- One 12- to 15-pound oven-ready suckling pig (order from your meat man several days in advance)
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup dry sherry
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- Kosher salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 4 cups ¼-inch cubes soft white bread (about 8 slices)
- 3 cups crumbled com bread
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ½ cup coarsely chopped onions
- ½ cup finely diced celery
- 1 cup well-drained canned crushed pineapple
- ¾ cup chopped macadamia nuts or pecans
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups water
- Limes and in-season fruit for garnish
- 2 maraschino cherries for garnish
- Watercress or fresh mint leaves for garnish
- Wash the pig under cold running water; pat dry, inside and outside. Combine the soy sauce, oil, sherry, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes, then brush the entire cavity of the pig with the marinade; save the remaining marinade. Refrigerate the pig until it’s time to stuff and roast it.
- Set up the grill for indirect grilling. Oil your grill’s cooking surface thoroughly.
- Meanwhile, combine the bread cubes and com bread in a large bowl. Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Stir in the onions and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add to the bread mixture and toss lightly. Stir in the pineapple, nuts, eggs, salt, and pepper until well mixed.
- Before stuffing the pig, brush its cavity again with the marinade, then fill it loosely with the stuffing. Any excess may be spooned into the pan, covered, and cooked along with the pig during the last 45 minutes. Close the cavity by skewering it shut and lacing the skewers together with heavy white cord. Stuff a lime, cube of wood, or hard ball of aluminum foil into the pig’s mouth to hold it open during roasting. Cover its ears, tail, nose, and front feet with small pieces of foil to prevent burning. Skewer the back feet forward under the pig. Place the pig in a kneeling position, front feet forward, on the grill away from the heat over a drip pan filled with the water. Brush the pig with the marinade. To keep the skin from splitting, prick it with a large needle or knife in several places behind the head. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, away from bone and fat, or check with an instant-read thermometer later in the cooking.
- Cover the grill and cook until tender, basting frequently with the remaining marinade until 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Remove the foil from the tail, ears, nose, and feet 1 hour before the end. Allow 25 minutes per pound to cook a 12- to 15-pound pig to 170°F. Be sure the meat is fully cooked! If there is a trace of pink in the juices, continue roasting. The juices from a well-done pig will be light yellow.
- Remove the pig to a large wooden platter or cutting board using large spatulas and two people. Remove the brace from the pig’s mouth and replace with a fresh lime. Remove all the skewers and string. Push a small maraschino cherry in each eye and secure with wooden picks. Garnish the platter and pig with an assortment of your favorite fresh fruits, watercress, and maraschinos. Let the pig rest 20 to 30 minutes before carving.