Cooking A Pig In The Ground!!!

[riverrun]

I have a friend,and he want's me to cook a pig the whole thing in the ground. The problem is i've never done it, but i have seen it done.
I do have an extensive culinary back ground but when it comes to this i think i would like to ask for some help. If anyone has any receipes or ideas on how to do this please let me know or maybe there's a web site you know of. All answers are greatly appreciated.

[napavalleychef]

We annually roast pigs in the ground here. Basically, we gut and clean it, stuff it with garlic, salt, pepper, and so forth. In the ground, the pit is layered with first rock, then manzanita wood--lots, to make it hot enough to sustain heat for the duration, grape vine cuttings...Once the pig is ready, and the fire, we drop it in, again cover with grapevines and leaves, then we bury it and let it cook all night--usually about 15 hours. Our hogs are usually 160-180 lbs when clean, so you'll have to adjust your cooking time.

[chefbk]

When I was young my friends of our family would place corn stalks
all around the pig, then wrap it with "chicken wire" and then place it into
the ground to roast! Talk about an amazing flavor from the corn!!!
BK

[dano1]

have done pit roasts with smaller pigs(60-80lb). Season well, wrap with parchment, then wet burlap, tie with tie wire. drop in pit and cover. ~10hours or so and pull. For pit cooking, a remote sensor thermometer really helps

[riverrun]

Thank you for your info, But How long should i burn the fire before i know when the rocks are ready. How much dirt should i put over the top to retain the heat? I'm going to wrap it in banna leaves and then in wire, and then put wet burlap over the top. The pig is probably about 180# to 200#.

[sdunn_MVM]

If possible I would just cover with more banana leaves and burlap. I would stay away from the dirt. It usually makes more of a mess then its worth.

MMMMMMMM...I can smell it already.