"caja china" news and stories

Before you consider investing in La Caja China, there are a couple of questions that you need to ask yourself. The first is, how serious are you about cooking pork? The second is, how much meat do you want to cook at one time?

La Caja China is - quite literally - a large box that is used for roasting a pig in Chinese fashion, though it is hugely popular in Florida's Cuban community and anywhere else that people want to roast whole pigs. The medium sized model costs almost $300 and can hold up to a 70-lb pig (the large can handle a 100-lb swine). If you don't want to go the whole hog, it can also be used to roast 16-18 whole chickens, 4-6 turkeys, 8-10 pork ribs slabs, 8-10 pork shoulders or any other type of meat, all at the same time.

The way that it works is that a dressed pig is laid inside the box. The box is shut and covered with charcoal. After a few hours inside the aluminum-lined Caja China, the meat of the pig is cooked. At that point, the pig is flipped over - getting the skin side nearer to the indirect heat source - and the skin crisps up to be a dark golden color. The whole process takes a few hours, but connoisseurs say that the juicy meat and crispy skin is worth every minute of waiting time, although you may want to run errands or something while the pig cooks.

As for getting a whole pig, you're on your own.

Source

I just came across a wonderful collaborative discussion of grilling and  barbecuing that's featured on Slate this week. Cooking With Fire is a series of e-mails between food writer/chef Sara Dickerman, Chris Schlesinger and renowned grilling and 'cue guru Steven Raichlen, (pictured).

Dickerman starts off the e-mail chain with a question that no meathead worthy of their Weber should ever pose: Is gas better than charcoal? To be fair, she clearly declares herself a staunch advocate of wood and charcoal and seems to raise the question in the interest of open-mindedness.

Here's just a lump of Schlesinger's take on charcoal vs. gas: "Gas only burns two-thirds as hot as live coals ... the characteristic flavor of grilled food comes from ... high heat, the ensuing browning ... deeply concentrated flavor." Raichlen,  a man after my 'cue and smoke loving alter ego Joey Deckle's heart, avoids the charcoal vs. gas debate entirely. His favorite fuel? Good old wood.

Highlights of the discussion include the best ways to grill fish, the pros and cons of using a Big Green Egg,  what type of rubs go best with what types of meats and the mysteries of roasting pig on a caja china.

Source