China Box / Pig Roast

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Not contradiction, perhaps misunderstood.

I take all the spices and garlic after sifting/straining it and leave nothing but the liquid.
I inject the liquid into the meat.
The liquid will add flavor but mostly tenderizes. Along with the pineapple juice, orange juice combined with vinegar rival naranja agrida (sour oranges), which is also well known to break down and tenderize meat. In fact, a southern recipe for tenderizing ribs is to marinade in orange juice and vinegar.
The main source of the flavor for my pork comes from then rubbing the remaining sifted ingredients along with ample salt, all over.
I never, ever do what some folks do which is to cut slits and stuff garlic and other things in the pig. Don't like the flavor nor what it does to the pig, which often results in drying it out as juices come out of the slits.

I assure you, the flavor is amazing. The meat falls off the bone and you struggle to scrape it out of the pan.

Great thing about this is there are many styles. I have tried all of them. I just landed on this one as a winner. Ironically, as I mentioned, this recipe beat Bobby Flay in the show Throwdown as it is identical to what the folks from La Caja China do. I added the cut slits to the back and additional salt when turning it over.

Cooking a pig in a La Caja China is truly an evolution in attempts.
One thing I strongly believe in and will emphasize, when getting a pig, smaller is so, so much tastier than bigger.

Gotcha.

Yeah, we're using terms differently, now your method is making more sense.

I was just passing on how Marcelino cooks with his, if I had a china box of my own, I'd happily give your method a try. Cooking is a journey, not a destination.