Equipment for a Low-Carb Orgy

I'm taking a break from writing for the new book, and I have decided to share my current thoughts regarding pork.

The Noche Buena feast which was thrust upon me recently by Val Prieto made quite an impression on me. Southerners, like Cubans are big on roasting whole animals, but until I heard of the caja china, I thought the only way was to rent a backhoe and dig a giant pit in the backyard. Now that I see that above-ground hog roasting is feasible, all sorts of visions are dancing through my head.

I have an unbelievable recipe for pork roast. Think I posted it here once. It's one of those recipes where you serve it to people, and they take one bite and put down the fork and stare at you. It has occurred to me that it should work for a whole pig, provided you have the technology to make it happen.

It has also occurred to me that it should be possible to drill a hole in the side of a caja china and pump wood smoke into it. Now THAT would be splendid. Although I would probably be killed for one-upping Cubans at their own game.

The recipe is pretty simple. You mix naranja agria with white wine and Marsala, soak the pork in it, add a ton of yuca mojo, and cook with lots of sliced onions. I figure I could brine the hog for a few hours, then marinate, and then roast after smearing the pig with onion paste and molasses and a few other things.

Now, if I can just figure out how to pipe the smoke in. I'll bet someone out there makes a doohickey for just that purpose.