Puaka Tunu (Tongan Spit-Roasted Pork)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep roasting pan with rack, large enough for a 6 to 8 pound pork shoulder
• •Heavy foil and banana leaves or ti leaves
• •Outdoor rotisserie spit with motor and charcoal bed, optional for whole pig

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the pork

   Pat the pork dry and score the skin or fat in shallow lines, not down into the meat. Rub the salt into every side and into the cuts, then let it sit at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge if you have the time. Salt first. Fire after. That is how the meat starts listening.

2. 2

   Make the rub

   Stir the pepper, ginger, garlic, oil, and lime juice into a rough paste. Rub it over the meat, keeping the skin mostly clean if you want it crisp. This is simple seasoning, not a mask. Good pork, salt, slow heat, that is the backbone.

   If you are cooking a whole suckling pig on a spit, rub the paste inside the cavity and salt the skin well. Tie the pig firmly so it turns evenly and does not tear as the meat softens.
3. 3

   Set the oven

   Heat the oven to 275F. Line a deep roasting pan with banana leaves or ti leaves, set the pork on top, and pour the water or stock into the pan around it. Cover loosely with more leaf, then foil, leaving the skin uncovered if you are working with skin-on pork and want crackling later.

4. 4

   Roast it slow

   Roast for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat gives under a fork and the bone starts to loosen. Baste now and then with the pan juices, but don't fuss over it. The fat is doing its quiet work, the leaf is holding moisture, and the pork should look glossy, not dry.

5. 5

   Crisp the skin

   Uncover the pork, raise the oven to 425F, and roast 20 to 30 minutes more, until the skin blisters and turns deep golden brown. Watch it close at the end. You want crisp skin that cracks under the knife, and meat underneath still wet with its own juices.

6. 6

   Rest and pull

   Rest the pork 25 minutes before cutting or pulling. Spoon the glossy pan juices back over the meat, taste for salt, and carry it to the table in big pieces so people can pull with fingers and forks. Serve with lū pulu, taro, ʻulu, rice, or whatever the family put down. Eat what you have.

7. 7

   Spit option

   For a whole pig on an outdoor rotisserie, cook over a steady bed of coals, not direct flame, turning constantly for 4 to 6 hours depending on size. Baste with its own fat and a little salted water. It is done when the shoulders and hams give easily, the skin is tight and crisp, and the juices run clear near the thickest joints.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for skin-on pork if you can. The skin gives you the feast feeling, that crisp bite over tender meat.
• •No outdoor rotisserie? No shame. The oven version feeds people well, and feeding people is the point.
• •For a Tongan table, serve this with lū pulu, taro, cassava, ʻulu, or rice. Sapasui and corned beef sit on plenty real tables too. Keeper, not gatekeeper.
• •For the deep parts of a Tongan ʻumu or katoanga, learn from Tongan elders. A recipe can teach heat and salt. The people teach meaning.

Advance Preparation

• •Salt the pork the night before and refrigerate uncovered or loosely covered, so the seasoning goes deep and the skin dries for better crisping.
• •Crush the garlic and grate the ginger the morning of the cook; fresh aromatics lose their brightness if they sit too long.
• •Roasted pork can be cooked a day ahead, stored with its juices, and reheated covered at 300F. Crisp the skin again uncovered right before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 170g)