In 1972, the late James Beard–that celebrated chef and cookbook author, whose foundation bestows the coveted annual awards for culinary excellence–declared about the pig roast: “…They provide one of the most delectable ways of eating pork–crisp skin shiny and golden; soft, delicate flesh; and tiny bones that are a delight for picking.”
For those who love pork, few would argue that nothing beats the pig roast for taste and succulence worthy of poetic musings.
“There is no flavour comparable,” proclaimed the English writer Charles Lamb, one hundred years earlier, in his 1874 essay, A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig. “I will contend, to that of the crisp, tawny, well-watched, not over-roasted, crackling, as it is well called—the very teeth are invited to their share of the pleasure at this banquet…”
Hosting such a 'banquet', however, can take a bit of planning. For one, unless you have a huge freezer, or an extremely small pig, you'll need a lot of very hungry friends; it could be somewhere between 60 and 150, depending on the size of the pig. A pig roast also requires a good deal more space, equipment, and time, than it does to throw some hamburgers on the grill. Consequently, these days, it's unlikely to be a regularly scheduled event on a social calendar; pig roasts are more of a novelty experience, reserved for a special occasion.
It wasn’t always like this. For many a millennia, the pig roast was fairly standard cuisine. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers lived communally, dependent on one another for food, childcare, and just about everything else, so a whole hog cooked over the fire made a lot of sense. Even into the Middle Ages, single-family households were very unusual, and generations of kin-folk usually cohabited alongside other townspeople, including orphans, widows, servants, boarders, friends, you name it. All this to say, it would have been a whole lot easier to rustle up that crowd for your pig roast.
And since our species has been cooking meat, hog roasts of some form or another have featured in the human diet. Fossil records date the pig, or its predecessors, as far back as 40 million years, and archaeological evidence shows that 200,000 years ago, our ancestors barbecued cattle, deer and boar, or their distant cousins. We know that the ancient Romans liked to roast wild boars with honey and vinegar, a trend that carried into medieval Europe, where no kitchen lacked a basic spit roasting set up, and hog roasts were much in vogue. In a larger household there would have been a servant tasked with standing vigil over the slow cooking meat, periodically turning the spit.
In America, we have Hernando de Soto to thank for bringing the first thirteen pigs to Tampa Bay, Fla, in 1539. By the time of his death in 1542, at least 700 pigs roamed the area, a number that doesn’t take in to account the ones that escaped to start families of wild pigs, those used in conciliatory trades with Native Americans, and the many that were consumed. In any case de Soto, though perhaps better known for his prowess as a conquistador, has been hailed “father of the American pork industry”.
Then there was Hernán Cortés, who brought pigs to New Mexico in 1600, and Sir Walter Raleigh who introduced the Jamestown Colony to pork in 1607. And pigs multiply swiftly, a favorable trait when raising livestock, as is the fact that their offspring mature quickly (in about 6 months). They’re also handy vacuum cleaners, as they’ll eat just about anything and everything put in front of them, from leftover table scraps to garbage. And if you’re looking for a plow, just turn a few pigs out into the field. With their strong snouts and persistent truffling habits, they’ll have that soil ready for planting in no time.
Early settlers quickly took to raising pigs and, by the 1600s, owning a half dozen or so was the norm for a farmer, no surprise if you think that domesticated pigs had been a thing in Europe since 9,000BC. By 1660, thousands of pigs populated the colony in Pennsylvania, and around the same time, New York became so overrun with hogs that grain fields were being decimated. A measure requiring any pig over 14 inches in height to have a nose ring, was put in place so the pigs would be easier to restrain.
By the 1800s, Cincinnati had earned the nickname Porkopolis, for its high-volume pork production. The city’s streets were so crowded with roaming pigs that young boys were recruited to herd them into line.
By this time, the pig roast was losing favor, thanks to shrinking households, and kitchens that were evolving to accommodate a more nuclear family. Industrialization shifted the work force to factories and eventually offices. Buying cuts of meat from the local butcher better complimented this less communal lifestyle, where roomy kitchens with open hearths were becoming a thing of the past.
Pig roasts didn’t go away, they just became more of a formalized social ritual that now took place outdoors. As the Civil war loomed, the customary ‘neighborhood roast’ of colonial times had emerged as a popular and relatively inexpensive means of bringing people together to fundraise for political events, or church gatherings. “Pig Pickin’s”, as they were called in the South, were held by Plantation owners to “thank”–more likely mollify–slaves, and many a stump speech was given next to a slowly cooking pig on a spit. “Going whole hog” became the term for these events that brought all types of people together for community building, getting out a message, or raising morale.
These days, for most of us, the closest we get to a pig roast is the Christmas ham. For many other cultures, however, it's a tradition that has remained more commonplace over time. In China pigs are routinely roasted to ensure luck for some new venture or milestone event, while in Russia, a roast piglet is customarily given to a ship’s crew returning from a deployment. The Memorial Day pig roast is a beloved tradition for Hawaiians while, in many Caribbean countries, pig roasts always feature on Christmas Eve, as well as festivals throughout the year; it can be a weekly event in some towns. Both Puerto Rico, and the Philippines claim the pig roast as their national dish, and there are non-Muslim provinces of Indonesia where a pig roast is served in many restaurants, as well as for weddings, birthdays and other special occasions. Oktoberfest, in Germany and Austria, has always been a pig roasting holiday, and the list goes on.
Pig roast enthusiasts in this neck of the woods need not despair. With many artisanal chefs moving towards organic, pasture-raised meat, and traditional methods of cooking it, Boston and surrounding areas have seen the pig roast making a comeback in restaurants and at community events.
In fact, for those looking to get their pig roast on, the perfect opportunity is just around the corner at the Taste of WGBH Food & Wine Festival: Artisan Taste Pig Roast, on Saturday, October 13th, featuring Chef Tim Laursen from Smoak BBQ and Chef Jason Tom from Night Market.
Or try one of the rising number of restaurants, in and around Boston, that will serve you and a group of your friends with a beautifully roasted pig and accompanying sides. Here are some we found:
Ashmont Grill
Chef: Chris Douglass / Sam Kauff
Serves: 8-16 people
Reserve: 7 days in advance
Extras: Family style appetizers, seasonal sides, and dessert
Price: $45 per person
555 Talbot Ave, Dorchester, 617-825-4300,
ashmontgrill.com/
Bisq
Chef: Alex Saenz
Serves: 8 people minimum, no max.
Reserve: 5 business days in advance
Extras: The three course dinner: menu is created tailored to each party, depending on seasonal local ingredients but will usually include 2-3 appetizers family style, side dishes, sauces and 2 desserts.
Price: $80-$90 per person
1071 Cambridge St, Cambridge, 617-714-3693,
www.bisqcambridge.com/whole-animal-dinners/
Citizen Public House
Chef: Francisco Gutierrez
Serves: 10 minimum
Reserve: 2 weeks in advance
Extras: Raw bar, corn bread, and Seasonal sides
Price: $450 for ten $45 for each additional person
1310 Boylston St, Boston, 617-450-9000, www.citizenpub.com/pig-roast/
Kirkland Tap & Trotter
Chef: Tony Maws
Serves: 10 minimum
Reserve: 3 days in advance minimum
Extras: A selection of three different appetizers, then accompaniments for a large taco bar with dessert to follow
Price: A three course menu, including the pig roast, is $85 per person.
425 Washington St., Somerville, 857-259-6585,
www.kirklandtapandtrotter.com/
Osteria Nino
Chef: Oscar Figueroa
Serves: 10 minimum
Reserve: 1 week in advance
Extras: Served with three sides, which are usually the chef's choice but they take specific requests too. The Chef will present the pig and carve for each guest in a semi-private or private area.
Price: $65 per person
19 Third Ave, Burlington, 781-272-1600,
www.osterianino.com/
Posto
Chef: Joe Cassenelli / Juan Perez
Serves: Up to 12 guests, though more can be accommodated
Reserve: 2 weeks in advance
Extras: Sea Salt Rosemary Bread, and Olives, seasonal salads such as Baby Arugula & Endive Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese, Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette, Potatoes, Roast Apple and Seasonal Vegetables. Osteria Posto partners with the Cambridge based butcher Savenors to source pigs from local farms in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Price: $625
197 Elm Street, Somerville 617-625-0060,
www.postoboston.com/
Osteria Posto
In the same style, Posto's sister restaurant , also does a fantastic Pig Roast, at their location in Waltham.
Chef: Joe Cassanelli / Joe Carli
Serves: Up to 12 guests, though more can be accommodated
Reserve: 2 weeks in advance
Extras: Sea Salt Rosemary Bread, and Olives, seasonal salads such as Baby Arugula & Endive Salad with Gorgonzola Cheese, Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette, Potatoes, Roast Apple and Seasonal Vegetables. Osteria Posto partners with the Cambridge based butcher Savenors to source pigs from local farms in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Price: $625
99 Third Ave, Waltham 781-622-1500,
www.osteriaposto.com/
Want your party to be extra memorable? Host your own pig roast with the help of a catering company that specializes in roasted hogs. There are several that we found in or near Boston:
The American Barbecue Restaurant & Catering
Big Pig Barbecue
Catering Boss
Kirkland Tap & Trotter
Redbones
Taste of Summer
