Tango Spice Test Kitchen: January 2012

Sunday January First 2012! The day started out so great that it would have been sad not to have cooked something out doors! The day started off really nice, with sunny skies and mild temps through the early afternoon.
This was a great day to roll out the La Caja China and do some roasting. The test kitchen first brought in the Caja China after seeing a video showing that an entire whole hog could be roasted in about four hours. This was brilliant! The first go round was a huge success and will be repeated soon.

For this cook a 13.5 pound pork butt was the ticket. Roasting up this much was a great way to make sure that there is a good amount of 'left overs'! After this roasting is done the pulled pork can be vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer for many a fine meal. Enchiladas, taco pie, empanadas, the list goes on. Preparing the roast started with an injection and a rub down with Tango Spice Cajun Rub.

Injection:
1.5 Cups Apple Sauce / unsweetened
1/4 Cup Orange Juice / no pulp
2 TBS BBQ Sauce / any brand
2 tsp Tango Spice Cajun Rub

As per the instructions, the pork butt was placed in the box skin side down with a temperature probe inserted. Sixteen pounds of charcoal, in two piles, was placed on top of the grid then was set to blaze. After 20 minutes a nice ash formed and the coal were spread out. Start your timer now for 1 hour, after which another 9 pounds is added. Continue this pattern until the internal temperature of the roast is 180. Once the 180 is reached, you can open the box and flip the pork over, place the charcoal grid back on. This will now get a great crispness to form.

When the pork was all pulled apart, I could not help myself and rolled a couple of pulled pork tacos! Wow were they tasty!

I have to say that the box really is a cool cookin' rig. I am going to have to do more cooks so I can get the timing down and also try differing meats and cuts as well. Stay Tuned!