View Full Version : La Caja China
Snaquebite
05-19-2010, 19:27
Anyone out there ever had experience with one of these? I was watching food network and apparently they work really well. I usually end up cooking several pigs a year and it peaked my interest.
http://www.lacajachina.com/category_s/1.htm
How does it work?? The pictures show a wooden box on wheels??? :confused:
Oh Wait... My Google Fu is tingling,, in my toes... :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WDbU5OyhGg
Looks like it would use a lot of charcoal,, but I want one... :lifter :D
Bill Harsey
05-20-2010, 12:31
Hopefully this won't happen when you guys cook some pig: http://www.kgw.com/home/-Argument-over-pig-lineage-leads-to-downtown-Portland-brawl-94286154.html
Edited to add: Above linked Oregon story involves alcohol, prestigous pig roasting contest, strip joint, Chef fighting with organizer, tasers, pepper spray and police. Evidently a good MMA match.
Team Sergeant
05-20-2010, 12:46
I've been thinking very seriously about purchasing one of these.....La Caja China
Use of La Caja China is somewhat controversial among Cuban exiles. Not quite as bad as the Sunni/Shia split but close.
Growing up, family and friends had several different ways of roasting/grilling a pig: 55-gallon drum fashioned into a giant bbq, digging a pit in the ground and raising and above ground pit with cinder blocks.
They're all decent, but La Caja China is objectively better. The meat is tender, the skin is crispy and best of all it's a lot faster. It really works and was the favorite on my dad's side of the family.
But if you're like some who enjoy the process of roasting as much as eating, you might want those extra four hours to stand around a fire, shoot the shit and drink more beer.
The hundreds you save by not buying a box and just digging a pit could buy a lot of beer.
Team Sergeant
05-20-2010, 21:44
Use of La Caja China is somewhat controversial among Cuban exiles. Not quite as bad as the Sunni/Shia split but close.
Growing up, family and friends had several different ways of roasting/grilling a pig: 55-gallon drum fashioned into a giant bbq, digging a pit in the ground and raising and above ground pit with cinder blocks.
They're all decent, but La Caja China is objectively better. The meat is tender, the skin is crispy and best of all it's a lot faster. It really works and was the favorite on my dad's side of the family.
But if you're like some who enjoy the process of roasting as much as eating, you might want those extra four hours to stand around a fire, shoot the shit and drink more beer.
The hundreds you save by not buying a box and just digging a pit could buy a lot of beer.
That's the problem, digging. I live in a desert, the land is dry and the soil is almost rock hard. Digging here is not an option hence the La Caja China.
I cannot roast a whole pig in/on my grill, but a box like that would work wonders. Building a fire and roasting a pig over coals would also be wonderful, but again, the only wood in the Phoenix area is mesquite, and again, not an option. (Yes we can purchase wood but it costs an arm and a leg.) In Fla digging might not be an option either..... lots of water.
Dozer523
05-20-2010, 22:28
That's the problem, digging. Fine. Go ahead and buy it, we'll bring our own damn beer.:D
ZonieDiver
05-20-2010, 22:34
Fine. Go ahead and buy it, we'll bring our own damn beer.
And hurry, we're hungry! :D
(PS - One of the best pig roasts I ever attended was at a UofMiami Army ROTC FTX in the "Everglades" and the pig WAS buried and roasted - by predominately Cuban-exile cadets! Yum!)
(PPS - I'll loan you my pick-axe. It can get through this damned AZ "caliche" pretty well... good enough to dig a swimming pool!)
mark46th
05-22-2010, 12:03
I used to help a friend who had a catering business. He had a portable pig oven that used propane. I did pigs up to 200 pounds in it. It was great until he decided he wanted to add flavor using wood chips. The grease from the pig dripped down onto the wood chips. The chips eventually ignited, causing a massive grease fire that destroyed the damn thing...
That's the problem, digging. I live in a desert, the land is dry and the soil is almost rock hard. Digging here is not an option hence the La Caja China.
I cannot roast a whole pig in/on my grill, but a box like that would work wonders. Building a fire and roasting a pig over coals would also be wonderful, but again, the only wood in the Phoenix area is mesquite, and again, not an option. (Yes we can purchase wood but it costs an arm and a leg.) In Fla digging might not be an option either..... lots of water.
Have you tried building an above ground pit using cinder blocks? A buddy of mine swears by that technique.
Something like this: http://www.ehow.com/how_5869029_build-block-bbq-pig-pit.html
http://www.helloningbo.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1568&d=1209808522
Team Sergeant
06-09-2010, 07:31
Anyone out there ever had experience with one of these? I was watching food network and apparently they work really well. I usually end up cooking several pigs a year and it peaked my interest.
http://www.lacajachina.com/category_s/1.htm
Bought one and will be making a Cuban style pig very soon! I'll make sure I take photos and keep a log.:D
Sacamuelas
06-09-2010, 08:31
Bought one and will be making a Cuban style pig very soon! I'll make sure I take photos and keep a log.:D
Sounds like the perfect time to plan for a ProfessionalSoldiers.com ADMIN and Moderator party. :D
Team Sergeant
06-09-2010, 10:08
Sounds like the perfect time to plan for a ProfessionalSoldiers.com ADMIN and Moderator party. :D
You guys are always welcome at my table.
(Kinda tough when you have individuals all over the country....)
Bought one and will be making a Cuban style pig very soon! I'll make sure I take photos and keep a log.:D
Hey! I'm still waiting for that review of your cookshack electric smoker that you said you were going to do in a thread some time ago!
Team Sergeant
06-10-2010, 11:08
Hey! I'm still waiting for that review of your cookshack electric smoker that you said you were going to do in a thread some time ago!
LOL, I though I did that!
The only thing the cookshack smoker cooks well is pork butts and turkey breasts... everything else I cook on a real BBQ, ribs, brisket etc.
If anyone wants more research materials, the Acadian term is Cochon de lait. There are several variations of pig roasting devices that we use in south louisiana. We use pits, a device like what you show that we sometimes call a cajun microwave, also a vertical thinwalled metal box with a motor mounted to the top to rotate the pig and a low fire in the base of the chamber, and a cinder block "oven/pit" like the ehow article mentioned above. A google search should bring up several of these options. Each one has its pros and cons.
Team Sergeant
06-12-2010, 10:17
My La Caja China arrived yesterday. I assembled it today. Before I put it together I reinforced it. The original construction and fabrication sucked, bad. Don't get one if you're a do it yourself type cause when you see this thing it's going to piss you off. After an hour of "fixing" it should last more then one use.
I would not purchase another and I would make one before I bought one again. FYI TS
Snaquebite
06-12-2010, 11:01
Thanks, had put off ordering, but now I won't. How about some pics?
Team Sergeant
06-13-2010, 09:30
Thanks, had put off ordering, but now I won't. How about some pics?
Got to find my camera!
La Caja Chica is what we use down here all the time. Part of the fun is roasting the pig. Of course, that is directly proportional to how many beers and friends you have there. If no friends are available then it sucks, but if no friends and no beers are available, well then, there is no reason why one should spend that much time with that damn thing.
My 02.
219seminole
06-13-2010, 14:16
TS, did you get the aluminum or the galvanized steel model?
Team Sergeant
06-14-2010, 08:44
TS, did you get the aluminum or the galvanized steel model?
Aluminum, and the aluminum used is just a tiny bit thicker than the roll of aluminum on your shelf. It's as thin as can be and still retain stiffness.
BTW I cut steel for a year in a factory so I have a bit of a background in steel fabrication.
In some places the aluminum on the La Caja China is "stapled" to the wood with "two" whole staples and those were not driven in well at all.
This La Caja China box is the most minimal construction job I've seen in a long time. There's not an edge that will not cut you to ribbons and there are warnings just to that end.
219seminole
06-14-2010, 22:06
Thanks for the info, TS.
Sounds like making one from scratch is option numero uno.
Team Sergeant
06-15-2010, 09:02
Thanks for the info, TS.
Sounds like making one from scratch is option numero uno.
I'd go to Lowes and purchase some plywood, line it with a sheet of stainless steel and make my own box. The tray/box that holds the charcoal doesn't look as if it will last past one or two uses, very flimsy indeed. I'll be making my own soon I'm sure.
For a more sturdy purchase option you may want to look into Al Simon's version. It's several times more expensive than the caja china, but made of Stainless and Cypress. I'm sure making your own is still the most economical method but Al's seem to be holding up well around LSU tailgating. I do not own one personally, but have heard many favorable reviews and have seen the quality of construction in person.
Ok, here's the skinny on the "La Caja China"; this past weekend I participated in the Summit Food and Wine Festival with several national chefs'... "appetizer course from the current “Iron Chef”, Jose Garces. Afterwards, a fabulous fish course prepared by chef Craig Shelton, from the Ryland Inn. A little “Latin flair” featuring a special pork dish will then be provided by Chef Douglas Rodriguez, the innovator of “Nuevo Latino” cuisine..."a tasty dessert course from one of America’s best pastry chefs, Pichet Ong."
Rodriquez did the after party, whole roasted pig on a stainless steel "La Caja China" with the owner and designer of the "La Caja" (he is going to be sending me some pic's) the only word to describe the roosted pig is: incredible. I've never tasted anything cook that large 75#+/-, and also cooked whole, so perfectly executed.
The technique was mindless. Basically season, layout the product on the rack, place in the "Caja", spread the charcoal on the table over the product, light, and 90 minutes or so later, a perfectly cooked pig. That's the upside.
The downside imho
You will always need two people to deal with the rack for large product, as it makes no sense to buy the cheaper and poorly may wooden models.
The cost of the stainless Steel rig is approximately $1200, a lot of money if you are only using it a few times a year.
Cleaning the beast: find a midget, because bending over that box will have your lower back conversing with your decision process in no time.
Closing thought: food groupies are little piggies.
The first one is of the owner and developer of La Caja China
The second one is a perfectly cooked pig.