Filipino Tradition

Is anyone else doing anything like this...a spit-fire pig roast??

What area are you in? I have contacts for two different people who roast pigs, but I'm in Southern Indiana. One guy charges for the entire pig, but then will keep anything that isn't eaten (lame) and the other guy will stay and butcher the pig and package leftovers, which is probably what you want. The latter we know because my FFIL is a Conservation Officer (cop for the DNR - they go by different names by state) and they get a pig for all sorts of occasions - mainly their yearly summer camp. It's a thought, but they might know. Also, if you know a family owned bbq shop, they might be able to hook you up.

Im actually in Arizona but my wedding is in San Diego. Its super lame because we have a local BBQ joint in town I called to ask just to get an idea for prices so i could figure out the food budget but for some reason nobody knew, I asked for the owner/manager and for some reason he didnt have that info!!! WTF right? I was curious about pricing but Im just gonna have to work the food budget later when I find out, Ill have to call some places in San Diego I suppose but I know there gonna be super expensive. My brother offered to roast it for us but I dont want family working on the big day so I guess I need the pricing for the pig + butchering service like you mentioned, I hadnt thought about that part....thanks for the info wowjunkie!!

We had the whole pig for our engagement party. We had about 80 people and a pig the same size as you listed and I think the total price (cooked and delivered) was $150. And we had tons of left overs.

This was the lowest price we found and depending on the area I would say you are looking at $300 or less. Just call around. A lot of deli's/meat counter type places can get the pigs and some staff members will cook them for you on the side for a little extra cash. That is how we got ours so cheep. A lot of rental places also rent the big smokers, but you could also do the hole in the ground type of cooking. My FH's aunt and uncle do one every year like that and the meat is always sooo tender. Super slow cooked and the dirt and wrappings keep the pig super moist.

good luck and good food. LOL

Oh, and a lot of places will (and sorry for the graphic nature of the next few words) go ahead and remove the head and peal back the skin so you can rub spices on it before its cooked. You rub the spices on the meat, pull the skin back up and slow cook it. When all is said and done, the skin comes right off and has sealed in the flavor and the meat just peels right off with a fork. No need for knives or butcher. Just falls off the bone.

I found this site in San Diego that does a whole roasted pig as well as the rest of the catering - they have a link to get a quote

http://grcatering.com/index.html

This site offers the same thing, and also has a way to get a price quote

http://www.rotisserieaffair.com/?gclid=CISq-umDyZsCFZJM5QodwGQoKw

I wasn't sure if you wanted like a Hawaiian cook-out or a more traditional menu, but both of those sites offer both, and if they're worth their weight you'll be able to get exactly what you want!

Thank you guys sooo much for your help!!! CelticChick that is an awesome deal you got I hope I can get something around that price and thanks for the tip on seeing if a staff member would do it on the side for extra$$ Im definitly gonna look into that and wowjunkie again thanks for the links I dont know why but Google was NOT working with me it was just giving me the run around with all those instructions!! lol (maybe i didnt put in the right key words idk) well thank you guys so much youve helped me out a lot!! Good luck to you guys with all your planning!! ;D

My experience with Filipino weddings is that people show up with lots and lots of food! (Including a surprise whole pig - it shocked the caterer's assistant into tears because it had eyes and teeth!)

I also found this:

http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/weddingplanning_sxwj.htm

The lasso thing is also done in El Salvadoran weddings

You can also call Filipino restaurants in San Diego. They can refer folks who cook Filipino roasted pig (lechon). It's cooked so the skin is crispy and meat is moist. Yummy!

We're planning on having lechon at our wedding too.

Just FYI, Filipino don't bring food to weddings unless it's planned.

Don't forget the sauce!! Seriously, I was at a wedding, they forgot the sauce and there were a bunch of upset Filipinos. Mang Tomas is the usual brand.

We are also doing lechon at my wedding. Have fun! It's a great treat and an amazing sight to see especially if you've never seen one before.

You should not have any problems finding a place to cook one for you in San Diego since they have a huge Filipino community.