Going Whole-Hog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Roasting Your Own Pig This Summer
Factor about a pound per person when it comes to ordering a whole pig. So, 70 lbs to feed a party of 70 generously, provided everyone eats meat. Josh and Jessica Applestone, owners of Fleisher’s Grass-Fed Meats and butcher shop in Park Slope, suggest ordering a smaller pig than you might suspect. “Usually people’s leftovers overwhelm their fridge, their friends, and even their dogs. After drinking beer, snacking and chilling for a full day, people are far less hungry than you might believe,” they write in a section devoted to pig roasts in their book, The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat. You might be better off getting a suckling pig — essentially, a baby, typically weighing 50 lbs or under — for your party, or even a few whole shoulders to roast on a spit instead. These will eliminate a lot of the fuss and struggle that goes into pig-roasting (carrying the pig out of the butcher store is not a job for one) and allow you to focus on cooking it well, and in faster time.