beef

This last weekend involved heading out to the Olympic Pennisula to visit Ashley’s 20 acres. The whole process of getting there on Friday took about 5 hours. Arn and I left at about 2.45 and didn’t roll in until 7.30. The actual distance by air is only about 30 miles but water and hills get in the way. The main stumbling block was missing a ferry by two cars. The approximate location of the festivities can be found here.

The weekend was to be packed with excitement and joys. The main activities consisted of drinking, shooting guns, roasting a pig, and a Texas hold’em tournament.

The main highway follows the Hood Canal and then you take off up a side road to get to Ashley’s land. The road had been regraded lately, so the trip up was more enjoyable. The property is at an elevation of about 1,200 feet. You take the last turn up the road and crest the hill to these sweeping views of the east. Notable sites include downtown seattle, Hood Canal, and Mt. Rainer. Later photos will give us a view of Mt. Rainer. Friday night also saw a little skeet shooting to get the memories of the exhausting ferry ride out of my system. I did pretty good with the 12 gauge on Friday night, hitting a good number of those pesky clay pigeons.

After a few rounds of both guns and drinking (wheeee!), the serious business was at hand. Ashley had done significant research on the proper way to roast a pig in the ground. He decide on the Imu method. (The attached link shows a smaller pit using portions of the pig, we made it bigger and did the whole pig. I’m sure he’s got better links but the idea is the same.)

First, the brains of the operation hashing out last minute details and questioning the validity of this whole experiment. The next two photos consists of placing the intial wood to get the fire hot and the rocks that retain the majority of the heat during the cooking process.

Ashley adds just the right amount of flammable liquid to the mess….

….and presto, fire.

Now, we let the fire burn down for awhile and heat up the rocks placed upon the pile. We started the fire about 10.30 or so and then continued our preparations until 1 am. After the wood had burned a good deal, the rocks drop down and create a more even surface over the rocks.

Next, the preparation of the pig. A sanitary tarp is laid out. Chicken wire is used to wrap the pig so when the process is done, the piggy comes out of the ground much easier. Whole dead piggies are strange. It was field dressed when we got it from Uwajimaya. And for whatever reasons, Ashley got the legs cut off when he had it cleaned. We stuffed the insides with onions, apples, and garlic. If you use a bigger pig (ours was about 50 pounds, pre field dressing) supposedly you are to put some rocks insode the pig’s cavity to help it completely cook inside out without drying out the outside.

The next involves adding layers of moist vegetation. The pig is steamed. It’s necessary to have some vegetation with some moisture in order to provide the required steam. We chose corn on the cob for the first layer. Typically, banana tree stalks are used for this purpose. Ashley couldn’t find any so this is an oft suggested replacement. Next, we throw down about 2-3 inches of banana leaves. These were acquired through Uwajimaya. Ashley had to make three trips to the grocery store and buy out their entire stock.

Next, the little porker was added to the pit. Another layer of banana leaves was placed upon the piggy. The next layer is burlap sacks that have been soaked in water. The last banana leaf layer and the burlap sacks are used to seal the top of our vessel. We’re trying to prevent the steam/smoke form escaping our piggy pit.

PLastic tarps get laid down to enhance the seal. Dirt is placed first on the edges and then in the middle. The pick in the third picture is to allow the steam a chance to escape for the first 30-60 minutes or so. We’ve also wet down the dirt. During this first hour or so, we occasionally checked the top for any cracks where the steam might be escaping.

After the hour is up, the pick is removed and the remaining gap is sealed. Now the waiting begins. Suggested cooking time is about 12 hours or so. You can cook longer without too much detriment to the process.

Saturday came around after a late night drinking. We dusted off the cobwebs and headed down to town for breakfast and a visit to the facilites. More gunplay ensued, as we hadn’t done quite enough damage to those pesky clay pigeons the night before. Russ, Doug, and Pease joined in the reindeer fun on Saturday.

Finally, everyone has arrived and we can begin the unveiling. It’s about 6.30 in the evening. The dirt and tarps are removed. The burlap sacks and the banana leaves are removed to reveal the prize.

The glorious results, the piggy on the table, and the sweet, sweet head.

The pork literally fell off the bones. It was moist and tender for the most part and quite delicious.

Now that the cooking and the eating were done, it was time to have fun with the remains. No whole animal cooking experience would be complete with out action photos of the head on a stick. If you look closely at the first picture, Mt Rainier is in the background.

Here is a nice movie of the pig in all it’s glory. Arn better be careful or it might come back to life and eat his head.

Here’s ensuring that the piggy would not crawl out of the depths and get Arn in the middle of the night.

The rest of the evening consisted of more drinking and the 1st Annual Pig and Poker night. Arn successfully beat all challengers to take the title. I finished in second due to Arn’s ability to get the draws when it mattered. I thought I had him out once earlier. I had a pair of 10s, he had a 9,10 (may have been suited, can’t remember). The flop comes down as 6,7,8 for his straight and my defeat in the hand. The final hand went out with a bang- I had K,8, he had A,8. The flop was 6,7,9. I called all-in and he hesitated. He mached my call, we flipped the cards and I let out a big sigh. I needed a K to win, a 5 or a 10 to split the pot, and to lose on naything else. I lost. Arn took the glory and the knowledge that he has to show up next year to defend his illustrious title.

The final shots of the day, one more glorious picture of the view and a couple of ferry shots as we head back into town.

An excellent weekend out in the wild. I appreciate all the hard work Ashley put into the weekend in order to make it a rousing success. Here’s to next year.