La Caja China: Now This Is How You Cook A Whole Pig

Sure, porkchops and hotdogs make for nice barbecue fare.  Sometimes, though, don’t you wish you could just roast an entire pig in your backyard?  If you’ve ever wondered how to make that happen, here’s your answer: the La Caja China.

While it looks nothing more than a humble pushcart, it’s actually an impressive roasting machine, able to cook whole pigs in a fraction of the time it takes to do the same over an open spit roast.   Depending on what you cook, it can clear the job within 1 to 2 hours, all while requiring minimal supervision.

The La Caja China comes in three sizes: small, medium and large, with the biggest one able to roast whole pigs up to 100 pounds, as well as 18 chickens or 6 turkeys in a  single go.  Unfortunately, they have nothing for the 300-pound monster hogs you’re breeding, but you can always split one into three sections for cooking individually.

Each roaster consists of a wheeled plywood box with pushcart handles, so you can easily move it around the backyard while finding an optimal position to do your cooking.  Inside, aluminum lines the wood panels, with a drip tray sitting in the bottom of the assembly.  The metal lid covering the box features an integrated charcoal pan and grid on top.

To cook a pig, all you do is place the swine (dead, cleaned out and preferably marinated, of course) between the two included stainless steel trays, lay it flat inside the box and close the lid.  The charcoal and fire stay outside on the top tray, with the heat generated doing all the cooking right below it.  Once all that is set up, you can leave it to be until the top side of the hog is cooked, at which point, you simply turn the meat over to do the other side.

Pricing for the La Caja China are $239, $319.99 and $349.99 for the small, medium and  large models, respectively.

[Source: La Caja China]