We haven't been working on that raised garden bed. We got distracted by a pig. D'Artagnan put their little pigs on sale last month just in time for a graduation party we were invited to. We have been interested in ordering one of their pigs since we started shopping with them some five years ago, and the graduation of our buddy's son and last remaining child at home seemed like the opportunity we had been waiting for.
The pig arrived frozen and whole, including hooves, tail, and head. Weighing in at 23.5 pounds, it was small enough to store in our freezer until we were ready to prep it.
Pig fits right in the freezer
My counterpart wanted a marinade. He consulted with some of his chefy friends, and then decided to do his own thing. And his own thing consisted of lemons, oranges, apples, nutmeg, Jamacan all-spice, bay leaves, brown sugar, and molasses. He simmered it on the stovetop until the sugar dissolved. Then, in a ppiece of brilliance, he used the plastic bag that the pig came in to hold both pig and marinade.
We stored the pig on ice in our cooler while it marinaded for a couple of days, adding ice as needed. This also made for a good travel method.
To roast our pig, my couterpart and his buddy made an old-fashioned grill out of a large grate and cinder blocks. They wrapped the pig in cikcken mesh and ran a cople of steel poles along either side. Every 45 minutes, two people could rotate the pig to ensure even cooking.
It cooked up in about 4 hours and was tender and delicious. This was well worth the time and money. Now that we've done it once, I'm sure we'll do it again.