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Ever used one of these?

  • Thread starter Thread starter rbinms33
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rbinms33

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I had the opportunity this past weekend to let someone else do the cooking. We had 4 9lb picnics and 2 8lb BB's. You should have seen what these guys cooked them in. Here's the website:

http://www.lacajachina.com/

It's a plywood box lined with sheet metal. You put the meat inside, put the lid on then put the charcoal on top of the lid and let it run. What really got me was that I would have normally cooked these for 12-14 hrs at 225 but this stuff was done in 4 hrs! 4 friggin' hours! AND it was fall off the bone tender too! I couldn't believe it. The only complaint I had about it was there was no smoke flavor to it.

The only prep they did to the meat was put a dry rub on it and inject it with Mojo Criollo. I've never used it on pork but have marinated chicken in it before.

I'm all for learning new ways to cook things but this one left me shaking my head. Anybody else ever seen/used one of these things? And would this be considered pressure cooking? I'm thinking not, but what would you call it? Indirect? Convection?
 
First off, did you notice the turkeys have been spatchcocked?

Well they call it a roaster, and this is very similar to that method of the turkeys in the upturned metal garbage container, coals on top and the sides.

All these variations seem like outdoor ovens to me.

That cook chamber is probably getting into the high 400's or so, but indirect heat is leaving no burning. If there is a pretty good seal, that would also contribute to why these things stay moist.

Very interesting. Never saw someone take the garbage can concept and convert it into a usable mobile cooker like this.

It said free shipping, so if anyone wants to send me one for Christmas, I'll test it out and write a review or two :)
 
If there is a pretty good seal, that would also contribute to why these things stay moist.

When they took the lid off to flip the shoulders skin side up, I did notice a pretty good fatcap still there. Like it hadn't really been rendered yet. But there was about 2" of juice in the bottom of the pan. Come to think of it.....isn't this kinda how a luau pig is done? Put the pig in a hole, cover it with burlap and put coals on top?
 
seen one once but never seen anybody use one
i think it's a cuban thing
the place where i used to work had one sitting in the back of the shop covered in dust

asked my boss what it was he said it was a cuban pig cooker
 
I have seen pig done 2 ways.

Both involve a pit of coals. Pig parts wrapped in foil in one method. Throw in coal bed. Cover with piece of corrugated aluminum. Pile up dirt to cover the aluminum and leave a mound of dirt, covering all the wisps of steam. Leave for 24 hours. Disassemble. Best damn pork butt I ever ate. Pork was softer than the bun it was on.

Other is very similar, just cover with wet banana leaves. Don't have too many of them in Chicago, so I'm just tempted to go dig holes in my neighbors front lawn for my coal beds.
 
I think you need one of these. When you're not cooking on it, it would make a dandy little cart to tote wood around and stuff.

On second thought, you could fill it with ice and make a nice party cooler.
 
But it would bind you up good so you wouldn't POOPIE for a month.
 
Had enough rice at B2 to last me a lifetime, small cereal bowl of it right out of the box.
 
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