First attempt in China (rampant prOn)

Long time no see!

So here I was wandering through the aisles of my friendly neighborhood Walmart during my current visit to China, trying to think of something to cook up. There were certainly some tempting options between the S&M bondage crabs:


and these guys:



But then I remembered having seen something about a pig-meat contest underway in the Throwdown World, so I went for a gander at the piggy parts section.



I was glad that this week’s Throwdown contest is “anything goes (pork-related)” because me not being a butcher, I wasn’t sure what a lot of these parts were. I finally settled on one of the cuts below in the middle for the larger size and the marbling, plus another bonus piece laden with quite a bit more fat just to mix things up.



The charcoal I came up with was some decent lump. However when the firestarter I bought didn’t live up to its namesake, I went for the backup of fire-roasting coals on a gas burner to get them going.



Then it was time to fire up my spit and get busy. And what more scenic place to do that than a (factory) rooftop garden at sunset?






Yes, I actually brought my trusty rotisserie all the way to China for sh*ts and giggles to entertain friends. Because I can’t juggle.



I went for a Cajun rub on the fattier, smaller piece and a hickory rub on the larger cut in order to give my Chinese friends a little taste of Americana.



I finished off the larger cut with some KC Masterpiece sauce. We didn’t have one of ‘dem fancy western cutting boards or even forks at the ready, so we went at it with what was available.



As the evening advanced, day turned to night and full beers turned to empty ones (I believe you may know what this can be like) (yes, YOU) my photography skills declined appreciably, so sadly, the above is the best shot I have of the final result, seconds before it vanished. I guess this will have to be my entry for the Throwdown. Knowing that a refreshing Zero shower likely awaits me, I have the comfort of knowing at least the happy recipients of these pork parts had a new-found appreciation of rotisserie cooking and couldn’t stop talking about what they want to cook next. It could get interesting...

Thanks for looking!

--Jonny Rotisserie

BTW if anyone is interested, my book www.VacationBoyStories.com is now out in print on Amazon. The most Q-specific chapter “My Butt’s on Fire!” should give you at least a couple giggles, mostly at my expense.

Phubar said:

Good to see you again Brother!

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Good seeing you, too! BTW I tried to check out your recent post "Padawan and Phubar's Picanha with Risotto and Veggie Cake Pron"
I don't know if your links went down or the Chinese censors decided the photos were too enticing for their populace to bear, but all I could see was the photo of the BBQ inferno. The way everyone was describing the photos, I am certain I'm missing something important...like the pics of the actual food. I have never felt so repressed!

Phubar said:

Only Phools will take an air travel with their pit!:wink:

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Comparatively, the plane was a piece of cake compared to the multiple sans-elevator train transfers I've done since arriving in the country. It did feel like a labor of love at times, but a well rewarded one already.

--Jonny Rotisserie

CharredApron said:

Love the long distance TD entries. I have done a few.

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Hi Jed,

I just checked out your site and it looks great! I am curious how you scored an in-house wood-fired oven option in your vacation rental in France? I love that you took advantage of it.

I saw you were using old grape vines for your cook. When I was first getting started using Auspit, I was living in an apartment in Paris where BBQs were not entirely...um...legal, so charcoal was hard to come by. For some reason I was able to more easily find bags of grape vine chunks and sometimes that is all I had to cook on. It flared up and kicked off some pretty acrid smoke when it first got started, but after that once it settled down (and I am starting to drool just thinking about it) I found that I got some of the best flavors I have ever had cooking over that. Good stuff!

My days in France were the Dark Years before I came into the light of the Brethren, so I have no posts from then. Once I took the spit out to the Alps for some photo shoots. The day we had a perfect setup with people at an old farmhouse with a panoramic view of Mt. Blanc, it decided to pour down rain. In the midst of my despair, the farm owner said, why don't we just cook inside? They had a smoke room with a huge chimney where they used to hang up whole pigs. It worked out great. While the photos weren't anything I could use, I fed the 14 friends and family who had come over for the event and it was a fun afternoon.

Here are a couple shots of that session:


This is a blurry look up the chimney:

CharredApron said:

Got your book to, read it on my last adventure in Chile.
jed

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Thanks for grabbing a copy! If you get a chance, PLEASE post a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.com. I will rejoice even if you only put that "dis stuff is not worth wiping my arse with." I am that starving for reviews.

--Jonny Rotisserie

woodpelletsmoker said:

Which part are you in. I am a chinese in Beijing.

Look the big rope, usually we pay 15% or more for the rope

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Nice to know there are more Brethren in China! I'm in Xiamen.

I think at "those" kinds of places for people, you have to pay extra for the ropes there, too. :wink:

--Jonny Rotisserie