WARNING: This contains graphic pig roasting details. I took many photos - included below are the “safe” photos of the live pig, roasting pig, and pig feast without the gory pieces between the live and roasting pig. Watching an animal killed, cooked, and served in front of you is an intense experience and while I had no hesitation in enjoying the final product I did so with a greater understanding of the farm to table process and fully appreciate a vegetarian’s viewpoint.
BACKGROUND
It is common for Filipino landowners to keep a pig pen somewhere on their property. The economics are such that it’s financially prudent to purchase a young pig, feed and take care of the pig, and then for a large family celebration (which occur quite frequently in the gathering happy country) roast the pig yourself. In the large and extended Filipino clan structure some Uncle or cousin is the go to person when it’s time to roast a pig.
Ideally the pig will be two months old in the 25-30 kilos weight range - at this age and weight the meat will be the juiciest. The pig selected for this roasting was five months old but still weighed about 30 kilos. Depending upon the number of guests you may need to sacrifice meat juiciness in favor of quantity although you do not want to go too heavier than 40 kilos. Pigs in this range tend to have tougher meat and are fattier. Unfortunately the fat not as sweet or juicy.
KILLING THE PIG
In the initial stages there’s a shrill and deep squealing sound that reverberates through your ears like no sound you’ve ever heard before - it is the worse and most painful sound imaginable. When the pig roasters enter the pen the pig is unaware of it’s pending doom, possibly thinking it’s the daily cleaning and pen washdown, not noticing the rope in the roasters hand that will soon be tied around it’s front leg. Once the leg tying process starts the pig begins to let out squeals that emit from the deepest part of the belly and are a shriek that cancels any other noise. It’s like the screech of a car breaks only it’s distinctly a live animal realizing it’s about to suffer an insurmountable level of pain. To tie the hind legs the pig is flipped onto its backside. The shrieking continues and reaches an even higher pitch. The pig shits itself.
Once all four legs are tied the pig is removed from the pen. From this point forward the screeches have stopped. I can only speculate that the pig has resolved its fate.
The pig is then carried and laid upon a makeshift table - two plywood boards resting atop a tire. A puncture wound is made in the pig’s aorta and a steady stream of blood flows like a faucet into a pail below. The pig’s legs are untied and kick with the final gasp of air.
CLEANING THE PIG
The next part of the process is the hair and organ removal. During the first stages water has been heated over an open fire. Now that the water is boiling, it’s poured over the pig and roasters begin shaving the pig using a combination of razors and knives. Hot water is constantly applied to loosen the skin and remove the shaved hair. The legs are submerged in a bucket of hot water and the hooves are then plied off. To prepare the organ removal, the esophagus is cut out from the aorta puncture wound and the rectum cavity is cleared. Performing this task will allow all of the connected organs to be pulled out in a single effort.
The roasters are then careful when making the incision to remove the internal organs. A cut is made below the breastbone and a foot long tear is made down through the belly. With this incision the pig seems to go limp and the roaster inserts his hands into the body cavity to begin removing the organs. First come the intestines followed by smaller organs - stomach, liver, heart, and lungs. The organs that can be cooked and used later, such as the intestines, are placed in a separate pale than the inedible parts, such as the lungs. With all of the blood that was drawn from the aorta wound, there’s very little blood visible during the organ removal process, which makes for a relatively clean preparation.
As the organs are being removed one of the roasters tells me they are very similar to human organs - indeed they are. The lungs and heart both look like the human version. Supposedly Japanese scientists are close to growing human organs in pigs, then using the organs for future transplants. From an external standpoint, the pig’s eyes are strikingly similar to human eyes - it’s somewhat creepy looking a pig in the eye, even the socket ridge seems a bit humanlike.
After the organ’s are removed the inside is washed out, a spike is hammered to break the pig’s backbone, and wires are inserted.
A ten foot bamboo pole is then inserted through the pigs rectum, passes through the empty body cavity, and out through the mouth. The pig is then center and stretched out across the pole, then the internal wires are wrapped around the pole and the pig is sewed shut with a few herbs inside to add flavor.
The pig is ready to be cooked.
COOKING AND EATING THE PIG
In this instance the roasters build a large wall of fired and set up the spit to the side - thus the pig can be rolled closer or farther from the fire as necessary. I’ve see where the fire is below the pig, however, I think the side fire results in a better and juicier cooked pig. It takes approximately three hours to cook a thirty kilo pig. There’s not much to the cooking other than rolling the pig back and forth to ensure all sides receive a similar amount of heat. Water is the only basting added to the pig as it’s cooked - this is done to moisten the skin to keep it from flaking.
Next comes the best part - eating the pig. I’ve seen the process from the start and have a new appreciation for the feast. Having seen the pig cooked, it’s certainly not the most humane form of dining - I’ll concede I’m weak; I enjoy the taste of pig and don’t want to give it up.
Once the pig hits the table it’s a bit of a free for all with everyone ripping off the skin. The skin crunches when you bite and the fat on the underside has a sweet taste. The cheek is one of the best parts, however, I think it all tastes pretty good. The key thing is being one of the first in lines so you can pull off whole hunks of meat.
Typically people don’t go for the meat on the hind legs - the legs may be removed and deep fried later. The only thing that may be better than the initial roast pig, is the next day’s crispy pata. Sisig is a popular Filipino dish that involves the meat around the head, however, I’ve never had this as a home cooked meal.
BACKGROUND
It is common for Filipino landowners to keep a pig pen somewhere on their property. The economics are such that it’s financially prudent to purchase a young pig, feed and take care of the pig, and then for a large family celebration (which occur quite frequently in the gathering happy country) roast the pig yourself. In the large and extended Filipino clan structure some Uncle or cousin is the go to person when it’s time to roast a pig.
Ideally the pig will be two months old in the 25-30 kilos weight range - at this age and weight the meat will be the juiciest. The pig selected for this roasting was five months old but still weighed about 30 kilos. Depending upon the number of guests you may need to sacrifice meat juiciness in favor of quantity although you do not want to go too heavier than 40 kilos. Pigs in this range tend to have tougher meat and are fattier. Unfortunately the fat not as sweet or juicy.
KILLING THE PIG
In the initial stages there’s a shrill and deep squealing sound that reverberates through your ears like no sound you’ve ever heard before - it is the worse and most painful sound imaginable. When the pig roasters enter the pen the pig is unaware of it’s pending doom, possibly thinking it’s the daily cleaning and pen washdown, not noticing the rope in the roasters hand that will soon be tied around it’s front leg. Once the leg tying process starts the pig begins to let out squeals that emit from the deepest part of the belly and are a shriek that cancels any other noise. It’s like the screech of a car breaks only it’s distinctly a live animal realizing it’s about to suffer an insurmountable level of pain. To tie the hind legs the pig is flipped onto its backside. The shrieking continues and reaches an even higher pitch. The pig shits itself.
Once all four legs are tied the pig is removed from the pen. From this point forward the screeches have stopped. I can only speculate that the pig has resolved its fate.
The pig is then carried and laid upon a makeshift table - two plywood boards resting atop a tire. A puncture wound is made in the pig’s aorta and a steady stream of blood flows like a faucet into a pail below. The pig’s legs are untied and kick with the final gasp of air.
CLEANING THE PIG
The next part of the process is the hair and organ removal. During the first stages water has been heated over an open fire. Now that the water is boiling, it’s poured over the pig and roasters begin shaving the pig using a combination of razors and knives. Hot water is constantly applied to loosen the skin and remove the shaved hair. The legs are submerged in a bucket of hot water and the hooves are then plied off. To prepare the organ removal, the esophagus is cut out from the aorta puncture wound and the rectum cavity is cleared. Performing this task will allow all of the connected organs to be pulled out in a single effort.
The roasters are then careful when making the incision to remove the internal organs. A cut is made below the breastbone and a foot long tear is made down through the belly. With this incision the pig seems to go limp and the roaster inserts his hands into the body cavity to begin removing the organs. First come the intestines followed by smaller organs - stomach, liver, heart, and lungs. The organs that can be cooked and used later, such as the intestines, are placed in a separate pale than the inedible parts, such as the lungs. With all of the blood that was drawn from the aorta wound, there’s very little blood visible during the organ removal process, which makes for a relatively clean preparation.
As the organs are being removed one of the roasters tells me they are very similar to human organs - indeed they are. The lungs and heart both look like the human version. Supposedly Japanese scientists are close to growing human organs in pigs, then using the organs for future transplants. From an external standpoint, the pig’s eyes are strikingly similar to human eyes - it’s somewhat creepy looking a pig in the eye, even the socket ridge seems a bit humanlike.
After the organ’s are removed the inside is washed out, a spike is hammered to break the pig’s backbone, and wires are inserted.
A ten foot bamboo pole is then inserted through the pigs rectum, passes through the empty body cavity, and out through the mouth. The pig is then center and stretched out across the pole, then the internal wires are wrapped around the pole and the pig is sewed shut with a few herbs inside to add flavor.
The pig is ready to be cooked.
COOKING AND EATING THE PIG
In this instance the roasters build a large wall of fired and set up the spit to the side - thus the pig can be rolled closer or farther from the fire as necessary. I’ve see where the fire is below the pig, however, I think the side fire results in a better and juicier cooked pig. It takes approximately three hours to cook a thirty kilo pig. There’s not much to the cooking other than rolling the pig back and forth to ensure all sides receive a similar amount of heat. Water is the only basting added to the pig as it’s cooked - this is done to moisten the skin to keep it from flaking.
Next comes the best part - eating the pig. I’ve seen the process from the start and have a new appreciation for the feast. Having seen the pig cooked, it’s certainly not the most humane form of dining - I’ll concede I’m weak; I enjoy the taste of pig and don’t want to give it up.
Once the pig hits the table it’s a bit of a free for all with everyone ripping off the skin. The skin crunches when you bite and the fat on the underside has a sweet taste. The cheek is one of the best parts, however, I think it all tastes pretty good. The key thing is being one of the first in lines so you can pull off whole hunks of meat.
Typically people don’t go for the meat on the hind legs - the legs may be removed and deep fried later. The only thing that may be better than the initial roast pig, is the next day’s crispy pata. Sisig is a popular Filipino dish that involves the meat around the head, however, I’ve never had this as a home cooked meal.
For the full set of Pig Roasting photos see FLICKR ALBUM.