Juliet’s First Pig Roast

Sunday, I headed over to Chris and Leslie’s – for a birthday party, celebrating their daughter Juliet’s first birthday. In addition to it being a birthday party, Chris also planned to roast an entire pig – which I got to see up close.

Despite a bit of rain, this was set up outside the garage (under a small tent).

The box is called a “Caja China Box,” and interestingly – I had just heard about this on Friday, at 20×2 Chicago. Someone had answered the question “How Does It Work” by describing how a Caja China box works – and here I was looking at one!

I learned about this Friday evening, and turns out – Chris and Bill had made this thing Friday, during the day. Small world.

It had been going since about 11/12, with a constant amount of coals added to the top. After watching the internal thermometer for a while, Chris and Bill decided it was time to do the flip.

I have to tell you, standing here – the smell was amazing.

Ready to be flipped.

The pig had two racks on both sides. After the flip, the top rack was removed.

Scoring the skin, before the final round of coals.

Putting the lid back on.

The sky a little darker, the fire a little brighter.

Inside, the birthday girl Juliet was the center of attention.

I arrived a little early, and mostly hung out in the garage, But towards the early evening, I was inside chatting with Ben and catching up a little with him.

Didn’t get a chance for photos, but it was nice to just chat and hang out a bit.

Outside, Chris serving up a lot of portions. I’ve never tasted pork quite like this before, as it was just incredibly moist and soft and incredible. I don’t know if he even really needed a knife at all, as the meat was just falling apart at the slightest touch.

I’m not a big carnivore, but after tasting this – I now see why someone would go through the trouble (and the hours) of roasting a pig in this manner.

Related:
Chicago Pinball Expo, 2016
Everyone… Meet Baby Jonah