La Caja China

I've never used one but I've heard really good things about them.

I have one courtesy @YukonRon's extended family in NOLA.  It's sitting in my shop, plan to break it out at Brisket Camp IV. 

I just got one. We're roasting a 100lb pig this weekend. I'll get pics and keep you posted. 

I have one works best for roasting sized pigs, but I have done up to 135#..just don't expect 4HRS..Here is a 90#

We have used them a few times. Just something worthy of mentioning, the meat turns out more like a hog that was cooked underground instead of on a offset due to the steaming affect. 
However this is not a bad thing. I actually prefer the taste and texture of a hog that has been cooked underground over one that was cooked on an offset. 
The only exception to this is if I'm going strictly for appearance. You just won't get the same color cooking underground as you will on an offset or large dedicated hog cooker. 
Again, the quality of the meat produced by the La Caja or cooking underground is excellent in my opinion. You may never win an award for best appearance, but you will probably be in the running for crowd favorite when it comes to taste and texture.  

I do seem to remember a buried Cochinita Pibil thread on here somewhere . I may still be hungover from that one (it was 4 years ago)

How is party monster doing these days? 

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

How is party monster doing these days? 

Brother Tex, he is doing a lot better now. As you can see in the pic above, he was about 40 pounds under his normal weight. He started having bad issues at the end of December. He stayed very sick up until about 2 weeks ago. He is not 100% his old self yet, but he is much, much better. 
He has been through several blood tests, X-rays and scans. They have not gave an exact "cause" of his problem. But sadly we all know what it stems from. Several years of hardcore drug and alcohol use. Hence his nickname "Party Monster". 
On the upside, he has been clean and sober for almost 6 months now. A personal best record for him to date. I have been trying to spend all of my free time with him in hopes of keeping him clean and sober. With a little luck, and the good Lord willing, he will be with me at Brisket Camp. 
And thanks for asking about him brother Tex. That really means a lot to me.  

I hate to hear that he's been sick but I'm glad he's cleaned up for a while. I always appreciated that you supported him through the good and bad times. 

fishlessman said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Like SGH said- there is really no smoke flavor from a Caja China- this is very similar to the "Luau" or Cochinita Pibil style of buried pig wrapped in banana leaves. A Caja China is a great way to cook- but it's just an oven. I prefer the flavor of smoky pig meat but I do love the texture of steamed meat as well. It just depends on what you are after. A Caja China is a very economical portable oven. f you want the flavor and texture of whole hog bbq, a Caja China is not going to give you that. 

they added a pistol pellet smoker accessory now for the smoke flavor, never used one but that was probably a big complaint

It was a deal killer for me. 

Tak said:

Thanks guys for the info.....I appreciate it....not sure what I'm going to do but now have some insight when I do make that decision

@Tak PM me with any specific questions. Been cooking on it for years and really happy with the results. As others have said, if you're looking for smoke, it's not going to meet expectations. Quality of skin is where it shines. Also can do other large pieces of meat (lamb, multiple turkeys, etc). The point of the la caja china is not to replicate what you and i call real BBQ, rather it's really a Cuban style pig roast. the model 2 handles certain hog sizes better than others. I've done hogs anywhere from 35lbs to 100lb. My advice - stick to 75lb-90lb hogs. and the comments on time it takes to cook are obvious. this does not have the same heat retention and insulation as a kamado, so cook times will vary based on outside temperature, and of course size of hog and amount of fuel. re fuel, if you don't refuel in time, your temp in the box drops drastically and takes a while to come up. needless to say, you can't be opening the cover to peek.  

Biggreenpharmacist said:

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I do seem to remember a buried Cochinita Pibil thread on here somewhere . 

If the rain ever stops down here, I'm going to give a real small goat a go underground. The digging should not be a problem

Heck I may even cook a SRF Brisket underground just to see.  

What size tractor is that scottie?  2306?

It's the subcompact 1025.  

SGH said:

@Biggreenpharmacist
I posted a bunch of pics here if you missed it. 


http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1204812/ot-new-toy#latest

Yeah I had missed that thread. I have a 2320 but it may be a touch bigger with same hp. I dont have backhoe or belly mower but got a ton of other attachments. My favorite is my 4ft pto tiller. 

There is a lot if waster heat during the cook So I made a rack for mine so I could grill while the piggy is in ..the bottom,rack slides in and out 

This is coming out for Brisket Camp