later she was ready..... this is an awesome thing to cook - the results were eye watering. clearly, the ingredients were pretty darn good in the first place, but the reason the KK rotisserie method beats the oven is..... no contact with a pan means ALL of the skin crisps. the legs were awesome, the shoulders even more so. but the crackling, oh the crackling. there are some more grisly photos for the prep, thought we'd spare you that! Jack - London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... That's truly beautiful. I'm so jealous, Laurie won't even let me cook rabbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMedik Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... evening all..... . steady heat at 230 and 30 mins per turn, 4 turns later she was ready..... Jack - London. ...Rotisserie...don't you let it turn the whole time? Why only 4 turns ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacklondon Posted June 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... four turns rather than constant rotation - a great question. the simple answer is this - when you put a chicken in the rotisserie, the "holes" are at each end, so the cooking juices remain, for the most part, inside the carcass as the bird turns which is one of the reasons why they remain so juicy. because of the slaughtering process for the piglet, the stomach cavity is split wide open.... so, if piggy was turned around every 30 seconds for 2 hours, all of the juices from the meat (that you'd like ideally to retain to keep the animal juicy) would drain out. You get two side effects - it puts the coals out as the amount of liquid is substantial and you end up, as a result (even in a KK i would imagine) with a dryer than necessary meal. so to avoid this issue, you cook the underside (where the split stomach is) first, so that the juices created for the rest of the cooking process dont drain out as you turn the animal.... the next logical question here is "thats not the way they do a hog roast"... the hog roast is an 8 to 10 hour roast over direct heat, less "oven" like than a KK. An animal big enough for a hog roast has so much more fat content in the meat and the skin so much thicker that moisture retention is much less of a problem than with the wee piggy we see here........ i'm investigating getting a lamb for the same process, although may have the head removed to reduce the "shock" for the kids. we'll keep you posted.... if you're interested in the suckling pig idea, do a google on "segovia suckling pig" - the tradition is that the animal is so tender you can carve it with a plate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... What if you suture the underside? Then let it roll with the roti motor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacklondon Posted June 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... A good point - but the join needs to be watertight right - my needlework was pretty poor with material, let alone flesh, skin and bone!! the alternative would be to stuff it to retain the juices - but at that point you end up with a sausage dressed up as a piglet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadMedik Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... We have a Doc on this forum...maybe a few suturing tips from him...what say you Doc ? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... Jack, that looks fantastic! It's also the first little piggy that I have seen on a KK and I have been surfing around here for a bit... not as long as some of course, but a while just the same! I also applaud your technique! Having smoked up a few whole hogs, I can tell you that your reasoning is sound and the results speak for themselves. In hindsight, is there anything that you would change for your next victim, er piggy? LOL Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacklondon Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... Conodo - I've been watching these pages for about 5 years before I finally took the plunge to buy a KK and more recently to share my experiences, so i'd not seen a piglet either! would i change anything for the next time - I don't think so, no. If you're buying a piglet (they're about £80 here in the UK ready to go on the grill, so its a treat) then it seems a waste to try to "over-complexificate" something which is in its own right so delicious. the meat was amazingly tender and tasty really "porky", so to try and dilute that would seem nuts. I considered putting some hickory in there but decided against it for the reasons above. Only thing I would do next time is not eat so much of the starter and try to pick a day without rain. tough call in london this summer! Alpine lamb legs go on the KK tonight before I travel to Boston on business tomorrow - any recommendations for lifechanging restaurants in Boston anyone, its my first time there (I've been cooking from Ming Tsia's blue ginger book for a while, how good is the restaurant?). JB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... in Boston: Oh Ya Sushi Number 9 Park BG Oyster Bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... Correction: O Ya Sushi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 Re: Fathers day piglet...... Yeah, sure, sew 'em up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
