Whole Animals / meat for the spit

The size of animal you’ll need will depend on the occasion, the number of people you’re feeding and the array of other food you’re serving.
If you’re feeding the local rugby team a feed of spit-roasted pork on a roll after a huge game, your pig might not go very far.
But if it’s one of an embarrassment of gorgeous dishes served at a gala banquet dinner you’ll probably find you might even have left-overs… which is another issue to consider as it can be a bit disappointing when there’s nothing left for the recovery lunch the next day.
Please give us a rough idea of the number of people you’re feeding and we’ll suggest the right size animal.
Pigs range from suckling pigs at 10 – 14 kg through to light porker pigs at up to 35 kg. Lambs are usually between 18 – 22 kg.

Cooking Times

Cooking longer and slower yields better results and it’s wise to allow five to six hours minimum for spit cooking. It takes about 45 minutes from lighting for the coals to be ready for cooking.
So, for example, if you’re cooking a 25 kg pig and you’re planning to eat at 1.00 pm, you’ll need to have your animal cooking by 7.00-7.15 am. Which means you’ll need to light the spit at 6.15-6.30 a.m.
The time it takes to spit roast a whole animal varies significantly depending on the size of the animal and the environmental conditions. The bigger the animal the longer it takes and cold, windy weather also slows cooking.
As a very rough guide, a 16-20 kg pig would usually take about five hours of cooking.

Roasting an animal on the spit provides a delicious and easy feast and a great dramatic focus for a party. Every time you use them and see how people are drawn in, we are reminded of how compelling they are. You just don’t see whole dead animals very much these days.