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Hot Off the Caja China

The other day my husband and I were in our backyard pouring charcoal into our barbecue in anticipation of a wonderful meal. One thing led to another and before we knew it we had pulled out the caja china and began the process of roasting a whole leg of pork.

You see, we're from Miami and whenever you decide to barbecue the caja china always comes to mind. What is a caja china? It's a box that is lined with aluminum or tin, wood on the outside and the grates sit on the top. Charcoal is then pour into 3 lines and the long process of technically steaming the pig begins. On average it will take about 4-6 hours to do a leg and about 10-12 hours to do the whole pig. Trust me, the results are well worth the effort, there's nothing like the flavor of a mojo infused pig to make your mouth water and your heart sing. Crunchy skin and melt in your mouth meat, many a battle has been waged over who gets the best pieces of skin. It's not uncommon for someone to walk off with another's plate in a lame attempt to capture the best for themselves.

And what is mojo? Well, first off it is pronounce moho not mo joe, and it consists of sour oranges, limes, a ton of salt, cumin and a mix of a variety of other spices. This magic potion can turn anything into gold. Marinating a pig in it is just one of the wonders of the world. The Cuban culture has perfected this marinade beating out the rest of the Caribbean and they know it. Cuban families guard their concoctions like Fort Knox. Oh, they'll tell you the basic ingredients, I just did, but the true magic lies in the mixture of spices reminiscent of one's past and family history. No two mojo's are alike. Nor should they be. That's what makes eating pork all the more exciting.

In the end, we had enough food to feed an army. Our neighborhood was awash in the scent of roasting pork. Before long our friends had arrived and between the rice and black beans, the maduros and tostones, we rolled away from the table only dreaming of the sandwiches we'd make the next day. I guess I'm going to have to bake Cuban bread....

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The other day my husband and I were in our backyard pouring charcoal into our barbecue in anticipation of a wonderful meal. One thing led to another and before we knew it we had pulled out the caja china and began the process of roasting a whole leg of pork.

You see, we're from Miami and whenever you decide to barbecue the caja china always comes to mind. What is a caja china? It's a box that is lined with aluminum or tin, wood on the outside and the grates sit on the top. Charcoal is then pour into 3 lines and the long process of technically steaming the pig begins. On average it will take about 4-6 hours to do a leg and about 10-12 hours to do the whole pig. Trust me, the results are well worth the effort, there's nothing like the flavor of a mojo infused pig to make your mouth water and your heart sing. Crunchy skin and melt in your mouth meat, many a battle has been waged over who gets the best pieces of skin. It's not uncommon for someone to walk off with another's plate in a lame attempt to capture the best for themselves.

And what is mojo? Well, first off it is pronounce moho not mo joe, and it consists of sour oranges, limes, a ton of salt, cumin and a mix of a variety of other spices. This magic potion can turn anything into gold. Marinating a pig in it is just one of the wonders of the world. The Cuban culture has perfected this marinade beating out the rest of the Caribbean and they know it. Cuban families guard their concoctions like Fort Knox. Oh, they'll tell you the basic ingredients, I just did, but the true magic lies in the mixture of spices reminiscent of one's past and family history. No two mojo's are alike. Nor should they be. That's what makes eating pork all the more exciting.

In the end, we had enough food to feed an army. Our neighborhood was awash in the scent of roasting pork. Before long our friends had arrived and between the rice and black beans, the maduros and tostones, we rolled away from the table only dreaming of the sandwiches we'd make the next day. I guess I'm going to have to bake Cuban bread....

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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