For all of the pork aficionados out there, has anyone made a run at Lechon Asado? It is one of the great treats for Cubanos, Borequans, or anyone who loves pork.
I have a great traditional recipe but since I'm a newbie I don't have any experience 'converting' recipes to a Bradley recipe. So I thought I'd check with the graybeards.
There have been several that have done Pork Butts with Mojo Criollo, Naranja Agria, Mojo Marinades with adobo.
I don't think what ever recipe you have would be a problem to adapt to the Bradley.
If you have a big pig you want to do, I loan you my La Caja Asadora Box.
Never done one, I looked up a couple of recipes and it appears that they usually start off with a pretty high temp 300 to 450 degrees F. That would be too hot for the Bradley, but I did see one that was at 225, which would be possible.
From the recipe I read I sounds like cuban pulled pork.
If you want to smoke one, I would marinate a pork butt in mojo marinade no more than six hours.
Then Smoke @225F with a couple of hours of smoke, continue @225F until and IT of 195-200F
FTC, pull and eat.
I did a pork butt with a mojo powder rub that came out pretty good. The mojo flavor was subtle.
here's when I did a mojo criollio butt.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=13025.0
I've always known of lechon asado as a roasted whole suckling pig done in an oven, Cajun microwave, offset grill, rotisserie, or other indirect heat source. Did one or two back in the day, mostly using a spit over a banked fire, but it's been a long while. Since crisp skin is a major part of the final product, higher heat and frequent mopping are key - not exactly Bradley fortes. On the other hand, I don't see any reason (other than size) that you couldn't start the process in a Bradley and finish elsewhere like you might a smoked turkey. I'd probably only use a couple of hours of fairly light wood - smoke is not (to me) the principal flavor in lechon asado; it's more about garlic, spices, and citrus.
My limited experience is that in Puerto Rico it is almost universally a whole suckling pig but often Cubanos will use a 'green' ham.
When I 'jones' for some lechon, this is what I can do here 'up in America'.
I do mine on conventional gas grill (single burner keeps box at 225 degrees) with added wood chips for mild smoke until IT is 195 degrees. Then I remove the skin as a single piece and FTC the Lechon. While resting I 'cheat' the skin under the oven's broiler (on rack); have also heated up the grill and inverted the skin onto grill and finished that way.
I'm no expert by any means.
Throw that recipe out and let's see what we can do with it... The Bradley will take care of the 225° and the smoke - but you'll have to go back to your gasser (or the oven) to crisp up the skin.
So you use a fresh ham? (picnic?)
My first choice is a green skin-on, bone-in ham. Second is green skin-on (harder to find than ham), bone-in pork shoulder (picnic). Then a pork roast (Boston Butt, for example) with a nice fat layer.
But then I think that is the standard selection order for most folks anyway. No great reveal.
I have done something similar using the picnic cut, but a ham cut would work just as well. I use a recipe from Cook's Illustrated and converted for use in the Bradley. I after injecting and brining, I started it in the smoker, and finished with moderate heat in the oven. Next time I will finish with 350°F - 375°F, but keep an eye on the rub so it doesn't burn. So the steps I used may help you convert your recipe using the smoker.
Cuban Style Barbecue Pork (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7159.0)
Habs - I think that's about as close as you're gonna get without using a whole pig. As you noted, the big challenge is the skin (I get that right about every third shoulder).