PIG ROAST

Thanksgiving was 2 weeks ago, and it was everything that we had hoped for! We devoted a good part of that weekend enjoying time with our families, gathering around the table laden with smoked turkey and all that goes along with it.  The typical Norman Rockwell experience! But wait......

That was not to be repeated 2 weekends in a row in the Seegmiller household! All of the calm and tranquility flew out the window, when Geoff returned home with his buddies, for his annual pig roast!  We had to remind Bev that when your son owns his own pig roaster, you have to expect this. With Tim and Nora on board, Bev decided that she had to embrace the pig roast and proceeded to prepare for a fabulous party!

A pig roast is a marathon event, which begins the day before with a multi-stage prep session. The brine has to be prepared, the stuffing cooked, the chickens roasted and so on.

 
The night before the party, the pig and the chickens are injected with brine, then the stuffing is placed in the chickens, the chickens are roasted, then stuffed into the cavity of the pig........

On Saturday morning (does anyone actually consider 4 am. to be 'morning"?) Geoff and Tim rose under the full moon and headed out to the roaster.
They filled the roaster with hardwood charcoal, armed themselves with basting butter and a spray bottle of apple cider, chunks of hickory wood and proceeded to monitor the progress of the roasting, cooking the pig on the rotisserie at 250°F.
 Fifteen hours later and dinner is served! For more detailed advice on how to roast a pig, follow this link for our previous pig roast blog.

TIm and Geoff agreed to share the recipe for the brine with us. They found it, and a lot of other tips in Adam Perry Lang's book, Serious Barbecue, 2009. This brine can be used for any pork roast, since the apple juice is a wonderful compliment to the pork. Brining creates moist, juicy and tender meat.

BRINE

2 gallons water

1 cup kosher salt

1 cup white sugar

30 unpeeled garlic cloves

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 gallon apple juice

Combine and let sit of 24 hours. Use an injection needle, which can be found at most kitchen supply stores.

 

BASTING BUTTER

 4 pounds unsalted butter

1 sweet onion, coarsely chopped

5 heads garlic, cut in half horizontally

6 thyme sprigs

4 sage sprigs

2 rosemary sprigs

Combine everything in a baking dish and place in the centre of the barbecue under the roast to catch the drippings.Towards the end of the cooking time,(at least 6 hours), brush with the butter every 3o minutes. 

Spray with apple cider for extra moisture when you feel that it is needed.

It takes a village to roast a pig!

With a big basket of beautiful apples from Cornelia's trees sitting on the kitchen counter, we decided that they would have a major role to play in the feast. Here is the recipe for the stuffing that we created.

Apple- Sausage Stuffing

1 pound spicy pork sausuge, cooked and crumbled
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
4 medium russet apples, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
3 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
3 tbsp fresh oregano chopped
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 loaf sliced bread, torn into 3/4 inch chunks
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock

Remove sausages from casings.  In a large skillet, fry over medium heat, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until crumbled and brown, about 5 minutes.  Remove and set aside.  In the same skillet, heat olive oil on medium and add diced onion, apple, celery, garlic and chopped, fresh herbs. Saute over medium-high heat, until  translucent. Add bread chunks, cooked sausage, salt and pepper and saute another 4-5 minutes. Add chicken stock and combine well.  Spoon into a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Almost time to feast!

Let the dancing begin!

And the dancing went on all night!

Ready to head out to the festhall, after all, it is Oktoberfest!