Celebrating America...with Pig

It's a good thing our friends like pork.

To continue the Summer of Swine here at the Pollards, and to celebrate freedom and liberty and all things American, Cooper dragged out the Caja China and we roasted our second pig on Saturday (story of the first pig is here).

This weekend's pig was a big guy, a 67-pounder ordered from Ridgely & Ferrens, right in Towson. Ordering the pig was easier than I'd anticipated and when I picked it up, it was defrosted and ready to marinate.

Cooper and Mike completing the final turn of the pig

This time, instead of relying on the Caja China folks for the marinade, Cooper created his own, a spicy and tart vinegar-based concoction with definite roots in North Carolina sauces. On Friday night, he injected the pig with a vat of the stuff, literally tripling the amount he used on the first pig. The result was fantastic - the meat was super juicy and infused with flavor.

Mike covering my brand new potholders with pig juice, while pretending to eat the foot

One of the cool things about the Caja China is that it can handle up to 70 pounds with no change in cooking time. So even though this pig was 18 pounds heavier than the one we cooked at the beach, they both took about four hours to cook.

Which meant more time to relax and more time to eat.

The kids' swingset and "grownups' swingset," as seen from the deck

Of course, despite everyone's best efforts, we still have a ton of pork left over - which means it's pig leftovers all week chez Pollard. Tonight: tacos. Tomorrow: who knows? Suggestions are welcome!

[Bottom two photos courtesy of Alicia.]