How to Roast a Pig So That It's Skin Is Really Crispy

Pork chops are tasty parts of the pig.

Roasting a pig is a slow process that yields quite a bit of meat. Even a smaller pig has several portions of different cuts of pork. Roasting a pig usually takes an hour and 15 minutes per 10 lbs. of pig. Pigs are sold already prepared with the skin clean and the entrails removed. Some people prefer to do the cleaning themselves. Regardless, plan on a long day of pig-roasting in order to get that perfect tasting pork. Does this Spark an idea?

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2 cups of butter
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 cup of olive or canola oil
Meat thermometer
Meat syringe

Instructions

- 1
  
  Decide how many people you want to feed. Allow a 1/2 pound of pork per person. Buy the pig already dressed from your local butcher or meat market.
- 2
  
  Prepare the pig to your cooking preferences. Stick the pig onto the rotisserie support bar, and start your heat source. (Some people prefer charcoal; some prefer a mix of charcoal and wood chips. Consult your rotisserie instruction manual for their cooking suggestions.) Cooking times vary depending on the size of the pig, but begin the butter sauce when the pig is roughly one hour from completeness. Use the meat thermometer to check the internal temperature to decide whether the meat is done.
- 3
  
  Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the kosher salt, pepper, and olive oil. The olive oil has a slower burn rate than the butter, so you want to make sure that you mix the two fats together.
- 4
  
  Check the temperature with a meat thermometer to determine when the pig is about an hour from finishing the roasting process. Inject the oil mixture under the skin in various spots until the mixture is used. Natural fats bubble up during the roasting process, so if you can see that the skin is already starting to separate, you need only brush some of the less crispy parts with the oil mixture.
- 5
  
  Check the time; 20 minutes from the end of the cooking time, add more coal (or wood if using a wood fire) to increase the heat under the pig. Be certain that you are rotating the pig quite frequently, because it is very easy for the pig to burn at this point, especially with the addition of the oil mixture. You will see that the skin is bubbling up and crisping.

Tips & Warnings

The USDA recommends cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit as measured with a meat thermometer.
Be sure to follow the cook time for roasting your pig.
Be sure to be careful when using an oil mixture near an open flame. It will drip down and cause the fire to flare up.

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