Happy Memorial Day 🙂
I wanted to write about the wild suckling pig that I hunted. Which included the “Importance of Wild” from a Foodie’s perspective. Without getting into too much detail about the hunt, let’s get to the food, because damnit, it’s Memorial day, a good day for enjoying good weather, and grilling hot dogs and hamburgers, and being American. What it’s truly about outside of Mondays off from school… remembering the men and women who passed in the United States Armed Forces. Formerly known as “Decoration Day” … (Memorial > Decoration).
In memoriam: this wild suckling pig…I brined this pig with garlic, thyme, rosemary, orange juice, salt, sugar, bay leaves, black peppercorns, juniper berries.
started building the rig, but then the forward pressure of the pig and the damage to the front legs (shoulders) necessitated some cross-bar action for support. Then, went booyakasha.
Lashed the pig to the two crossbars and built stone and wood supports. This way is better than a rotisserie. 
face forward, click on the pictures to enlarge
Chopped 400 pounds of almond wood for this project. On this property, the wild boars eat almonds, pistachios, grapes, and figs. Just Acorns & Jamon Iberico what? So…why not use the feed of choice and smoke the pig and cook with almond wood? One of the logistical challenges was supporting the broken wild suckling boar leg. I whittled some wood and made two horizontal crossbars to support the hind legs and front shoulders. I lashed(tied) that on and roasted it face forward toward the fire for 4 hours and then skin side toward the fire for 2, flipping my V shaped rig.6 hours slow roasted. The reason that you roast like this is so the juices marinate the leg and continue to cook it. I have a few thoughts on how to make it even better for next time, but it was very good. 🙂
🙂 Food is Love. Love your Food and where it comes from.
Happy Memorial Day from Pursuit of Food & Erik Sun