‘Round about now, the skies over Miami fill with the fragrant scent of roast pork.
It’s lechon, the crisp-skinned, fork-tender whole roast hog so popular with Cubans and other Hispanic-Americans on Noche Bueno, Christmas Eve. The traditional way to cook it is in a caja china—a term pronounced “ka-ha chee-na” that literally means “Chinese box”. It is a sort of above-ground barbecue pit fashioned from plywood and metal. Place the seasoned pig inside the box (find a recipe on page 258 in BBQ USA), then shovel lit coals in the metal tray on top. The slow, gentle indirect heat renders the meat tender enough to cut with the proverbial fork.

From all of us here at www.barbecuebible.com, happy holidays, and have a healthy and smokin’ New Year.