We finally have our BBQ set up! To see photos of our actual BBQ on our actual decking, please visit my other blog www.kimbaspride.com – it has actual photos of it fully set up plus a post on our first BBQ when we decided to “christen” it and cook up a BBQ lunch for some friends.
Coming up in July, we’re expecting 40 people mostly family and close friends at our house for lunch after our son Micah’s Baptism to celebrate the occasion. Now that we have the BBQ and decking all set up, I thought what better way to celebrate in the middle of winter than a hearty Spit Roast lunch! Most importantly, I wanted to attempt something I’ve always wanted to attempt… the Whole Suckling Pig.
Of course, because I’ve never done this before I just couldn’t risk “winging it” on the day without testing out the rotisserie first. I needed to understand how it works, how quickly it cooks, and whether or not I can get the skin to be as crispy as I really would like it to be to make the perfect pork crackling.
Meet our test subject – the Boneless Rolled Pork Leg from Tasman Meats. This baby is about 2.8kg. The whole suckling pig I plan to purchase will be AT LEAST 15kg. The key to prepping this meat is to make sure it is fully dried and all the moisture has been absorbed using a paper towel. Rubbing it generously with a lot of salt helps dry the meat out as well. I’ve also stuffed some dried Thyme herbs into the meat for just that little bit of flavour.
Once the meat is prepped, it is skewered onto the rotisserie.
For the first 3 hours, cook the meat covered in foil in low 120 degrees heat. We only turned on the 2 burners directly underneath the meat. I also decided to put a baking tray below the meat to catch all the fat so it doesn’t drip onto the BBQ and the flames below… much less cleaning for afterwards! Close the BBQ lid and keep a close eye on the temperature.
After 3 hours, remove foil and turn off the 2 burners underneath the meat. We then turned on the backlight burner instead on HIGH. The BBQ lid was then closed again. After about 15-20 minutes you can actually HEAR the skin “popping”!
About an hour later, as you can see the skin is turning nice and golden brown.
You will know it’s done when you “knock” on the skin and it’s nice and hard! Perfect crackling! The roast has been cooked perfectly. Turn off backlight burner. Allow to cool before removing roast from the skewer.
The crackling also comes off the meat so easily and we got a generous bowl of crackling! It was sooo amazing. Super crunchy and the fat underneath was deliciously juicy and flavoursome.
Test pork roast was a success! Can’t wait to do this all over again in July with a whole suckling pig. Stay tuned!!
Kimba's Living 
The roast pork looks so yummy!
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gosh can i tumpang makan at your place?
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omg. tapau for me can?
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Extremely handy photo tutorial….your recipe is one of the best roasted pork recipes I have ever come across indeed…just can't wait to make this of myself!!
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what if i dont have a back light burner
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