Caja China / Cajun Microwave Cuban Pig Roast Recipe
After years of trying and creating recipes for our La Caja China style (Cajun Microwave) roasting boxes, here’s a recipe that never fails to please: the classic Cuban pig roast. No one who owns a pig roaster should go without trying this at least one in their lifetime!
The key to doing a Cuban pig roast (beside using a “Caja Asadora” or Roasting Box) is the marinade. The flavors this recipe calls for are classic Caribbean fare, common from Puerto Rico throughout the islands, and into Cuba. They include garlic, sour orange (or “naranja agria” in spanish), salt, black peppercorns, and oregano. If unable to find sour orange, a two to one mixture of orange and lemon juice can be used instead. For a whole roast pig, use four or five large heads of garlic (70 to 80 cloves). For every 10 cloves add about ½ teaspoon of salt and black pepper and oregano to taste. Use a mortar and pestle to mash the mixture into a paste and scoop into a separate bowl. Continue this procedure until all the garlic cloves are gone, then stir in about one quart of sour orange. This amount is desired to barbecue whole pig. It is preferable to brine the hog the night before your pig roast. This will ensure that the hog does not dry out while cooking in your Caja China box. Brining is basically covering the pig in a liquid solution that is one-gallon water to one-cup salt, and allow it to sit overnight. For Latin Touch events, we inject the whole pig (especially in the pork shoulders and pork butt) prior to brining, allowing the marinade more time to work its magic. When placing the whole pig onto the CajaChina Roasting Box rack you can also use a dry mojo rub on the skin prior to cooking. If available, you can add halved sour oranges along the ribs and cavity as well. Three to four hours later (after flipping the pig for the last 30-45 minutes) you can officially consider yourself an honorary Cuban. You have just prepared a classic dish dating back generations, and because you did it in a Caja China (or La Caja China) box, it didn’t take 8 hours to do it! Serve with “moro” (white rice and black beans) and yucca and you will have the perfect side dishes for your classic Caja China Cuban pig roast.
For details and information on how to order your Caja China Roasting Box, recipe book, and all other accessories visit http://www.shoplatintouch.com.
You’re absolutely right about the marinade. Nice post
Babygirl said this on December 17, 2010 at 7:31 am |
Much appreciated. Thanks for stopping by.
mmasters305 said this on December 17, 2010 at 5:03 pm |
[…] Bowl brings a latin flavor to their 2011 New Year’s Celebration with a Cuban style whole pig roast provided by local Miami catering company Latin Touch. For those looking for a family atmosphere […]
Bird Bowl tabs Latin Touch for New Year’s Eve Extravaganza featuring Caja China. | Latin Touch said this on January 7, 2011 at 2:41 pm |
I just ordered my caja china, and I am looking forward to roast my first choncho.
Nicole said this on January 17, 2011 at 7:59 pm |
That’s great Nicole! Let us know how it goes, and if you need any pointers or recipe ideas you know where to come!
mmasters305 said this on January 17, 2011 at 8:15 pm |
Hi there,
We bought a Caja China last year and have had mixed results with our marinade. A couple of times it was too salty. Obviously, I am doing something wrong. I followed the instructions in the box for the brine and injected all the brine into the pig. Was I to marinate in the brine and not inject it?
For your recipe, what do I do with the mashed garlic and sour oranges? Marinade, inject? First brine and marinade, then rub with the garlic oranges mixture?
Thank you,
Denise
Denise said this on July 28, 2011 at 4:04 pm |
Hi Denise,
Soak the pig in the brine overnight prior to cooking rather than injecting. That should solve the issue with the saltiness. You can also inject a marinade, in addition to brining. The brining is meant to keep the pig moist and juicy while cooking. Hope this helps, and thanks for joining the community! Definitely check back and let us know how it goes!
mmasters305 said this on July 28, 2011 at 4:24 pm |
Thank you. Okay, so marinade (inject) the pig with the garlic sour orange mixture and then brine the pig overnight. Take it out of the brine and put a dry rub on it. Great.
I’m cooking it Saturday. I usually go the day before to get the pig but would like to go today instead of tomorrow. If I refrigerate it, will it still be as fresh and good?
Thanks so much. We originally bought the Caja China for my parents 50th wedding anniversay last year. It worked great. Now we roast a pig whenever my boys are home from college. This year we are taking it on the road for our tailgate parties. Both my boys play college football and we loooove to tailgate. We’ll see how the pig on the road goes.
Thanks again for your help!
Denise
Denise said this on July 28, 2011 at 4:37 pm |
Exactly. That combination should give you some juicy and delicious results! I would start with no more than about 10-12 lbs. of charcoal on a pig from 40-75 lbs. You can go with a little less if its smaller (suckling). Remove the ash and add about 10 more lbs every hour. I’m sure its gonna be a huge success!
mmasters305 said this on July 28, 2011 at 5:16 pm |
I couldn’t resist commenting. Perfectly written!
Janet said this on September 23, 2012 at 3:32 pm |
Thanks Janet! Glad to have you in the community!
mmasters305 said this on September 24, 2012 at 9:20 pm |