One of my favorite things to barbecue is a whole pig. My father taught me how to do it more than 50 years ago, and I’ve probably cooked close to 100 of them since. Now, in my later years, I’ve passed that knowledge down to my son, Bennie. He’s as passionate a cook as I am and has been bugging me to teach him for the last few years.
Yesterday, we threw a baby shower for another of my sons and his wife, who are expecting. I turned the pig over to Bennie. I still helped and provided guidance, of course, but it was a nice change to be the sous chef rather than the executive chef.
And now that I’ve passed the torch to him, I’m free to enjoy everything.
Especially cigars.
In years past, I never had time to light up a stick during a pig cook. There’s simply too much to do, from preparing and seasoning the pig to monitoring the fire and managing the cook. But with Bennie taking over, I was able to enjoy some great cigars yesterday.
At 5:30 a.m., I lit a La Gloria Cubana Intención. At 8:00, I had an El Titan de Bronze Black Swan. Then, around noon, I smoked a gorgeous Southern Draw Manzanita. I had planned to smoke a Fuente Don Carlos during the party, but there were too many toddlers and infants running around, so I saved that one for another day. When all the guests were gone, I lit up a Casa 1910 Soldadera Edition Teniente Angela.
By the time it was over, we had fed more than 50 people, and Bennie had done a hell of a job with the pig. Here’s how the cook unfolded.
Leave a comment