Fi wants to cook a pig in the ground!?

sebems

So my FI and I have been arguing about the food for the reception we have agreed it will be a buffet style dinner, but now we have to agree on food.  Thus far he has been very easy gong about everthing and all my foofooness, but he wants to dig a hole in the ground and put a pig in it and cook it and then dig it up and serve it at the reception.  I have heard of this but never tried it.  I dont know something about my food cooking in dirt and rocks just does not sit well with my tummy.  I would like to have it all catered so then I know everything is taken care of and he is not digging up a damn pig out of our field to serve to people the day of the wedding ( and the food would be sanitary with a caterer).  I don't know how to get him to understand that this whole pig thing is just not something I want to try for the first time at our wedding any suggestions on how to get him to understand the caterer is the way to go.  

Thanks for listening!

kmmssg

looks like we have yet another disappearing post.

My first question for him is who is going to do all of that?  Have they ever done it before?  He needs to understand HE will have no time to do this so this is a huge task to ask of someone else.

To be honest, if I wasn't at a true Hawaiin Luau I don't think I'd be eating any pig cooked in the ground.  How would I know it was safe to eat?  If he is gung ho on pig roast fit into your wedding?  If he is planning to do this himself you may have a lot of guests who won't eat the meat.

ElisabethJoanne

Early in wedding planning, my future husband asked about roasting a pig on a spit. I think I told him we'd discuss it later when the checklists said it was time to make a food plan/hire a caterer, but I promised him there'd be plenty of meat, whatever we did. A few months later, he'd forgotten it.

If this were somthing your future husband and/or his family and friends already do regularly, you should discuss it seriously with him. My understanding is you put the pig in the ground and more or less leave it for a couple hours. With helpers and a good attitude, that's a doable day-of project. While you're getting your hair, make-up, nails done, he's getting the pig in the ground.

But it sounds like this is just a daydream with him, not a tradition. Find a compromise. "We can serve pork, but from a professional caterer." "We'll have a barbeque."

My future husband has lots of daydreams about the wedding: sepia-tinted antique-style photographs, roast pig, punching a disfavored church lady, etc. I "give in" wherever I can, but explain that we have to respect guests, so, we can't have 2 hours of post-ceremony photographs, etc. I guess I deflect the blame from "I don't want that" to "Our guests don't want that."

sebems

He already smokes meat for competitions which is wonderful but the time that goes into just one competition is so overwheliming! he says he has done the pig in the ground thing once before and it was amazing but i was not around to try it at that time.  And yes I am in the Kansas City area we are like two hours south of kc (rural kansas). My partner at work just gave me the idea of picking three caterers that server bbq and other options and say "here since I am not a huge fan of the pig in the ground but I am willing to still have bbq pork so pick one of these 3 cateres and we will go from there". i guess i will try this approach.

thanks ladies

Mae0606

Would you be willing to try it within the next few weeks? You never know, you may end up loving it.

brosters

sounds good to me!

gymbugmj2k

definitely don't do this for the wedding -- he needs to understand that he wont be the one cooking it, and that someone else will be taking that responsibility.  Not to mention, if something does happen to go wrong, thats a lot of people to dissapoint and leave hungry.  My grandpa did this yeaaaars ago (before i was born), and the family stories that get told about that party was that he was half-nuts with stress about it turning out edible. (FWIW it was supposedly an awesome success)

Do you have family/friends that will be around for a few days?  Perhaps this would be a good "day after" party idea.  That way he gets to be more involved with the cooking too...

As far as sanitary/taste --- it's all good

pinkbunny8385

when i think of a pig being done in the ground I think of it being done on a beach. I would put my foot down for my wedding. no way would it happen

FaithCaitlin

I wouldn't do it for the wedding.. maybe a rehersal dinner?

kstorberg

i was also going to suggest trying it before the weddding (but i dont know when your date is).  i also agree with pp of maybe trying it for the rehearsal dinner.  It is not unsanitary tho, the pig is completely protected, not just thrown in a bunch of dirt and rock.  it is quite fabulous.  im not very fancy tho, so i think it would sound fun.  but i agree....kc bbq is the best so that would be an excellent compromise.....guess im not much help because i could go either way.

smartlypretty

My friend did a whole hog for a graduation party once, but they rented this giant grill to cook it. Warning, the pig literally cooked for 24 hours. Someone had to be up to watch the pig at all times in case either the fire went out or animals came to investigate. This just doesn't sound wedding like to me. And a pig in the ground? How the heck do you know when its done!?! I'm sure you can find a BBQ place that serves pulled pork.