Pigs weigh up to 200 lbs. and take up to 48 hours to cook.
Traditional Hawaiian pig roasts employ one of the most archaic, yet effective, methods of cooking food -- the fire pit. Fire pits typically use materials readily available, with the goal of keeping the heat contained and concentrated within the confines of its perimeter. Classic materials used in Hawaiian-style fire pits include ti leaves, which are thick and durable to supply insulation and a heat barrier, and lightweight lava rocks that retain heat, making them an ideal cooking material. Contact your local municipality or call the national "Before You Dig" hotline at 811 prior to starting construction on your fire pit. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Mark the outline of the pit by inserting a round-point shovel along the perimeter. A 100 to 200 lb. pig requires a pit approximately 3 feet wide by 5 feet long by 1 foot deep. Suckling pigs, which commonly weigh between 25 lbs. and 75 lbs., need a pit measuring approximately 2 feet wide by 3 feet long by 1 foot deep.
2. Remove the topsoil and set aside. Continue digging the pit to the required dimensions.
3. Line the pit with five to 7 lbs. of kindling wood, depending on the size of the pit. Cover the kindling with hard firewood until it extends 1 foot above the ground.
4. Cover the mesquite with lava rocks, approximately 25 lbs. Set the remaining lava rocks aside. Ignite the fire and allow it to burn for two hours.
5. Set aside enough lava rocks to fill the cavity left in the pig from fabrication. Move the remaining coals to one side of the pit and cover the lava rocks with 6 inches of ti leaves, approximately eight bunches.
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